Beacon Welcomes Our Next Pastor!

An Exciting Update from Beacon's Session and Pastoral Transition Team:

As we shared in worship on Sunday, Beacon has extended a call to its next Pastor, the Reverend Laura Colee, who has enthusiastically accepted. We are delighted to welcome her starting this week. A brief introduction is below and Beacon's Session invites you to join us on Sunday, May 15, after worship for a meet and greet with light refreshments.

With gratitude,

The Beacon Session

(Megan Hourican, Hannah Johnson, Cathy Ryley Hornung, Khalil Martin, Daniel Moorhead, and Megan D. Acedo [Clerk of Session])

Rev. Laura Colee (she/her) is an ordained PCUSA Pastor who has lived in the Fishtown/Kensington/Port Richmond neighborhoods of Philadelphia for the past decade. Last year, Laura served as Beacon's part-time Transitional Pastor in order to support the congregation as it discerned who God was calling it to be next. Little did she know at the time, Laura would do some discernment of her own only to discover that she felt at home at Beacon and wanted to walk alongside this magical church community as its Pastor for many years to come. Laura grew up in the Midwestern town of Normal, Illinois - yes, that is somehow a real place. She competed her undergraduate work at Northwestern University in 2009 and received her Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in 2012. Prior to her time at Beacon, Laura served as the Pastor of Broad Street Ministry in Center City, Philadelphia and the Interim Pastor and Director of Christian Education at First Presbyterian Church of Haddonfield in Haddonfield, New Jersey. Concurrently with her new position at Beacon, Laura will begin remotely pursuing her Doctor of Ministry degree at Duke University's Divinity School in the fall of 2022. As a life-long learner, Laura feels most like herself when she is exploring new places, ideas, hobbies, and art. She is passionate about all things Biblical translation, social justice, and community building. Laura and her spouse Eric live with their beloved dog Frankie and are expecting their first child at the end of June 2022. Pastor Laura can be reached at laura@thewordatbeacon.org.