Rev.
Jane Jacques
Deacon Volunteer
JJacques@zoominternet.net
Pastor Jane was appointed as a volunteer deacon at Christ UMC in 2005.
She says, "Being with people of such deep and settled faith as those here at CUMC is a tremendous blessing. Faith and faithfulness characterize this faith community." Meditation, prayer and service are the three disciplines that she particularly enjoys promoting at CUMC.
Pastor Jane's personal mission statement is rooted in Colossians 1:10-12 " . . .live a life worthy of the Lord and . . . please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light."
Pastor Jane is most passionate about sharing the gospel with very young children. She finds a great blessing helping children gain a language for their faith and building a foundation for a lifetime of faith in Jesus Christ. She believes that children really do show "grownups" the way into the kingdom..
Rev. Jacques obtained her first Master's degree in Community Counseling from St. Bonaventure University. She then worked for eleven years directing the Ashland Pregnancy Center. During her time there she also studied Christian Education and Spiritual Formation at Ashland Theological Seminary and receive her Doctor of Ministry degree. Through her studies, she experienced a "call within a call" to specifically teach people to pray. This specialization became the focus of her ministry as a deacon within the United Methodist Church. She currently teaches as an adjunct professor at ATS in the area of spiritual disciplines. She has been an active participant in two organizations which emphasize the spiritual disciplines: Renovaré and the Disciplined Order of Christ. As an educator, she has done extensive training in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd which is a Montessori-based way of forming children in the Christian faith. She served as a Children's Pastor from 2003 to 2005 at All God's Children, which was a new church start in Mansfield, Ohio.
Pastor Jane is married to Tom and together they share their home with two cats, Poirot and Jazz. They have two children, Ted and Carolyn. Ted is a junior at Colgate University and Carolyn with her husband Stephen live in Boston. She is quick to say that her family also includes many others who are a part of their day to day life.
She enjoys a cup of latte (which she considers to be one of the food groups), shopping (with a particular weakness for pink depression glass), reading a good book and then discussing it with a friend, but above everything else, she especially enjoys observing the way God works in the ordinary, everyday details of life.