Belonging, Becoming, Beloved: Stories of Faith and Abundance

This week we had a great conversation with church planter Rev. Dr. Rafael Viana. We talked about the struggles of immigrant churches, Brazilian BBQ, resilience, and being an immigrant in the United States today. 

This week Frances Lin and Sean Chow had a conversation with Rev. Laura Terasaki, the Executive Presbytery of Northwest Coast Presbytery. We talked about being a young mid-council leader, small churches in Alaska, and jubilee within her presbytery

This last week we had a conversation with Rev. Dr. Deborah Boucher-Payne and Rev. Dr. Juan Sarmiento as they talked about the Task Force for Theology and Practice of Ordination. They have several recommendations coming to the General Assembly.

A fews ago with had a great conversation with Rev. Brian Symonds. We talked about being "with" the community, McCormick and Schmidts during seminary, and the struggles of being a pastor. We invite you to join us as we continue having conversations with some great people.

A few weeks ago we had a great conversation with Rev. Dr. Lindsay Armstrong. Throughout our conversation we talked about Presbytery of Greater Atlanta's history in starting churches, developing resources for immigrant leaders and communities, and even where to get the best tacos in Atlanta.

A few weeks ago we had a great conversation with the Honorably Retired Rev. Dr. Bruce Humphrey. We talked about his service to the church from rural church in Alaska to a large church in San Diego. We invite you to join us for the conversation.

A few weeks ago Frances Lin and Sean Chow had a conversation with Rev. Dr. Felipe Martinez. Our conversation led us to talking about how to listen to the community, medical debt, refugee housing, and more.

Leanna K. Fuller serves as the Joan Marshall Associate Professor of Pastoral Care at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, where she has taught since 2013. She holds a Ph.D. in Religion, Psychology, & Culture from Vanderbilt University, where her dissertation research focused on congregational conflict. Dr. Fuller is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and has professional experience in both chaplaincy and parish ministry.

Rev. Sungwoo Sam Kim serves as the Transitional Associate Presbyter for the Presbytery of San Francisco. He brings broad experience in immigrant ministry, new worshiping communities, leadership development, and cross-cultural engagement within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Prior to his current role, he served as leader of Atlanta Oikos Church and as Translational Ministry Coordinator at Columbia Theological Seminary, helping strengthen partnerships with immigrant worshiping communities across the denomination. Sam Kim is known for his work in cultivating intercultural ministry and supporting innovative expressions of church rooted in hospitality, belonging, and community formation. His leadership has emphasized the importance of immigrant voices within the life of the church and the ways diverse cultural perspectives enrich the wider body of Christ

Rev. Dr. Virginia “Gini” Norris-Lane became the executive director of UKirk in July, 2019, after having previously served as campus minister at Schreiner University in Kerrville, TX from 2005-2019. She holds degrees from Temple Junior College (AA), Baylor University (BS in Education), Austin Theological Seminary (MDiv), and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (Doctor of Ministry). She has been ordained in the PC(USA) since 1999. In addition to coordinating a grant for the PC(USA) from the Lilly Endowment prior to her career in campus ministry, she served congregations in San Antonio, TX, and Conyers, GA. From January, 2021 to August, 2023, she also served as the part-time stated supply pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Uvalde, Texas. Gini, as she likes to be called, has written curriculum for the PC(USA) on the book of Revelation, has published articles for the Columbia Theological Seminary journal and Branching Out, the Presbyterian College Chaplains Association publication, and The Presbyterian Outlook. She has led retreats at Mo Ranch and at various congregations across Texas, as well as served on local and national boards for non-profits. Active also in interfaith work, she and her colleague and friend Rabbi Allison Bergman Vann have led workshops on interfaith engagement in San Antonio, Texas and Cleveland, Ohio. She and her husband, Wes Lane, have two sons, Austin and Max, and a daughter, Chrissy Stevens. They live in Kerrville, Texas.

Sam Codington joined the McGregor family as pastor in February of 2025. He grew up as a pastor’s kid in a Presbyterian church in the Upstate of South Carolina. After college, he moved to California and received a Master of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry from San Francisco Theological Seminary. While he was a pastor in San Diego, he was the moderator of San Diego Presbytery (2023), and he served as a commissioner to the 225th and 226th General Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church (USA).   He writes at the intersections of liberation theology, postcolonial studies, ecology, and poetry. He has written two books, Listening as Hosts: Liturgically Facing Colonization and White Supremacy (2024) and Searching for Speech: Preaching in the Ruins of the Anthropocene (2026). When he’s not doing churchy things or reading a good book, he enjoys running and walking at the Harbison State Forest and the Congaree National Park. He is married to Esther, and they have a son, Ezra, and a Golden Retriever, Marley