Bowker Biography:
M. Kathleen Chesnut

While Dancing Into Joy is Kathleen Chesnut’s first book, it is not her first venture into print. This was at the College of Mount Saint Vincent in Riverdale, New York, where she edited the college paper. Later in seminary, she won the 1992 Mercersburg Society Prize with her paper that was published in the New Mercersburg Review.  As a volunteer teacher at the Red Cloud Indian School in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, Kathleen coached the drama club that won a district competition. On the Rosebud Reservation, she helped high school students create a literary magazine. When a fellow teacher commented that an English class which Kathleen had taught they year before "didn’t know their grammar, but sure could think", Kathleen felt herself to be successful, believing that students empowered to think for themselves could go forth to learn anything they needed to know.

After leaving the Roman Catholic Church, she joined a local United Methodist Church. Then, in her 30's, heeding the call to ministry, she joined the United Church of Christ, a denomination which encourages its people to think for themselves. Kathleen transferred to Lancaster Theological Seminary to learn more about her new denomination, graduated in 1992, and was ordained in 1993.

The Rev. M. Kathleen Chesnut has pastored churches in Rennsselaer, New York, and in the communities of Pomeroy and Fonda in Iowa. She now lives in North Dakota serving as pastor for two churches - First Congregational Church in Dickinson and First Presbyterian Church in Belfield.

 

 

Email: chesnut@dewspirit.com
Web:  www.dewspirit.com
Address:  DewSpirit Publishing
PO Box 1208
Dickinson, ND 58601
Phone:  (701) 260-3614