Ashley Quinn

While I continue to work towards ordination and finishing my master's degree at Eden Theological Seminary, I am one of the pastors on staff at NACC. I specialize in 4 primary areas:

• Justice, Advocacy, & Public Theology
• Teens/Young Adult Spiritual Formation
• Property Management/Facility Usage
• Technology & Livestreaming

A primary focus is on the Justice work of this church community, which is largely outward focused in our local Springfield, Missouri community and beyond. I support lay leaders in programs our congregation is passionate about, such as Hand Up, the Immigrant Justice Collaborative, and the Cooperative Crisis Cold Weather Shelter @ The Fairbanks we share with Brentwood Christian Church and First Unitarian Universalist Church, as well as the CCWS that only opens during extreme weather events here at NACC. We advocate for public policies that affirm the diginity of each human, specifically in support of the LGBTQ community and unsheltered/food insecure. 

We hope to create a place where young people can feel encouraged to explore, ask questions, and come to an understanding of themselves and the divine. This will likely adapt and grow and change overtime as we all do. 

In cooperation with the Property Committee, I strive to keep our physical church property in good working order so that this place can be of service to our congregation and community. We are a kind of Hub, hosting multiple non-profit and civic related organizations for workspace and meetings, phone banks, public forums, press conferences, and education, a Montessori school, and, as mentioned above, a sometimes shelter, in addition to a place for prayer, contemplation, and Sunday services. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic we began livestreaming church services for the first time. When we returned to gathering in-person for services, we continued livestreaming as a now integrated/hybrid way of gathering together on Sunday mornings or whenever one has the opportunity to connect with the video on Facebook or YouTube. 

As an out queer and trans man, it is vitally important to me that church is a place that recognizes the divinity in each person, truly living out the prompting Jesus gives in Matthew Chapter 25 that we have an opportunity to meet Him in each person that we interact with, including the poor, the hungry, the sick, the imprisoned. And, that church is a place that stands with the oppressed, centering the voices of those most marginalized, and advocating and co-creating a more just and loving world. If you see that we are not living up to our values, you are invited to reach out with a call-in.