Job 11:18 says “You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety.”
My brothers and sisters, I know I’m stating the obvious here, but sometimes change is scary. The hardest part, I think, is the anticipation of the unknown. We, Epworth, seem to be in a perpetual state of Anticipation of the Unknown, am I right? The beauty in all of it is that this family that God has created here is so full of love that each new thing we encounter gives us the opportunity to spread this love like fire and we thrive in that! Even as we send Pastor Jason and Tammy forth filled with our love and blessings onto the next part of their journey, we have the opportunity to share our love with Pastor Dawn and her family and to invite them into our perpetual state of Anticipation of the Unknown.
In order to make this new thing less scary, I’ve asked Pastor Dawn to send a little note about herself so that we can get to know her a little better. Pastor Dawn has responded with great joy!
-Ashlee
A Note from Pastor Dawn...
Rev Dawn Blundell was born and raised in Reno, Nevada. She is one of 8 brothers and sisters, and feels incredibly blessed to be surrounded here in Northern Nevada by parents and grandparents, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews and cousins. She has three grown children of her own — Michael, Anna, and Lexi — of whom she is terribly proud. As a child she grew up spending a lot of time in Fallon with her great grandmother Clara Whaley, who raised her dad and his brothers; last year, she and Dennis were married, bought a home together in Fernley, and are remodeling the little house on Richards street. Dennis has lived and worked in Fallon for over 20 years, working as an airframe mechanic at the base and raising his children here. His daughter Emma-Leigh is a sophomore at Montana State, and his son Brady is a junior at Churchill High School.
Pastor Dawn has been working in church leadership for over 20 years. Most recently, she has been serving as senior pastor of South Reno UMC since 2010. Before that, she spent several years serving as senior pastor in the tiny but beautiful town of Portola CA. She found her faith deepened and her life changed as a teenager through Chrysalis, and then through the Walk to Emmaus, and has served as Community Spiritual Director of the Walk to Emmaus and Chrysalis for the past 10 years. She is a history fanatic, and plans to restore old homes and historic buildings when she retires and wins the lottery. She loves vegetable gardening, but isn’t very good at it. Yet. She loves to worship, sing, teach, dive deeply into the Bible and talk together about the mysteries and miracles to be found there. She is amazed by the beauty of creation, and finds God in the sound of music, the taste of good food, the amazing variety of people, the truth in storytelling, and the power of human connection. She believes passionately in the power of God through Jesus Christ to change a person for the better, and to create miracles of healing and hope in the world.
Pastor Dawn feels deeply blessed and honored to be appointed to serve Epworth UMC. She is looking forward to meeting you, hearing your stories, and learning and growing in faith together. See you in July!
