The Congregational Church of Tryon (UCC) is very pleased to welcome Rev. Meghan Davis Young as its new settled pastor this month.

The Rev. Meghan D. Young has been serving in churches since 2002, when, as a college student, she was asked to start a children’s and youth ministry program at Smithfield United Church of Christ in Pittsburgh, Pa.  Most recently, Rev. Young served as the Acting Associate Pastor at Rocky Hill Congregational Church in Rocky Hill, Conn., and the Transitional Associate Pastor at First Congregational Church of Greenwich in Old Greenwich, Conn.

Ordained in the United Church of Christ, Meghan earned her Master of Divinity at Yale Divinity School.  She also holds a Bachelor of Humanities and Arts in design and professional writing, with a minor in religious studies from Carnegie Mellon University.  As a pastor, Meghan has provided leadership and care in a variety of church settings and communities, many of which were in the midst of or had recently experienced some type of challenge of major transition.  Since 2009, utilizing her specialty in emergency and trauma care, Meghan has also served as a hospital chaplain in a level 1 trauma center.

Meghan deeply believes that all of God’s people should have seats and voices at the church table.  She takes seriously the tenets of the Christian faith stating we are to love our neighbor, welcome the stranger, feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, care for the sick and visit those who are imprisoned.  She believes the church must be a bold and courageous witness to the Gospel out in the world, loving God by loving our neighbors, risking scorn in discipleship as Jesus taught us.  As a pastor, she is most passionate about intergenerational worship, preaching, pastoral care, and utilizing social entrepreneurship within the church as means of social justice. 

Meghan is originally from Connecticut.  When she isn’t working, she enjoys traveling to wherever her family and friends are, hiking with her “church dog” Moxie, improvisational comedy, and almost all things related to the arts. 

Meghan will bring many gifts to the Congregational Church of Tryon.  She is wise beyond her years, a strong preacher, and possesses a compassionate spirit along with a keen sense of humor.  Here are some words from her profile:

“I often see church as Noah’s Ark. In scattered moments in time, God brings us together, the most unlikely combination of creatures, and gives us a momentary vessel to share, to struggle together, to face our frustrations and challenges, to see our differences, to see who we truly are, to speak truth, to offer compassion, to work for justice, and to witness God in our midst.”

The Congregational Church of Tryon (UCC) has played an active role in the Tryon area since 1891 with spiritual growth, outreach, justice, fellowship, and diversity. It is a church that believes life is worth living, people are worth loving, and God is worth trusting.  Thus it continues to adhere to its credo that ‘No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here’.  See ucctryon.org, and Facebook as “The Congregational Church, Tryon NC (United Church of Christ)”.

The church invites all in the community to come to worship some Sunday and meet Rev. Meghan Young.

– article submitted by Ellen Harvey Zipf