Pastor Jill Nowlen was appointed by the Wisconsin Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church to serve the Wild Rose congregation as of Feb. 1. She is preceded by Pastor Micah Schlobohm who is currently serving the United Church of Christ in Hancock and in Steven’s Point.
Pastor Nowlen graduated from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in May of 2019 after working as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the field of mental health for over 30 years. She worked for Aurora Medical Group from May of 2012 through May of 2016 as a psychotherapist, and served as a Captain in the Wisconsin Army National Guard from April of 2011 through September of 2018 as a Behavioral Health Officer.
She felt a call to ministry when assigned to assess the mental health of service members before and after deployment during the Afghanistan and Iraqi Wars, saying “my role as a therapist was not enough to meet the needs of our soldiers given the impact of trauma experienced by those who served; I came to realize that medical and psychological interventions are only part of the healing needed to survive and overcome losses significant to the how and why of life and death.
There is meaning and purpose for all who have sacrificed their life in order to sustain a democratic society. The moral and spiritual battles in the context of war and peace inspire the value of freedom for all people.
The religion of Christ Jesus is a similar message of peace and reconciliation for a life of wholeness sustained through the grace of God. We are made in God’s image, and my hope rests in the desire to serve God so that the commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves will be someday be fulfilled.”
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Pastor Jill Nowlen