NAHANT— The Nahant Village Church has officially welcomed its new pastor, Reverend Emily J. Keller.
Keller’s arrival in Nahant is more than just a new job offer or opportunity — to her, it’s a calling.
“I think that the Spirit, or whatever word you want to call, a higher power, is leading me to serve the people of Nahant,” Keller said.
Her voice, which has a subtle twang, reflects her southern roots. Keller, who is originally from Atlanta, Georgia, attended Salem College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Keller says she always felt compelled to learn more about others and their beliefs and grew up in an interfaith background herself, including Judaism.
“I think it just always fascinated me, the idea of something larger than myself, or a creator out there, perhaps that made the world, or perhaps didn’t, you know? I’m open to listening,” she said. “I’ve always made a point of becoming friends with the imams at mosques in the area or the rabbis at local synagogues and the Catholic priest in the area, so I have a big interfaith background as well. I’m open to getting to know people who believe all different things.”
Keller joined the seminary in her late twenties, but eventually felt like things weren’t “working out” and that she wanted to leave — which is something she says isn’t unheard of in her line of work.
“It’s actually really common with a lot of clergy when you hear their life stories,” Keller said. “They went and left and went and left.”
After marrying her husband, David, and having her three children, Emma, David, and Ross, Keller decided to give the seminary another try, but found it really hard to balance going to school full-time while raising her daughter and two sons, all of whom were under the age of four then.
It wasn’t until she and her family moved to David’s hometown of Duxbury, MA, in 2004, that Keller gave it another try and enrolled in the Andover Newton Theological School. The third time really was the charm, as Keller went on to earn her Master of Divinity degree and was hired by the Pilgrim Church, where she led the family and children’s ministries. After being there for six years, she was then ordained in the United Church of Christ in Dartmouth, where she served for another eight years.
Last April, Keller began to feel that, while she had done “great work” at United Church of Christ, she wanted to go into interim ministry. It was then that a friend encouraged her to consider looking at the Village Church in Nahant. It felt almost like a sign, especially when she found out that, coincidentally, another friend’s father happened to be Reverend Edward Swansberg, who was the minister at the Village Church for 25 years. Then, while out to dinner, when another friend happened to mention that their first boss lived in, of all places, Nahant, Keller nearly dropped her fork when she heard the town’s name come up in conversation yet again.
“I think that there is a strong sense of community here and caring for other[s],” Keller says. “And one of my big things is that we would not leave the gospel here in these pews, but that we would bear love and light out into the world. And it seems like a community that already shines with a lot of love and light.”
In her new role as minister, Keller, who described her leadership style as team-oriented and encouraging feedback, says her immediate duties are to “ask curious questions” and to be an “observer and a listener.” She’d also like to introduce Coffee with the Pastor sessions every Wednesday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., and keep the monthly potluck, as well as lead an adult mission trip in the future. When asked how she wants the community to feel when they attend her service, Keller said that she uses the words joy, compassion, and acceptance.
“I have a goal always in life [and] I use the acronym lag, LAG. My goal is to love people for who they are, not for who we want them to be in life, but for who they are. It’s to always be authentic with people, and I hope the congregation on Sunday morning feels loved. I hope they feel that I am an authentic person. And then the G is to be willing to go with them and walk into the world and serve. That’s my hope for Sunday mornings.”
