I would also like to invite all who are interested to read my free substack newsletter, "How About Love?" at patyoungdahl.substack.com
As a Presbyterian Minister of Word and Sacrament, in my various roles as preacher, pastor, professor, and author, I seek to respond to the Spirit's call to grow in lovingkindness toward all.
From 2004-2012, and from 2014-2021, I enjoyed the tremendous blessing of serving as Minister of Word and Sacrament at Downtown Presbyterian Church in Rochester, New York, a dynamic and diverse congregation. An unanticipated gift was to share in a vibrant and creative partnership with Dr. Lee Wright, Director of Music Ministry, who also arrived at Downtown Church in 2004, and whose doctoral research and thesis at the Eastman School of Music focused on the development of the concert spiritual in late 19th century America.
In this loving community of faith and exploration, rich in diversity of race, culture, spiritual perspective, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, abilities, and economic circumstances, we all worked together to build an authentic and enlivening unity. We devoted ourselves to seeking peace in our city and world, fullness of life for everyone, and healing for this beautiful, imperiled earth which is God's gift to us all. During these years, I also had the joy of teaching in the Doctor of Ministry Program at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School.
Upstate New York is familiar and beloved terrain for me. My first call after divinity school was as Associate Pastor at Third Presbyterian Church in Rochester, where in addition to my responsibilities for worship leadership, preaching, teaching, and pastoral care, I collaborated with parish leaders to design and implement a comprehensive program for adult spiritual development.
My next call was as Pastor and Head of Staff of First Presbyterian Church in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Here I worked with members in a process of biblical and theological study, goal-setting, and implementation that resulted in increased membership, growth in monetary giving, and expanding involvement in the congregation's inner-city neighborhood.
Before my return to Rochester to be in ministry at Downtown Presbyterian Church, I completed a doctorate in Rhetoric at the University of Arizona in Tucson. During these years I received a Jacob Javits Fellowship for my research in feminist theologies and won the Johnnie Raye Harper Award for distinguished teaching. I also preached in many congregations throughout the Presbytery de Cristo and was a frequent guest facilitator of the weekly group meeting at Casa Paloma, a transitional program for women in need of permanent housing.
My doctoral thesis, completed in 1996, is titled Subversive Devotions: Toward a Wholehearted Practice of Christian Faith, and is available through the Main Library at the University of Arizona, Tucson. My book, Subversive Devotions: A Journey into Divine Pleasure and Power, was published by BeanPole Books (Tucson) in 2003, and is available through most online and neighborhood bookstores.
Born in Chicago, I played sandlot baseball with the kids in our neighborhood, and during junior high, began attending the Elmhurst Presbyterian Church and Youth Group with friends from school. Later, I graduated summa cum laude from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, with a double major in English and creative writing, and a double minor in psychology and religion. I was blessed to be awarded a three-year North American Ministerial Fellowship for outstanding promise as a minister-theologian and earned my Master of Divinity degree through studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville and McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago.
I am married to Michal McKenzie,
with whom I am amazed to journey
on this beautiful earth,
year by year,
step by step,
breath by breath,
greeting each bird, and tree, each moon and stream,
and whispering our thanks
in the words of Mary Oliver, to the
"dear star, that just happens
to be where you are in the universe
to keep us from ever-darkness,
to ease us with warm touching,
to hold us in the great hands of light–
good morning, good morning, good morning.
Watch, now, how (we) start the day
in happiness, in kindness."
—Mary Oliver, title poem of "Why I Wake Early," 2004