Rev. Jill Emery stands in front of the First Presbyterian Church in Winnebago. She has been the pastor there a month and a half, starting on July 1.

After four years of being without a regular pastor, the members of the First Presbyterian Church in Winnebago were pleased to learn that Reverend Jill Emery would begin serving their congregation in July, and Emery was just as excited to come to Winnebago.

“I began here on July 1,” Emery says. “One of the reasons I was excited to come here was because of the resilience this congregation has shown even though they have been without their own minister for four years.”

The First Presbyterian Church’s previous pastor, Mike Roys, retired four years ago after serving the congregation for 28 and a half years.

Emery, a native of Foley, graduated from Sauk Rapids High School before getting her undergraduate degree from St. Cloud State College.

“I continued my education at St. Mary’s University in the Twin Cities where I received my Masters of Education degree,” Emery shares. “I also took commissioned pastor classes although I had no intention of being a pastor.”

She returned to her high school alma mater for an interview.

“I had no intention of going back to my school and being a teacher there,” Emery states. “But, I went there for an interview thinking it would give me good practice for further interviews. But, my plans were not God’s plans.”

She ended up becoming a health and physical education teacher at Sauk Rapids.

“And I stayed there for 30 years,” Emery says. “During my time at the school, I also became a site manager and coached softball and basketball and some other sports.”

Emery quit her teaching job this past spring and then ended up as the pastor at First Presbyterian beginning July 1.

“I have always been very involved in the church but it wasn’t in my brain to become a pastor,” she notes. “Although someone reminded me that when I was little I talked about how cool it would be to be a pastor.”

Emery says she described her journey to her new congregation by comparing it to the sport of curling.

“In the sport of curling, the path for the stone is brushed to create less resistance to guide the stone to where you want it to go,” Emery explains. “I feel that God kept leading me on this path in that same manner, by decreasing my resistance to being a pastor.”

She shares the resilience of her new congregation is visible in many ways.

“They not only kept things going in the absence of a pastor, they took on a remodeling project for the church’s sanctuary,” Emery says. “In addition, they operate Next to New, which is a thrift store and use the profits they generate from the store to donate money to various organizations. They have a burger stand every Wednesday which is operated by the men in the congregation. We help operate the local food shelf out of our facility and our quilting group donates the quilts they make to an Indian reservation in South Dakota and we open the church on Monday mornings for people to come in and share a cup of coffee and fellowship, whether you are members of our congregation or not.”

The remodeling project, which included new lighting, new carpet, a fresh coat of paint and an updated audio/visual system, also held a surprise for many of the members.

“When we replaced the wooden wall at the front of the church with a brick wall, we discovered there was a fireplace that had been covered up,” church secretary Carol Ricard reveals. “It was probably the source of heat for the church at one time. Some of our members did know about its existence, but many did not.”

Joining Emery in her move to Winnebago is her husband, Brad, and their dog, Darla.

“We have three grown boys and one grandchild,” Emery adds. “They all live about three hours away from Winnebago.”

She is pleased with what Winnebago has to offer.

“I love to swim so having the pool in town has been great. I am an outdoors kind of person so I also like to run and bike during the summer,” Emery says. “In the winter I enjoy cross country skiing and have forced myself to go snow shoeing in spite of the cold weather. I also enjoy opportunities to go kayaking and paddle boarding. When I want to relax without being so active, I will grab a book and read.”

She shares she is looking forward to a special church service which will be held on Sunday, Aug. 25, and is being hosted by Emery’s congregation.

“It is called the Conrad Service and will be a joint service between the Presbyterian congregations from Winnebago, Blue Earth and Amboy,” Emery explains.

Ricard mentions it is named the Conrad Service after Jacob Conrad, who founded each of the congregations 150-plus years ago.

For now, Emery shares she feels her biggest challenge is getting to know everyone.

“It is a unique time – it feels like our society is becoming increasingly anti-religion,” she comments. “My goal is to show that God is real and is here for everyone, not just the members of the congregation. Some people are worried they are not worthy, but we welcome everyone.”

And so, as Emery begins this new path, she is full of excitement.

“The people here have been amazing,” she concludes. “My biggest excitement is to work with them and to be a vessel for God to use to help lead the congregation.”