Podcast appearances and mentions of katherine willis pershey

What happens when a pastor realizes they're going through the motions—but not actually experiencing God? In this episode, Loren talks with Rev. Dr. Katherine Willis Pershey about faith, formation, and the unexpected influence of Eugene Peterson on her life and ministry. Drawing from her own journey across multiple Christian traditions, Katherine reflects on the tension between justice, belief, and personal encounter with God. The conversation explores how Peterson's writing helped her rediscover prayer, Scripture, and the heart of pastoral vocation—not as performance or productivity, but as attentiveness to a living, active God. They also wrestle with the challenges of ministry in a secular age, the pressures facing pastors today, and the difficulty of maintaining spiritual depth in a culture shaped by busyness and division. They discuss the false divide between personal piety and social justice, the importance of spiritual practices like prayer and worship, and what it means to lead faithfully in a fragmented and polarized church landscape.   Together they explore: How Eugene Peterson reshaped her understanding of ministry The struggle to experience God while leading a church Why personal piety and social justice belong together The dangers of a purely “therapeutic” model of ministry What it means to believe in a real, active God today Navigating faith across evangelical and progressive divides Why pastors must protect time for prayer and reading Katherine Willis Pershey serves as co-pastor of First Congregational UCC Appleton, Wisconsin, having previously served congregations in Illinois and California. She is the author of Very Married: Field Notes on Love and Fidelity and co-author of Love Letters to God, and is a regular contributor to the Christian Century. She received a DMin from the Eugene Peterson Center for Christian Imagination at Western Theological Seminary in 2024.    Mentioned Resources:

Rev. Dr. Katherine Willis Pershey Guest Preaching Rev. Dr. Katherine Willis Pershey is the Co-Pastor at First Congregational United Church of Christ, in Appleton, WI. Rev. Pershey received her Master of Divinity degree from the Claremont School of Theology in California. She recently completed a Doctor of Ministry degree on the theme Holy Presence: Eugene Peterson and the Pastoral Imagination from Western Theological Seminary in Michigan. She was the solo pastor of South Bay Christian Church for five years and served as Associate Pastor of The First Congregational Church of Western Springs for fourteen years. Katherine is a member of the Board of The Christian Century and is also a regular contributor to the magazine. She is the author of Any Day a Beautiful Change: A Story of Faith and Family and Very Married: Field Notes on Love and Fidelity. She completed yoga teacher training in 2018, and is certified through YogaDevotion to teach faith-integrated yoga. Katherine and her husband, Ben are raising two teenage children.

Rev. Dr. Katherine Willis Pershey offers her faith journey reflection.

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers a reflection.

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers a reflection.

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers her reflection entitled: "Dear Friend".

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers her reflection.

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers her reflection on loneliness.

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers her reflection.

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers her reflection.

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers her reflection.

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers a reflection. 

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers her reflection. 

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers her reflection on the 3rd Sunday of Advent. 

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers a reflection. 

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers a reflection. 

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers her reflection. 

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers a reflection on Psalm 1.

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers her reflection on Serve.

As we continue our Biographies of Grace and Lives of Love series, Katherine Willis Pershey will be preaching on 1 Corinthians 13:1–13 and reflecting on the life of the late Rachel Held Evans, author of books such as Inspired and Searching for Sunday. Our lay speaker will be Laura Tilden. Ann Morris will offer special music, including a rendition of The Water is Wide.

As we continue our Biographies of Grace and Lives of Love series, Katherine Willis Pershey will be preaching on 1 Corinthians 13:1–13 and reflecting on the life of the late Rachel Held Evans, author of books such as Inspired and Searching for Sunday. Our lay speaker will be Laura Tilden. Ann Morris will offer special music, including a rendition of The Water is Wide.

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers her reflection on Dolly Parton.

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers her reflection entitled "Good Verbs".

This Sunday is Palm Sunday when we celebrate the day Jesus entered into Jerusalem and was greeted by the people waving palm branches. It is a reminder of the welcoming of Jesus into our hearts and of our willingness to follow him. Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey entitled "So the Stones Don't Have To" and the bells and children choir will sing.

We will worship together, listening to the reflection from Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey entitled "Under Her Wings" and enjoying music provided by the Lord of the Ringers and the Tower Chimes. Join us!

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey takes on one of the hardest teachings of Jesus - the commandment to love our enemies.

Churches all around the world traditionally remember the Baptism of Christ on the first Sunday after Epiphany. We will join this global celebration as we remember our own baptisms as well. Katherine Willis Pershey will preach and Lauren Reynolds will serve as liturgist as we return to in-person worship this Sunday.

We will celebrate the Epiphany in this first worship service of the New Year, with special music, Holy Communion, and a brief message from Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey. Bring your juice/wine and bread/crackers to participate in Communion.

The bells are ringing this morning as we joyfully welcome the adult and children's bell choirs back to worship! Katherine Willis Pershey preaches this morning, and during the 10:30 service we will welcome new members into the life of our congregation.

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey will preach on the Greatest Commandment and Peter Kralovec-Kirchherr will serve as worship leader. 

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers her reflection. 

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers a reflection. 

A reflection from Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey.

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers a reflection. 

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey leads us to reflect on the national holiday in light of our Christian Faith.

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey will preach on two of Jesus' beloved parables, and we'll witness and celebrate the Sacrament of Baptism for a new member of our community of faith.

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey preaches on Nicodemus, a Pharisee who visited Jesus in the dead of night to ask questions about eternal life and the Kingdom of Heaven. Nicodemus struggles to understand Jesus' teaching, but like many of us, his problem isn't a lack of intelligence. How can these impossible things be true?

Diana Johnson shares a Mother's Day Reflection, we celebrate and thank our Sunday School Teachers, and Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey preaches on the invitation to be friends of Christ.

Yes, Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey is on Sabbatical. Given that we are still pre-recording worship out of an abundance of caution, she is still preaching this Sunday! We'll dwell with the astonishing and inspiring story of the transfiguration of Jesus.

"There's a wideness in God's mercy." These words reflect the heart of the Good News we will celebrate together. Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey will preach on a story of Jesus' liberating ministry.

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers her sermon. Ultimately, dreams sow joy, even if that joy doesn't immediately spring forth. Sowing seeds into the soil always feels risky and feeble—how can something so small become something so beautiful, so big, and so nourishing? Like Mary, we are called to tend and nurture the dreams God has woven into us.

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers her sermon on the First Sunday of Advent.

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers her sermon.

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers a sermon.

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers the final sermon in our Unraveled Sermon series. 

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers a simple daily prayer,

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers a simple daily prayer.

Our Unraveled Sermon Series continues with Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey's sermon. 

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers a simple daily prayer.

Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey offers her sermon - Unraveling Doubt.