Laurie Sponaugle

Pastor

On November 1, 2021, Pastor Laurie began her ministry with Emmanuel Presbyterian Church. She felt called to the church because of its inclusive vision, heart for community and passion for mission. At the heart of her vision for ministry is the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) with its call and vision to show love to the neighbor. Pastor Laurie spent time in her doctoral studies exploring the parable, the ministry of Mister Rogers and his vision of neighboring, constructing ways for the church to slow down in order to see the neighbor who is before us. At the core of her theology is an understanding of the Church as the Body of Christ, connected to God and one another. From the beginning, Pastor Laurie has been interested in creative worship, writing liturgy and working to deepen connections between church members and the community. In recent years, the vision of connecting has expanded to include connecting with the help of social media.

Pastor Laurie received her Doctor of Ministry degree from McCormick Theological Seminary and her Master of Divinity degree from San Francisco Theological Seminary. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New Hampshire where she majored in English and during her studies she completed the Walt Disney World College Program. Pastor Laurie also completed one unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at the Medical Center of Delaware and spent a year as an intern in a church in Bremerton, Washington and a summer as an intern in Richardson, Texas.

Prior to her arrival in West Linn, Pastor Laurie served four congregations in Zanesville, Ohio; Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania; Pittstown, New Jersey; and Lowville, New York. In 2022 she will celebrate twenty-five years of ordained ministry.

Pastor Laurie and her husband Leonard, (who is serving as the Interim Pastor of Reedville Presbyterian Church in Aloha) have three children, Andrew, Bianca and Rebekah; and two grandchildren, Aiden and Riley. In her spare time Pastor Laurie enjoys traveling to new places, hiking, watching movies, reading and dabbling in poetry.