Emma is a part of the worship planning team for Cultivate 2020.

Emma (she/her/hers) identifies as a Christ-follower and a lesbian. While growing up in Northern Ireland, Emma experienced a call to ministry. After completing her undergraduate degree at University of St. Andrews, Scotland, Emma relocated to the US where she earned her MAR and Certificate in Youth Ministry from Memphis Theological Seminary and CYMT.

Over the past 10 years, Emma has served as a youth minister in a variety of congregational contexts, first in Middle Tennessee and most recently in Southwest Indiana. She lives on an acre within the bounds of the Hoosier National Forest with her wife, Sarah, and their three fur babies. Together they founded Still Loved (stillloved.org) in 2016. A network of humans who are hungry for a better future for LGBTQ+ people who are still hanging on to faith in something bigger than themselves. A queer person holding onto faith, often in the face of hurt, trauma and rejection at the hands (and more frequently voices) of those who call themselves Christians, is nothing short of miraculous. Emma firmly believes that God’s Spirit is moving and at work doing a new thing amongst the LGBTQ+ Christian community.

Emma finds herself firmly rooted in the United Methodist Church. Since coming out, this rootedness has proven problematic and painful. Although her call to vocational ministry was never in question. Based on her own experience, as well as her witness to the experience of other LGBTQ+ Christians, she feels the need to become a more vocal advocate for inclusion within our faith communities. This journey has led her to Louisville Seminary where she is currently studying for her Master of Divinity and learning to step into a more boldly prophetic role in ministry.