Windermere Union Church is an extravagantly loving, accepting, and thoughtful congregation of the United Church of Christ. We REALLY mean it when we say, "All are welcome and none is excluded, no matter where you are on life's journey."
Help us welcome our new Senior Pastor - Brad Jagger Sunday April 2nd @ 10:00 am, FaceBook Live or in person:
10710 Park Ridge Gotha Rd
Windermere, Florida, 34786
Introduction for Pastor Brad Jagger
After 9 long months of hard work, dedication and perseverance of the Windermere Union Church Pastoral Search Committee, we have crossed the finish line and ready to start our next chapter.
The Pastor, who we feel has the skills, experience and character to lead our Congregation through a challenging and exciting period of growth, both internally and externally; in the Windermere and surrounding communities; will soon stand before us!
Pastor Brad grew up in the tradition of the United Methodist Church in Ohio. He attended Kent State University in Ohio majoring in Philosophy with a Minor in Religious Studies and received his Master of Theology from Emory-Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, GA., a seminary affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
While serving in his first church, he began to realize that the denomination he was born into was no longer where he belonged and that his theological views and calling were more closely aligned with the United Church of Christ. He has been a UCC pastor for 21 years citing UCC’s proud history of “firsts”--the first African American, first female, and openly first openly gay pastors – as a tribute to the denomination. Pastor Brad said in his Profile, “I like to think that the “firsts” are not just a part of our history, but a part of our future.” He is a long-time supporter of the LGBTQ+ community.
With a demonstrated history of growing smaller churches and restoring vitality to the Congregations he has served; Brad Jagger appears to be the right man at the right time, both for WUC and himself. Brad and his wife Kirsten have reached the point in their personal and professional lives in combination with their children’s career paths; that a move to Central Florida turned out to be a match made in Heaven!! (How’s that for a powerful Calling from above)! We learned during the extensive
vetting process for the position, that the Jaggers are self-described “Disney Nerds”!
Pastor Brad’s ability to analyze and build on the existing heart and strengths of his past Congregations, has enabled him to provide a blueprint, in collaboration with their Official Boards and Church Communities; to help identify areas requiring greater self-assessment; and potentially circumvent roadblocks to the Church’s movement forward into the future. In our case, this would include utilizing the valuable data and information gathered and already acted upon, through our Re-creation self- examination and Committee structure.
He has served as Pastor for three churches, currently and for the last 10 years at The Church in Silver Lake in Silver Lake, OH. He will be completing his 9-year tenure as Adjunct Professor of Religious Studies at Kent State University this Spring. In preparation for the opportunity to pastor Windermere Union Church, Pastor Brad has already recorded his final semester’s online classes so that he can fully focus on WUC.
For the majority of his 54 years, Brad has been a student of continuous learning through reading and personal experience and enjoyed advancing his understanding of other religious traditions and faith communities. He likes to learn through travel and feels blessed to have visited the Holy Land twice, the Black Madonna in the Mountain Monastery in Monserrat, Spain, the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, and St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
He views ministry as not only an opportunity to be a servant to his church family, but also to the wider community. He
has been active in his local Rotary Club, where he was Past President, as well as a Paul Harris Fellow (for those of you who are Rotarians) and currently serves as Rotary Chaplain for the Northeast Ohio Rotary District. He recently completed a 7-year term on the Board of Trustees for his local library and has served with the Akron Area Interfaith Council, which awarded him the 2019 Achievement Award. Also in 2019, he received an award for advocating and improving
Student Accessibility Services at Kent State University.
Pastor Brad’s demonstrated creativity and ability to think “outside the box”, when dealing with the significant challenges of leading a vibrant church with a multi-talented Congregation; were important pre-requisites for this position.
Brad’s strong connection and commitment to youth and families became apparent to the Search Committee, while interviewing him. He currently works with a Pre-school community, similar to ours, at his previous church in Ohio, through regular participation in Bible lessons or similar religious based activities at the school, in addition to assisting with fund-raisers (programs we hope to reincorporate into our relationship with our own Pre-school program next door)!
Finally, Pastor Brad’s boundless energy and unabashed enthusiasm for his calling as a Pastor to the UCC, which was on full display for us throughout the entire interview and visitation process recently; should serve him well as he ventures forth with his newest calling from the Lord; guiding our determined and dynamic Congregation through the exciting months and years of growth and change that lay ahead for us all!
Help us welcome our new Senior Pastor - Brad Jagger Sunday April 2nd @ 10:00 am, FaceBook Live or in person:
10710 Park Ridge Gotha Rd
Windermere, Florida, 34786
We hope to see you there!