:: leadership ::
Rev. Suzanne Gorhau
Pastor
Email:  frugalwoman@msn.com

Describe your call to ministry:  I was about 14 years old and I had just gone to church camp for the first time. I was asked to join the Worship and Spiritual Life committee at my church. We started a "liturgist" program (lay people reading scripture in worship). I was the first liturgist, and after I sat down, the thought entered my mind that I could be a minister. It was a strange idea because I thought ministers had to be spiritual, and I didn't think I was very spiritual. From that time on I knew I wanted to go to seminary, but I didn't know if I wanted to be a pastor in a local church or a seminary professor. During seminary I realized that I was called to be "in the trenches" with people in the local church. I was ordained in 1996, and have served churches in Kansas, Illinois, Nebraska, and Iowa.

What is your favorite part of ministry? There are many:  creating worship experiences that help people hear what God is saying through both the ancient texts and modern culture; sharing the story of working with people in Africa to provide clean drinking water to rural villages; helping people go deeper in their relationship with God; and helping people discern what ministry God is calling them to.

Why did you come to Centerville First Presbyterian Church? I love the mission statement, "We seek to inspire people to explore, question, and discover faith in God through our Lord Jesus Christ." I want to be part of a church that provides a safe space for exploring their relationship with God, and realizes we don't always have all the answers. I think church needs to be a place where we live out Rainer Maria Rilke's advice to the young poet:  Live the questions. This group of people longs to reach out and welcome people, and to share what God is doing in their lives. They have a heart for mission. They're willing to risk trying new things. And they didn't run screaming the other way when I said I wanted to do creative things in worship.

What is the heart of your ministry? To help people know to the depths of their being that God loves them.

Describe your family:  I am married to Frank, who is retired Air Force and works as a civilian at the Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska. (Since Omaha is 3 1/2 hours from Centerville, we see each other on the weekends. Sounds strange, but it works remarkably well.) He rides a Harley Davidson motorcycle and enjoys restoring old Volkswagens. My mother, brother and his family, and uncle and aunt also live in Omaha, so I enjoy spending time with them when I'm back in town. I live with Foster, a very playful black cat who has FIV (feline HIV). His name is "Foster" because I offered to be a foster mother for a cat who needed a temporary home. "Temporary" didn't last long. And Owen has joined us, another FIV cat who needed a home. At least Foster and Owen are no longer hissing at each other. Much.

Favorite Bible verses: 
"Be still, and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

"As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God." Psalm 42:1

"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-29

Favorite sermon podcast (other than your own):  Adam Hamilton from the Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas.

Favorite movie of all time:  The Empire Strikes Back.

Favorite books of all time:  Pride and Prejudice and Anne of Green Gables.

Places you'd like to visit someday:  Iona in Scotland, Australia, and more of the national and state parks in the United States. And I need to get back to Malawi, Africa.

Strange fact about yourself:  I took a break from being a pastor and worked at Starbucks for 2 1/2 years.

Favorite coffee drink:  Grande non-fat latte in my own cup, with a half inch of creamy, rich foam on top.