Pastor Maria Kim began serving CUMC in July 2022.
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Rev. Maria Kim is an ordained elder with 25 years of ministry experiences. Apart from serving local congregations in the U.S., she was engaged in various special ministries for children, youth, college students and parents by running an English Bible drama school for kids, leading chapel as chaplain at middle & high schools, and as a college chaplain in South Korea. Below is her brief faith journey and ministry so far.
In her free time, Pastor Maria enjoys taking walks with her husband (Rev. David Kim, pastor of Lancaster UMC) in the neighborhoods and talking to people in the communities. Being a novelist, she likes to read and write about history, culture, and people she has encountered. She loves nature and people of Wisconsin, and watching boys’ and girls’ sports games is one of her past pleasures. |
My family returned to America in Federal Way, WA in 2017. While Pastor David, my husband, served a local congregation, I served several English-speaking congregations as an interim pastor. This was our second move to the U.S. My first move was to Washington D.C. to study at Wesley Theological seminary in 1997. Both David and I earned M.Div. degrees there and moved to North Dakota to do our first cross-cultural ministries.
I served two United Methodist churches and one PC USA church as senior pastor, while David served his own two Methodist churches. Including my 4 year old daughter back then, three of us were the only Asians in the town. You might know about ND – dominantly Caucasian people especially in rural areas, because people there said, “because it’s too cold.” In my congregations and towns, I met lots of Norwegians and Swedish folks proud of their cultural backgrounds. I found and still I think people in Dakotas are the most loving and caring people in America. I can’t explain why I feel that way yet, there is something special about people in ND. “Pastor Maria, you are the first female pastor in our 150 year long church history,” said one of my parishioners in the first meeting. Being conservative farmers, they didn’t know how to deal with this young female pastor from a different cultural background in the beginning. As time passed, although they might not notice, what they gave me was love from genuine hearts. If I am asked, “Why do you come back to America, to a cross-cultural ministry?” I would answer, “Because my wonderful first parishioners shaped me as a pastor.”
I served two United Methodist churches and one PC USA church as senior pastor, while David served his own two Methodist churches. Including my 4 year old daughter back then, three of us were the only Asians in the town. You might know about ND – dominantly Caucasian people especially in rural areas, because people there said, “because it’s too cold.” In my congregations and towns, I met lots of Norwegians and Swedish folks proud of their cultural backgrounds. I found and still I think people in Dakotas are the most loving and caring people in America. I can’t explain why I feel that way yet, there is something special about people in ND. “Pastor Maria, you are the first female pastor in our 150 year long church history,” said one of my parishioners in the first meeting. Being conservative farmers, they didn’t know how to deal with this young female pastor from a different cultural background in the beginning. As time passed, although they might not notice, what they gave me was love from genuine hearts. If I am asked, “Why do you come back to America, to a cross-cultural ministry?” I would answer, “Because my wonderful first parishioners shaped me as a pastor.”
