Reverend Debby Neal
My call to this church began on Jan. 1, 2012. It is a call that allows me to incorporate my past experiences as a teacher as well as a chaplain. I graduated from Western Kentucky University in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science Degree for Elementary Education for grades 1-8, and a kindergarten certification. I completed a fifth year program in 1980 and gained an LBD certification for grades k-12.
While my call to ministry surfaced early in my life, I decided to pursue that call by becoming a lay licensed minister, doing supply preaching, and serving as a Children’s minister until I retired from teaching. I served as a chaplain for about 18 months and then I was accepted to seminary. In 2010 I graduated from Vanderbilt Divinity School and was ordained to the ministry at FCC Bowling Green.
I think that I feel God most closely when I am caught off guard, for when I am not expecting the Holy, it is there. For example when I hear a child’s prayer, or take the hand of someone who is sick, or when I hear a sermon and it turns and twists as a journey, I find myself on that road. When I am reading or studying or challenged to rethink my position, in that wrestling, like Jacob I sense God.
Being able to serve, to worship, and to live here in Bowling Green is a gift to me. It is the place where I was born, the place where I started my journey. I enjoy playing with my dog-Gizmo-a Shorkie who is quite spirited. My brother also lives with me. I have one son who is married and I have 1 grandson.
I serve as associate minister for Children and Christian Education.
