[She's in the middle, Diane's on the right]

 
Who is this woman in the robe?

Susan Leo was born in Dallas, Texas and raised in Wooster, Ohio by her mother, a single working parent, who was a Presbyterian deacon and elder, and the 1st vice president of the Wooster chapter of the NAACP. The third of four children, Susan was an unabashed tomboy: playing baseball, riding her bike alone into the country to go fishing, and conducting messy experiments with her chemistry set.

Susan entered the College of Wooster at 16, studied literature and history, and graduated in 1972 with a BA in geology. She was a student leader, active in the peace movement and anti-racism work as well as serving in student government.

After college, Susan moved to Portland and worked in myriad jobs: busboy, bread and bun bagger, dishwasher, and telephone installer/repair'man'. After serving as the Executive Director of the Washington Area Women's Center in Washington, D.C. from 1974-76, she moved back to Portland, studied pre-hospital care at OHSU, and worked as a paramedic for eight years. After that she enjoyed a couple of years being a handywoman - repairing appliances, building fences, and installing ceiling fans & garbage disposals.

In February 1988 Susan joined the first Ben Linder Construction Brigade and went to Nicaragua. Amid the sorrow of a people at war - a people ravaged by loss but filled with faith in a Christ that cared deeply about them - she felt the shove of the Holy Spirit. Susan returned to the U.S., and a year later she entered seminary seeking answers and exploring a call to ministry.

Susan joined the Presbyterian Church (USA) and entered San Francisco Theological Seminary in the fall of 1989. While in seminary she served on the SFTS Education Commission and was elected a General Assembly Seminary Advisor Delegate. 1993 she was awarded a prestigious Urban Ministry Fellowship of the Fund for Theological Education, and interned for a year at 1st Congregational United Church of Christ in San Francisco.

In 1993 the Presbytery of the Cascades took Susan under care as a Candidate for the Ministry of the Word and Sacrament. She graduated seminary in 1994 and passed all the exams and other requirements for ordination. From 1994-1999 Susan worked for the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, defended her candidacy status, and waited for clarity of call and purpose.

In 1998 her call arrived in the founding of Bridgeport Community Church. From its inception the church has been guided by the power of the Holy Spirit and the vision of Jesus Christ. Bridgeport was soon adopted as a new church exploration of the United Church of Christ and Susan was ordained by the UCC in June 1999. Since then Susan has been in full-time ministry with a vibrant and rapidly growing congregation, known now as Bridgeport United Church of Christ.

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