Greetings in Christ!
Hi, this is Pastor Julie, the incoming pastor for Hillsdale UMC. I pray that you and your families are doing well and staying healthy during this extended situation we find ourselves in. First and foremost I want to express my deepest gratitude and excitement for the opportunity to join the Hillsdale Family as your pastor.
I wanted to share a little about myself before I start my ministry at Hillsdale. I was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea and grew up in a Christian family with my mother, who is a pastor, my father and my two siblings; an older sister and a younger brother. Ever since I was little I enjoyed going to church, singing in the choir and being connected with God. It was a surprise to me when God called me into ministry because I never thought about being a pastor and I thought that the image of a pastor didn’t match with my character. But after praying on the matter, I finally accepted God’s call and I felt joy that I never experienced before. That joy confirmed my calling. Since then, God has equipped me little by little to be a vessel for the Kingdom of God.
In 2009, I came to the United States to study at Drew Theological School. I completed my Master of Divinity in 2012. After Drew, I wanted to earn a doctoral degree in Liturgical studies, so I went to Yale Divinity School. While studying at Yale, I realized that my call was not to school but to parish; to serve God’s people. After completing my Mater of Arts degree in 2015, I came back to New Jersey where my husband was and started my ministry in the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference. This year I was approved by the Board of Ordained Ministry as a Provisional Elder. I currently live in Palisades Park with my husband Michael and my 3-year-old Son Nathaniel. We are also expecting a second baby in August.
Michael is a pediatric otolaryngologist at Hackensack University Medical Center. Nathan loves ocean animals and likes to help his mama. I love to bake whenever I have a free time. Hopefully you guys like French macaroons.
I would describe myself as caring and energetic. My nickname is “roadrunner” because I always seem to be running around. If you see me running around the church building, please feel free to stop me to say hello. I would like to get to know every one of you.
This season of transition is a challenge for all of us. In addition, we are living through a COVID-19 pandemic and everything feels uncertain. Many of you might wonder when we should reopen our church doors. The reopening plan team has been working this out. Based on scientific data and the results of the congregational survey we have decided to postpone reopening our church doors until the end of the August. We are doing this because we care about you and your safety. Meanwhile, we will continue to provide virtual worship services and virtual small group meetings. I know this news might disappoint some of you. I am sad that we have to start off like this. But instead of feeling down, I’d love to ask you to join me in prayers for our church, our nation and the whole world in this time of uncertainty because our God, Jesus Christ never leaves us. He is always with us and cares for us always; “Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7. Church, lean on Him and keep your faith in Him. Let’s be connected to one another wherever we are because together we are the church. I promise that I will keep you posted about our reopening plan and will try my best to work with the reopening team to make our sanctuary a safe place to worship and to have fellowship together. Until we meet again in person, may God’s peace be with you all.
In Christ,
Julie Lee