First Christian Church Staff
Pastoral & Music Staff
(click on the name to email)
(click on the name to email)
Rev. Monica L. Banks, pastor.
BLD, College of Saint Mary (2002)
M.Div., Wake Forest University School of Divinity (2017)
Monica L. Banks was raised by baptist grandparents from the age of ten. She was baptized at the age of 12 and grew up attending youth group at First Baptist Church in Fremont, Nebraska. Ms. Banks was also active in church camp and statewide youth events.
Ms. Banks is a first generation college graduate. She attended business school and pursued a B.S. in Business Leadership and Management. She graduated from College of Saint Mary in Omaha, Nebraska in 2002. Ms. Banks spent much of her early career in the hospitality industry, was a corporate trainer and general manager at chef-owned and farm to table restaurants. She is passionate about food, service, and radical hospitality.
In 2012, Rev. Banks felt a call to explore a call to ministry. She began her theological education at Wake Forest School of Divinity. She studied food, health, and ecological well-being under Fred Bahnson. Rev. Banks was ordained and graduated Wake Forest May 2017 with her Master of Divinity and Concentration in Food, Health and Ecological Wellness. Rev. Banks was one of 8 awarded the 2017 Re:Generate Fellowships, which provided an opportunity for emerging leaders to consider how they might further engage pressing ecological issues, connect with peers, and better tell the story of why this work matters for the world.
During her second year of seminary, Rev. Banks attended the Wild Goose Festival[1] and was selected to be part of Lead Now. Drawing on the cutting-edge leadership of the Wild Goose Festival, LEAD NOW was a life-changing opportunity that put seminarians and first-call ministers in up-close and personal practice settings with cutting-edge faith transformation authors and activists. Beginning the festival with the LEAD NOW cohort provides an opportunity to share stories and connect with the narratives of other faith leaders. This was Monica’s first…but not last time at “Goose.” She went on to be a Festival Chaplain and eventually a Co-Creator sharing the story of faith based nonprofit work and Communion as Dessert.
Reverend Banks is the founder of New Communion[2], an interfaith nonprofit focused on Asset Based Community Development and food justice. She is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). She also has served as Chaplain Resident at Moses Cone hospital in Greensboro, NC and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center with focus on pediatric chaplaincy.
Rev. Banks has served as Senior Pastor of New Disciples Christian Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (Upper Midwest Region of the Christian Church) and of Hyattstown Christian Church in Clarksburg, Maryland (Capital Region of the Christian Church).She is active in the Ministerial Association of the Capital Region and has shepherded
Hyattstown Christian Church (most recently) in becoming officially Open and Affirming as of 2020. She enjoys music, reading, activism, hanging out with her dog JoJo, and hiking on the Appalachian trail in her free time.
“I was a pebble. I was a leaf. I was the jagged branch of a tree. I was nothing to them and they were everything to me.” Cheryl Strayed Wild: From Lost To Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
[1] https://wildgoosefestival.org/?v=2e5df5aa3470.
[2] http://www.newcommunion.org/.
BLD, College of Saint Mary (2002)
M.Div., Wake Forest University School of Divinity (2017)
Monica L. Banks was raised by baptist grandparents from the age of ten. She was baptized at the age of 12 and grew up attending youth group at First Baptist Church in Fremont, Nebraska. Ms. Banks was also active in church camp and statewide youth events.
Ms. Banks is a first generation college graduate. She attended business school and pursued a B.S. in Business Leadership and Management. She graduated from College of Saint Mary in Omaha, Nebraska in 2002. Ms. Banks spent much of her early career in the hospitality industry, was a corporate trainer and general manager at chef-owned and farm to table restaurants. She is passionate about food, service, and radical hospitality.
In 2012, Rev. Banks felt a call to explore a call to ministry. She began her theological education at Wake Forest School of Divinity. She studied food, health, and ecological well-being under Fred Bahnson. Rev. Banks was ordained and graduated Wake Forest May 2017 with her Master of Divinity and Concentration in Food, Health and Ecological Wellness. Rev. Banks was one of 8 awarded the 2017 Re:Generate Fellowships, which provided an opportunity for emerging leaders to consider how they might further engage pressing ecological issues, connect with peers, and better tell the story of why this work matters for the world.
During her second year of seminary, Rev. Banks attended the Wild Goose Festival[1] and was selected to be part of Lead Now. Drawing on the cutting-edge leadership of the Wild Goose Festival, LEAD NOW was a life-changing opportunity that put seminarians and first-call ministers in up-close and personal practice settings with cutting-edge faith transformation authors and activists. Beginning the festival with the LEAD NOW cohort provides an opportunity to share stories and connect with the narratives of other faith leaders. This was Monica’s first…but not last time at “Goose.” She went on to be a Festival Chaplain and eventually a Co-Creator sharing the story of faith based nonprofit work and Communion as Dessert.
Reverend Banks is the founder of New Communion[2], an interfaith nonprofit focused on Asset Based Community Development and food justice. She is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). She also has served as Chaplain Resident at Moses Cone hospital in Greensboro, NC and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center with focus on pediatric chaplaincy.
Rev. Banks has served as Senior Pastor of New Disciples Christian Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (Upper Midwest Region of the Christian Church) and of Hyattstown Christian Church in Clarksburg, Maryland (Capital Region of the Christian Church).She is active in the Ministerial Association of the Capital Region and has shepherded
Hyattstown Christian Church (most recently) in becoming officially Open and Affirming as of 2020. She enjoys music, reading, activism, hanging out with her dog JoJo, and hiking on the Appalachian trail in her free time.
“I was a pebble. I was a leaf. I was the jagged branch of a tree. I was nothing to them and they were everything to me.” Cheryl Strayed Wild: From Lost To Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
[1] https://wildgoosefestival.org/?v=2e5df5aa3470.
[2] http://www.newcommunion.org/.
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Kim Schultz, Music Director
Kim Schultz is a seasoned conductor and music educator with a passion for fostering community through choral music. Kim currently serves as the Music Director at First Christian Church, and also as a Founding Director for Unity Project. Dedicated to creating opportunities for intergenerational musical collaboration, Kim founded X-VOX: Generations Joined in Song. Serving as its Artistic Director for 8 years, she conducted a festival that brought singers of all ages together to perform major works with orchestras each spring, fostering a sense of unity and artistic excellence within the community. She earned her Masters of Music degree in Choral Conducting from the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver, where she also served as a graduate teaching assistant for choirs. Prior to her graduate studies, Kim obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Music and History from Duke University in Durham, NC. Kim currently sits on the board for the Cottonwood Center for the Arts and volunteers regularly for Project Angel Heart. A lifelong learner and avid traveler, Kim's interests extend beyond music. She has dedicated over 25 years to studying mindfulness, cultural identities, and how mental and physical health play a part in our ability to live into our community. This continues to enrich her understanding of the world and inform her approach to music-making and community building. |
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Support Staff
(click on the name to email)
(click on the name to email)
Barbara Ireland - Accountant
Patty Markwell - Office Manager
Jeff Bilyeu - Facilities Manager
Nursery - nursery attendants and volunteers
Patty Markwell - Office Manager
Jeff Bilyeu - Facilities Manager
Nursery - nursery attendants and volunteers
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First Christian Church
