 |
|
|
|
|
| About Cynthia Langston Kirk |
Cynthia Langston Kirk, poet and minister, was born in Florida not far from the Sopchoppy River and was raised in the desert of New Mexico. Her love for stories emerged on her grandmother's porch in a tiny Florida town and on the singing, story-telling trips between the Florida panhandle and the tumbleweed gardens of eastern New Mexico, both places formative to her life. She learned stories of the Christian faith in Sunday school and through the ways family and mentors lived their lives. Cynthia has a heart for stories, believing that as we tell our stories, share our stories and tell the stories of faith through the centuries, all who hear are transformed.
Cynthia was called into the ministry at age 17, but had no idea that ordained ministry was a possibility for women. She received her undergraduate degree in secondary social studies while working summers as a youth director. Her journey into ordained ministry was circuitous and long, marked with a period of being away from the church and intentional spiritual formation.
In the early 1980's, she felt welcomed into a United Methodist Church and soon rediscovered God's love for her and her longing to serve God. She discovered amazing ways of exploring and learning that revealed God as so much more and certainly beyond description, control or particular faith expression. Part of those discoveries unfolded in the rich environment of Claremont School of Theology where she received her Masters of Divinity and the Hoyt Hickman Award for Outstanding Liturgical Scholarship and Practice.
In 1997, Cynthia became an ordained United Methodist minister (elder) and is now appointed to Piecing Stories, a ministry based in the Desert Southwest Conference. After many years as associate and lead pastor in parish ministry, Cynthia is following God's call on her life through Piecing Stories. This new ministry more fully allows her creative gifts to be used to share the Christian Story and encourage people on their faith journey. Often using tangible theology and experiential learning, she pursues her mission statement of "connecting people to people and people to God, one story at a time."
Cynthia also serves as an on-call hospice and hospital chaplain, allowing her to continue the holy work of pastoral care which (along with worship and children's ministries) was always a place of deep connection in parish ministry.
Cynthia and her husband, Les, live in Tucson, Arizona. Their four grown children and their spouses live on the West Coast and in the Midwest. Granddaughter Amelia lives in the Bay area, granddaughter Sophia lives in Des Moines and goddaughter Willa lives in Tucson. |
|
|
|
