Jill Patterson Tolbert Joins the OPC Team
On July 6, Jill Patterson Tolbert joins us as the Minister for Congregational Life at OPC!
Jill graduated from Mercer University in 1988 with a BA in Psychology and Human Development and Services. After graduation, she obtained her state teaching certificate and worked at her first vocational calling, teaching middle school math, for five years. She married her husband Joel in 1990, and their first son Adam was born in 1994, which led to her second calling, that of being a stay-at-home mom. Son Daniel was born in 1996, followed closely by Michael in 1998. She maintains that her time at home with the boys was her hardest, yet most rewarding, job to date! During her time at home, she was active in the life and worship of Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Montgomery, AL, where she served as an elder, and of Fourth Presbyterian Church in Greenville, SC, where she served as a deacon, as well as a member of the PW Coordinating Council.
In 2002, their family moved from Greenville, SC, to Decatur so that her husband Joel could pursue his calling into the ministry through studying at Columbia Theological Seminary. Once their family was settled in Decatur, Jill responded to God’s call to ordained ministry, and began her seminary studies in the summer of 2003. She graduated in 2007, and now serves as the Presbyterian Campus Minister at Emory University. Additionally, she is a contract writer with the denomination for their adult study curriculum, The Present Word, and has also written for At This Point, an online journal published by Columbia Theological Seminary for the purpose of offering thoughtful and provocative resources to stimulate growth in Christ.
In her spare time, Jill enjoys creating art at her potters wheel in her in-home studio, as well as reading and spending time with friends over a good cup of coffee or a glass of wine. Her husband Joel serves as pastor of Rehoboth
Presbyterian Church in Decatur.
visit Jill’s blog at hospitalityhouse.blogspot.com