Naomi Garber Bio
Who am I?
I am very thankful for the gift of serving as an Intentional Interim Pastor. Together with a congregation we discover more about our God, our faith, our church, and each other. Some things about me as an introduction.
- I was conceived a Lutheran….I had no choice but be a Lutheran.
- My father is a Lutheran pastor, continues to be actively serving rural churches at the age of 85.
- I grew up in west-central Minnesota.
- I am a recovering church organist (remember when you are in recovery you are making a commitment to never do it again!).
- My husband, Greg, and I have been married since 1982.
- I was ordained in 2000 following a career in strategic planning in healthcare.
- I prefer to be called either Pastor Naomi or Naomi.
- I have served God’s people in Menomonee Falls, Eastern North Dakota, and Janesville in open-ended, settled calls.
- I am a full time interim Pastor for the synod.
- I have served God’s people as Interim Pastor in Devils Lake, North Dakota and in Wisconsin in Richland Center, Fitchburg, Platteville, and Oregon.
- We have one daughter who lives in Scotland with our four grandchildren (two girls and two boys). And yes, Scotland is a beautiful place primarily because of the wee ones who live there!
- I love to garden and be outside.
- I have a needle in my hands every day—knitting needle, stitching needle, quilting needle.
- I love to read and read a wide variety of genres.
- I love to cook and bake.
- My favorite color is green…followed closely by yellow and coral/orange.
- I try my very best to be physically fit. So, I walk most days and have a personal trainer who attempts to keep me on the right path.
- LuLu is our beloved Bassett Hound…and yes, she is a character and full of life!
- God’s greatest gift to me is the gift of ministry! I cannot imagine doing anything else.
Faith basics
- Our God is with us always, sometimes silent but always present.
- The Holy Spirit blesses us with gifts, passions, and abilities, we may not need all of these all the time in every situation.
- Jesus came to teach us how to live and love with his new commandment “to love one another.”
- We are simultaneously saints and sinners.
- The world is changed with each encounter we have with God’s people and God’s creation.
- We become more of who God created us to be when we embrace the entirety of God’s amazing and diverse world.
- We are constantly being shaped and re-shaped to become more of who God created us to be.
- We need each other.
- God fills our hearts and lives with joy.
- I want to introduce people to the God I know in the Creator, the Savior, the Sustainer.