THE REV. Brenda Gordon has been
pastor at Empire United Methodist Church
since June 2006.

Name: Brenda Gordon.

Town or township of residence: Empire Village.

Resident of county since: June 2006. “That’s when I became pastor at Empire United Methodist Church.”

Birth date and place: June 7, 1968, in South Bend, Ind. “I grew up in Edwardsburg, Mich. It’s due south of Empire at the state line near St. Joseph and Benton Harbor.”

Occupation: “Pastor. I’ve been a pastor for 71⁄2 years. I was at Hinchman and Oronoko United Methodist churches.”

Marital status (include children): “Single. I did foster care for four years, so I have had kids in the house.”

You live in Leelanau County because: “I moved here for work. And I do like being here. It is a great place to be.”

Last good movie you saw was: “It’s been a long time. I think the movie Pay It Forward, with Helen Hunt. It’s about a little boy who gets a social studies assignment to come up with a way that one person could change the world. He came up with the idea of when something nice is done for you, you would do something nice for three people. The idea is if each layer of that process kept going, you would change the world.”

Last good book you read was: “I read so little outside of the Bible and what I read for work. One good one I read recently was Philip Yancey’s Prayer, Does It Make Any Difference.”

If you could trade places with one person for a day, that person would be: “I’m thinking to trade places with a mentor of mine in a chaplain situation whose name was Joyce Strieder. She was so caring and intelligent. The way that she related with people. She could ask me a question that would trigger something that I needed to deal with. To be insightful like that…”

Things important to you that you have accomplished so far: “Probably the biggest thing was that I was ordained this year.”

What you hope to be doing in 10 years: “Still working as a pastor, in a small church. And if I was married with a family, that would be nice.”

Things you lose sleep over: “Thankfully, the things that I lose sleep over lately have been positive things that I’m working on, like planning a future project.”

If you could change one thing in Leelanau County, it would be: “After working with the food pantry, I’d like to do something to help people in lower income levels.”

Favorite dessert is: “Let’s say cheesecake, with or without toppings. My favorite toppings would be chocolate or strawberries.”

Are you a coffee drinker? “Sort of. I drink coffee socially. If I come to the church and the coffee pot is on, I have a cup. I’m more of a Dr. Pepper drinker.”

Favorite place in Leelanau County is: “I’d have to say the Empire beach. I get there in spurts during the summer.”

If you had more time, you would: “Maybe travel a little more. I’d like to go to places right here in the United States, and there are a lot of them. One would be Mt. Rushmore.”

The words that best describe you are: “I guess I’d have to say good listener, optimistic. How many do you want?”