The spotlight shines today on Elizabeth Schloesser. In the picture above, she is eating a flying fish in the Philippines. Elizabeth served in a critical role during the early days of In Service, and she was one of the original visioneers of the Living Room small group for our friends in the homeless community. She saddened us all for a few months when she left us for an extended work trip (during which time she continued to help organize John Hasler and the In Service team), but she returned and immediately jumped right back into ministry. I really appreciate Elizabeth’s heart and energy. She has amazing administrative gifts and has a tremendous heart for people. She is a blessing to many people at NCC.
Today, we talk with Elizabeth about life, ministry, and the best cheese fries in the area.
How long have you attended NCC? What brought you to NCC?
Back in 2002 I was helping a friend who lived in DC look for a church, whenever I came to visit we came to NCC. When I moved here in 2004 I checked out some other churches but really felt like NCC was the place for me.
Tell us a little about the small groups and/or ministries that you lead and how that experience has impacted you.
I help lead The Living Room - the small group that is for the homeless folks that we’ve started developing relationships with through In Service.
One of the things I really like about NCC is the flat organizational structure and how the church leadership encourages folks to dive in & try something new… an experiment. I was drawn to the Social Justice Small Group back in January 2005, then with In Service, then a few of us wanted to try having a small group for the Homeless guys we were meeting. One of my favorite core values of NCC is “everyone is invaluable and irreplaceable.” I feel that people are really valued and their gifts are welcomed… and everyone’s gifts build off the other folks gifts… If there weren’t folks who did the hospitality ministry new people might not feel welcomed, and if new people don’t stick around we might not have people to serve in children’s ministry, and if we don’t have people to serve in children’s ministry to really pour into children and share Christ’s values with them, we might not have people who grow up to live Christ’s values through things like In Service or Hospitality or Children’s Ministry or the Social Justice Action Group.
Being able to cultivate new relationships with people I never would’ve interacted with before (homeless folks) has shown me just how invaluable and irreplaceable everyone is…
Where can you be found on Sunday mornings?
I’m typically at the 9:30 service at Union Station, after service I head upstairs with other folks who do In Service and hand out about 75 lunches. I really like just hanging out on Sunday mornings… another leader of In Service organizes the schedule for making lunches, and great people make the lunches, and I just get to show up!
When did you start following Christ and what have been some of the spiritual turning points in your life?
I graduated from high school when I was 17, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to study in college so I decided to take a year off before going. I went to Thailand as an exchange student and repeated my senior year of high school. While I was there I spent a little bit of time studying Buddhism with my host families, and I also met Christian missionaries from the United States. They gave a bible to me not too long after I got there, would occasionally talk to me about Christ. In February they invited me to their house for dinner - I accepted the invitation and also knew I would have to leave there to go to a Buddhist retreat with my host father that I’d already committed to. But - God got me with the gospel right there… they shared the truth about Christ’s sacrifice and the offer of a relationship and salvation and I prayed to receive Christ. The wife of the couple met with me a few hours a week to help me get a solid foundation in scripture, and when I came back to the US I got involved with a college ministry and just kept going!
There have been a lot of turning points - many of them have come alongside one of my numerous moves… like a lot of folks in their 20s and 30s I’ve been really blessed to have a ton of opportunities, and they were often in different places or countries. Being in those constantly changing environments has really challenged me in my faith and hopefully helped me develop more Godly characters.
Tell us a little about your background.
I grew up in a small town in Northeastern Pennsylvania - lots of green hills and dairy farms and high school football on Friday nights.
I went to the University of New Mexico for undergrad - I met lots of great people and had great professors, but I really like the East Coast! So after college I came back and worked in PA for a bit, then I went to Syracuse University to get my Masters in Public Administration. Then I came here!
My mom is wonderful - incredibly strong and smart and such an example of unconditional love. My dad breathes community service - from boy scouts to Rotary to the Community Foundation he has spent so many hours sharing his gifts with the community. They both live in the same town I grew up in. I have an older sister who just got married to a great guy last year, and a younger brother who has become quite a young man in the last few years. I also have a best friend who has been my best friend since 9th grade, became a Christian around the same time I did, and is a huge part of our whole family.
What is your favorite Scripture passage?
Lately I’ve been spending time on Psalm 1, and the part where it talks about meditating day and night on God’s Law. It’s pretty cool.
What are your favorite books?
Of the Christian variety - I like books by Brennan Manning
What are your favorite movies?
Bride and Prejudice
What is your favorite fast food?
McDonald’s French Fries, Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Sandwich, and Bailey’s in Crystal City, VA has the best cheese fries I’ve ever tasted.
What is something that most people at NCC would not know about you?
But if I told you - you’d know it! (actually, I’m not a very private person, and I can’t think of anything creative that’s still a secret).
Tell us a little about your day job. What is your dream job?
I’m an “Executive Assistant” for a senior leader in the Department of Defense… very similar to what I imagine Tim Elzea’s job was for Pastor Mark - helping keep him on track, organized, making sure he has the information he needs, etc. I like organizing and the non-clerical sides of administration like developing processes and planning the specifics what needs to be done so big ideas can be implemented.
Dream job? I’m not so sure. Still figuring that one out.
Who is your hero? (besides Jesus or any other member of the Trinity)
Definitely my Mom. She’s amazing!
What do you do in your free time?
Well - I hang out with folks at In Service and the Living Room! And I like to play outside - swimming, biking, running, playing tennis. I enjoy cooking although I don’t make a ton of time for it.
In NCC:THE MOVIE who would play you? Who would play Pastor Mark?
Me? I would love for Drew Barrymore to do it! And Pastor Mark? I couldn’t come up with anything different than other folks had written, but someone suggested Ashton Kutcher (who someone might have already named anyway).
What is your favorite Pastor Markism?
“Thank you very little” - and the way he says his “a’s” sometimes makes me laugh - vulnerable sounds like ‘vaawlnerable’ or always sounds like ‘aawlways’
Tuesday Spotlight: Elizabeth Schloesser…
…
University Update
January 16th, 2007
who is this weird person?
and why is she shoving a fish into her mouth? and why do people care?
Flooty McTooty
September 1st, 2008