Regional UCC Conference Minister to give guest sermon March 6

Christ Reformed Church United Church of Christ of Martinsburg will hear a guest sermon delivered by Rev. Sheresa Simpson-Rice on Sunday, March 6, at 11 a.m.

Rev. Simpson-Rice serves as the associate conference minister for the western region of the Central-Atlantic Conference of the United Church of Christ, providing support to churches in West Virginia, Virginia and Western Maryland.

A native of south central Pennsylvania, she has served rural churches in the Penn Central Conference and an urban church in the Heartland Conference prior to her conference ministry. She completed an interim ACM role with the Minnesota Conference over the pandemic. The product of a small rural church, she has a heart for this ministry and the faith that upholds Christ’s call to be part of a neighborhood church that welcomes all.  

Rev. Simpson-Rice has a passion for congregational development and the nurturing of our clergy. She has completed Lombard Mennonite Peace Center’s mediation training and is a trainer for Peter Steinke’s Healthy Congregations program. Her work with the Committee on Ministry has a foundation in multiple paths development and the creation of teams to support congregations and clergy in conflict. Additionally, she has traveled multiple times to Germany as a part of the UCC’s partnership with the Evangelische Kirche Berlin-Brandenburg-schlesische Oberlausitz (EKBO) and has developed long-lasting relationships with ecumenical pastors both in the cities she has served and abroad.

A graduate of Pennsylvania State University and Lancaster Theological Seminary, Rev. Simpson-Rice is married to her husband Karl. She has a son, a daughter by marriage, a beloved dog named Lola and two grand-pups. Serving Christ through the work of the church is the honor of her life, she says.