RevJerryAbbott
03-20-2009, 01:44 PM
Who is Jerry Abbott, and why is he here?
This is an interesting question, and one that has made me take a moment to think. I am a man who is entering a phase of life in which one shares wisdom. I am hoping that I can at the very least share who I am and where I come from. The easiest answer to the above question is I am a product many different people, experiences and cultures.
Two of my brothers and I were born in Germany, and my youngest was born in Italy. As my father was then a member of the US Army and had married there.
Before graduating high school in California and joining the Navy on Valentines Day, 1972. We had lived in Hawaii, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, and traveled back and forth across the country.
While in the Navy I was able to experience the Philippines, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Australia as well as the Pacific Northwest. I was able to learn so much about people and different cultures as I continued to mature as a person.
My education was also an adventure in experimentation and experience as I graduated from Sierra College with degrees in Drama and Criminal Justice and bachelors in Communication from the California State University in Sacramento. I then studied alcohol and drug abuse and treatment at Tacoma Community College before going to Iowa to the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary. Finally, I brought all of it together by completing a Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Washington in Tacoma.
My employment history is another list of diverse experiences that culminate in being medically retired after becoming disabled in Alaska. I have learned and taught from: my experience in Vietnam while in the Navy; to law enforcement and residential treatment in California; being a Youth Director for several Lutheran churches; I have supervised crisis residential centers in Kitsap and Pierce Counties; developing a specialized foster home for recovering teens; pastor of two Congregational Churches in farming communities in Iowa; to doing drug and alcohol abuse, addiction treatment; supervising and developing intervention strategies for teens in detention; teaching college classes for the University of Alaska; working as the supervising Probation Officer in Bethel, Alaska; running my own art gallery and theatre in downtown Tacoma; developing outreach and programs and as interim pastor for the First Baptist Church; and directing a homeless shelter. I have impacted the lives of runaways, delinquents, teens and families ravaged by chemical abuse and addiction as well as physical and sexual abuse by counseling and developing individualized treatment plans to address their struggles.
Through all of this I have also grown spiritually as I, like Jacob have wrestled with God coming away with a new name and my own limp. My spirituality was formed by: growing up in the Lutheran tradition; my mother’s Jewish heritage; entering seminary as a Presbyterian; being a pastor for two Congregational Churches; participating and filling the pulpit in United Methodist churches and the Bethel Moravian church while helping lead the Jewish community there; and embracing my spiritual heritage as a Cherokee.
I have served on the boards dealing with alcoholism, drug abuse, domestic violence, developmental disabilities, arts and culture, a community hospital, AIDs awareness and care, and peace with justice issues.
I am also the proud father of three wonderful and kind adults. I came here seeking a church in which I could be active, share, teach and learn.
This is an interesting question, and one that has made me take a moment to think. I am a man who is entering a phase of life in which one shares wisdom. I am hoping that I can at the very least share who I am and where I come from. The easiest answer to the above question is I am a product many different people, experiences and cultures.
Two of my brothers and I were born in Germany, and my youngest was born in Italy. As my father was then a member of the US Army and had married there.
Before graduating high school in California and joining the Navy on Valentines Day, 1972. We had lived in Hawaii, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, and traveled back and forth across the country.
While in the Navy I was able to experience the Philippines, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Australia as well as the Pacific Northwest. I was able to learn so much about people and different cultures as I continued to mature as a person.
My education was also an adventure in experimentation and experience as I graduated from Sierra College with degrees in Drama and Criminal Justice and bachelors in Communication from the California State University in Sacramento. I then studied alcohol and drug abuse and treatment at Tacoma Community College before going to Iowa to the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary. Finally, I brought all of it together by completing a Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Washington in Tacoma.
My employment history is another list of diverse experiences that culminate in being medically retired after becoming disabled in Alaska. I have learned and taught from: my experience in Vietnam while in the Navy; to law enforcement and residential treatment in California; being a Youth Director for several Lutheran churches; I have supervised crisis residential centers in Kitsap and Pierce Counties; developing a specialized foster home for recovering teens; pastor of two Congregational Churches in farming communities in Iowa; to doing drug and alcohol abuse, addiction treatment; supervising and developing intervention strategies for teens in detention; teaching college classes for the University of Alaska; working as the supervising Probation Officer in Bethel, Alaska; running my own art gallery and theatre in downtown Tacoma; developing outreach and programs and as interim pastor for the First Baptist Church; and directing a homeless shelter. I have impacted the lives of runaways, delinquents, teens and families ravaged by chemical abuse and addiction as well as physical and sexual abuse by counseling and developing individualized treatment plans to address their struggles.
Through all of this I have also grown spiritually as I, like Jacob have wrestled with God coming away with a new name and my own limp. My spirituality was formed by: growing up in the Lutheran tradition; my mother’s Jewish heritage; entering seminary as a Presbyterian; being a pastor for two Congregational Churches; participating and filling the pulpit in United Methodist churches and the Bethel Moravian church while helping lead the Jewish community there; and embracing my spiritual heritage as a Cherokee.
I have served on the boards dealing with alcoholism, drug abuse, domestic violence, developmental disabilities, arts and culture, a community hospital, AIDs awareness and care, and peace with justice issues.
I am also the proud father of three wonderful and kind adults. I came here seeking a church in which I could be active, share, teach and learn.