Our Team

PASTOR KATHLEEN KERIN

Grace and Peace Dear Ones!  I am glad to serve the People of God here in the community of Fox Chase and at St. Timothy’s Lutheran Church.  When I was younger, a friend invited me to a youth event in her church, and the sense of authentic welcome I found there nurtured my sense of belonging.  That was the ELCA Lutheran Church in my hometown, and their community became the foundation for my growing faith.  I have continued to remain connected to this treasured community for nearly 50 years.  Their love is what ultimately helped me to follow Gods call into Ordained Ministry which brought me to Philadelphia.

Prior to following my call to serve as a Pastor, I began my professional career as an Underwriter for State Farm Insurance Companies.  I then worked as an assistant for a community development program while I earned my teaching certification, spending the next 25 years in Early Childhood and Elementary classrooms. 

I am a graduate of both Drew Theological School in Madison, NJ, earning my Master of Divinity degree, and the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia (now named United Lutheran Seminary), earning a Certificate in Theology.  I spent several years as the Director of Youth Programs and teaching in the preschool classroom prior to receiving the Call to the first congregation in my current two-parish Call, and then on to coming to St. Tim’s.  I hold a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business and Sociology and a Teaching Certificate, as well as a First-Degree Black Belt in the Korean-based martial art of Tae Kwon Do. 

I am married to an Information Technology professional and we have three pets and an older home we are often working on.  I enjoy working outside in the garden, maintaining a space of welcome and peace in a lovely yard I am very blessed to have, noticing the beauty of creation all around me, reading for fun when I can, and the occasional cuddle of my cat and our two small poodles. 

The work of the Church has many threads, and those threads make up the new fabric of faith in today’s world; a fabric that must be bold and strong to stand up to the sometimes hard conversations, while also serving the needs and celebrating the miracles in a challenging and hurting world.  I am thankful to be part of the many weavers looking carefully at the patterns of love God is designing in us.

Peace,

Pastor Kathleen