The Board of Directors of First Christian Church in Las Cruces, New Mexico, is thrilled to announce that at a properly called Congregational Meeting today, Sunday, March 15, 2020, the Congregation of FCCLC unanimously elected Rev. Bethany Meier as their new Pastor!
Rev. Bethany Meier is a Midwestern Girl who has always dreamed of living in the Southwest. She was born and raised in Michigan where she spent most of her time doing theater, championing social justice causes, and eating lots of blue moon ice cream. If you ask her nicely, she’s happy to pull out her “hand map” and point out the various places she lived—including Hell, MI (yes, it does freeze over.)
While in Michigan, she attained a B.A. and an M.A. in Women and Gender Studies. She was hoping to pursue work in a non-profit that focused on rights for the LGBTQ community or for women. However, she kept feeling the pull towards becoming a Minister and finally accepted that calling and applied for seminary.
Bethany attended Central Theological Seminary in Shawnee, Kansas and graduated in 2017 with an M.Div. While in Kansas, she fell in love with the United Church of Christ and worked for 6 years in a KC congregation. It was this congregation that walked her through both the discernment and the ordination process and was her first ministry call.
During her time as their Associate Minister, she was able to help the church grow in many different ways including starting a youth program, starting a social group for folks in their 20s and 30s, organizing and volunteering at the church booth at KC Pride, reaching out to the local LGBTQ community, launching the first-ever KC LGBTQ Wedding Fair, and much more.
Her time in Kansas also helped her to meet her wife, Kelsee Evans. Kelsee is a graphic designer and massage therapist who loves reading—especially LGBTQ fiction. She is excited about the prospect of moving from Kansas to the Southwest especially since there will be lots of amazing Mexican food to try!
Most nights you can find the two of them working on crocheting or knitting projects on the couch while marathoning RuPaul’s Drag Race, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or the latest Netflix Original. They have three fur babies—a chihuahua mix named Hallie and two cats named Lady and Maia.
We welcome Rev. Bethany and her wife, Kelsee Evans!