Rev. Melissa Upchurch
Board Member
Born and raised in Fayetteville, AR. Earned a BA in Journalism from the University of Arkansas.
“First jobs were at newspapers; then, I switched over to technical writing and worked many years as a technical writer, editor, and documentation manager at a company owned by H. Ross Perot called Electronic Data Systems, Corp. (EDS) in Dallas and Plano, TX. If you recall the Cat-Herding Super Bowl commercial from several years ago, that was my employer.
I felt called to seminary, and left EDS after some 14 years to pursue a seminary education at Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Theology. Studied for six years and earned a Master of Divinity (M.Div.); a true oxymoron because who masters divinity? Anyway, I began searching in the Arkansas and Texas regions for a church.
While I was searching, I received an e-mail from the Presbyterian Church (USA) (a.k.a. “the denomination”) that they were looking for pastors to place in “hard-to-place” locations. It was an experimental program in which Marshall Presbyterian Church was participating. I threw my hat into the ring to be considered for the program.
A couple of weeks later I heard from the denomination, accepting my application and asking if I was interested in serving Southern Appalachia, among other places. I responded that I thought it would be fun to live and serve in a new-to-me part of the country. I interviewed at Marshall and felt that I could thrive here, and the next thing I knew, the church asked if I would be their pastor, and the rest is history.
This August, I will have been with the church 10 years. I enjoy Marshall and this area. Since I am at the church, I volunteer with Neighbors in Need on Tuesdays. I see possible opportunity for linkage between CHC and Neighbors in Need because the clients who come to Neighbors in Need cannot afford to buy or maintain decent housing, which points to the greater challenge of lack of affordable housing in general, in Madison County.
I enjoy my pets, reading, and being outside during the warmer months.”
