Kerkhoff Barbara Kerkhoff is the new pastor at Bringhurst United Methodist Church.

She said she grew up in Otterbein and married her high school sweetheart.

“I followed Bob around the globe as he served 20 years in the U.S. Army,” she said. “We are blessed with four grown children and enjoy our grandchildren. Our home is in West Lafayette and my husband is a financial aid administrator at Purdue University.”

She said as a young adult, while attending Indiana University, she spent summers serving in the inner-city of Indianapolis; working with migrant workers and Headstart on Sand Mountain in Alabama; and learning American-Indian religion from the Hopi tribe in Arizona.

“The past 30 years have been filled with ministry experience in the Catholic Church as director of religious education, youth ministry, outreach ministry, adult formation, family ministry, leadership ministry, bereavement ministry, and as a pastoral associate,” she said.

She and her husband returned to Indiana from Grand Rapids, Mich., in 2004, and she has recently been serving as chaplain and social worker for Jasper County Hospital Hospice team.

“This is my first pastorate and I look forward to learning and growing in faith with the Bringhurst United Methodist Church family,” she said.

Her education includes a Bachelor of Social Work from Virginia State University, a Master of Pastoral Studies and a Master of Divinity from Loyola University Chicago.

“Returning home created an opportunity for me to deeply reflect on my faith journey as I decided to return to my faith roots, The United Methodist Church,” she said. “It is with a joy-filled heart that I continue to respond to God’s call to ministry as pastor of Bringhurst UMC. I trust the Holy Spirit to lead Bringhurst UMC into the future as a single charge church.”

She said she looks forward to participating in the life of the community, and invites people to drop by her office and introduce themselves. Bringhurst UMC office hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.