We Welcome Rev. Louise Ott
On the journey of life Louise clings to a motto she learned many years ago:
The wonder of God's grace is that we are led
where we did not plan to go!
“As your pastor I see myself as a partner in creating an environment – at times challenging, inspirational, creative, compassionate and open-minded - for spiritual growth and engagement of the Holy Spirit within our greater communities.
“The gift of the United Church of Christ is our insistence that none of us, as an individual or a denomination, has a corner on God. We have firm and forming theological foundations in orthodox Christianity which remain open to the leading of God’s Spirit...”
Background
Rev. Ott doesn’t remember a time before she knew God as her constant companion. A Bay City native, she was raised in the Lutheran (Wisconsin Synod) tradition and trained in parochial schools through her sophomore year in college. However, when Louise heard the call to ministry, she found that her parents’ faith tradition had a “hearing problem” and would not ordain a woman.
After receiving her M.Div at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston (Illinois), she was ordained in the United Methodist Church. Over the next 20-some years, she led congregations in Nome Community (Alaska), Peck, Buel, and Melvin (in Michigan’s “thumb” region) Ypsilanti, and Novi. Most recently, she served as Superintendent of the UMC’s Saginaw Bay District.
Rev. Ott consciously and deliberately embraced the “God is Still Speaking,” and the “Open and Affirming” ideals in changing her denominational affiliation from the United Methodist Church to the United Church of Christ, the kind of transition many of CCB and UCC members have undertaken.
When not attending church meetings, making home visits, preparing services, or lost in administrative details, Louise enjoys science-fiction novels, movies with great characters, and (direct quote here) “doing laundry.” Louise, the child, likes to fish, kayak, golf, bicycle, and cross-country ski. She plays the piano only for her own enjoyment and the guitar to keep Winslow, the housecat, crying for relief. Louise comes to us with Elaine, the love of her life.
