Pastor

Rev. Christina Fridel
Appointed to serve Whitney United Methodist Church since July 2009

I grew up in Idaho Falls, and was nurtured in my understanding of God and Jesus Christ at Trinity United Methodist Church. My mom was the custodian of the church and so I spent a lot of time at the church during the week, which helped me understand that God is present always, even in the forgotten corners of the church and that the church is not just a place you go on Sunday morning.

My call to ministry first came while I was a sophomore in college at Albertson College, now the College of Idaho. The call came through Prof. Denny Clark’s Introduction to Old Testament, a mission trip to Glide Soup Kitchen in San Francisco and my dad suggesting I become a minister! I resisted it for a while. I was sure that God did not mean that I was to preach every Sunday. God kept at me though and after graduating from Albertson, I went to Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D. C. where my call to ministry was nurtured, challenged and strengthened. During that time I spent two summers with A Christian Ministry in the National Parks, one summer in Glacier NP and one summer in Yellowstone. I was ordained an Elder in The United Methodist Church in June 2003. My first appointment was to Asbury UMC in Hood River, OR where I served for 6 years and then I served in Seaside on the north Oregon coast for 3 years before coming to Whitney UMC.

My husband, Peter, and I met doing CPE (chaplain internship) at St. Luke’s Hospital here in Boise. We have 2 children.

I firmly believe that God’s abundant grace and love is showered freely upon all of us. I also believe that each of us are called by God to reach out into the world to share that grace and love with others. I understand that one of my main responsibly as pastor is to equip others to live out their faith in Jesus Christ.