Please join us to celebrate and welcome the new pastors of Brookmeade Congregational Church UCC! On Oct 1st we will share together in worship and have a special coffee fellowship after the service. We are thrilled to have this new team with us. Rev. Diane Tugel, our lead pastor, Sarah Kientz, our student pastor, and Margaret Ernst our student intern are already off and running and are contributing to the life of Brookmeade. Come and meet these energetic and delightful people who are going to walk with us as we discover new ways to be the church.
Continue reading below to find out more about our new staff.
About Our New Staff
Sarah Kientz, Lead Student Pastor
Sarah Kientz is a second-year Master of Divinity student at Vanderbilt Divinity School seeking ordination in the United Church of Christ. She moved to Nashville from her hometown of Columbus, Ohio, where she served as the Director of Youth Ministry at First Community Church (UCC) for seven years. Sarah loved the genuine relationships she formed with youth and young adults as she led progressive Christian education, intergenerational worship, and local and international missions. In that role, Sarah also served as a director at Camp Akita, a summer camp welcoming followers of all faith traditions. Sarah hopes to develop her passion for social justice and practice of pastoral care through worship, mission, and community life at Brookmeade. Outside of work and class, Sarah enjoys spending time in nature alongside friends, family, and her dog, Otter.
Margaret Ernst, Associate Student Pastor
Margaret Ernst in the process of seeking ordination in the UCC through the Pennsylvania Southeast Conference. Hailing originally from Connecticut and New Jersey, Margaret was formed enormously in a spiritual and social sense by her years doing faith-rooted community organizing and interning at a UCC church in downtown Philadelphia, just blocks from the Liberty Bell. Now, Margaret deeply appreciates living in and learning from the South as she enters her third year in the MDiv program at Vanderbilt Divinity School. She finds her ministry in the sacred work of supporting others to become leaders in creating the communities they dream of in order to follow Jesus’ risky, challenging gospel of love. She recently got married to her beloved partner and friend Michael, and keeps singing and laughing at all costs. She is so excited to meet you all and to join in the worship, community, and educational life of Brookmeade this year.
Diane Tugel, Supervising Pastor
Diane is an ordained minister with the United Church of Christ. She is Certified as a Clinical Educator with the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education and she is a Board Certified Chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains. She holds a Doctorate of Ministry degree and has served in the parish, hospital, and hospice settings. Diane is married with two adult children. She and her family moved to the Nashville area in January of 2017 to begin her work with the Nashville/St. Thomas CPE Partnership. Besides her family and work, Diane enjoys boating, reading, golfing, and being in the outdoors.
New Staff Signing their Covenants with Brookmeade: Sunday, August 27th, 2017
brookmeadeucc.org 