Being Healthy through Spiritual Self Care

CareGiverStory.com is proud to interview our very special guest —Mary Newbern-Williams is ordained as a Minister of the Word and Sacrament (also called Teaching Elder) in the Presbyterian Church U.S.A.  Currently she serves as the Presbyter for Congregational Vitality for the Presbytery of Missouri River Valley, which covers the Greater Omaha, Nebraska and Southwest Iowa.  Previously she served as a hospital chaplain with Freeman Hospital in Joplin, MO.

Ms. Newbern-Williams also served as a Chaplain for two senior living facilities in the St. Louis Area, and as Connections Pastor with a congregation. She served for three years on the Committee to Dismantle Racism and Privilege (DRAP), and for an additional one year as the Chair for this Team for the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy.  Prior to service in St. Louis, Mary served the Presbytery of John Calvin as General Presbyter and was responsible for 56 PCUSA congregations throughout Southwest Missouri and Southeast Kansas.

She was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by a PCUSA college in 1999 while serving the PCUSA in Higher Education.  She is an author of religious fiction, has published her first novel, and she has written Christian Education curriculum (“Christ as Model”) for the PCUSA, meditations for “These Days”, (2006 and 2012), a series of eight lectionary resource writings for Bread for the World (Hunger for the Word 2006), and was a contributing author to the Women of Color Study Bible and Aspire: The New Women of Color Study Bible.   While in St. Louis Mary was a contributing author to the Sparkman Publications Church Magazine and other community publications.