Monthly Newsletter--December 2022 December, 2022, Minister's Message: Hello new friends! My name is Charissa Ramey and I’d like to tell you a little about myself. I of course know how and when to be reverent and serious, but I also have a silly side and enjoy any reason to let it out. I have ADHD and am on the Autism spectrum so I very much support charities that promote those causes. I graduated seminary with my Master’s Degree in December of 2014 and was ordained April of 2015. This is my second placement out of seminary. I was born here in Indiana but raised in Seabrook, TX on the Gulf of Mexico. That sounds much fancier than it actually was as back then it was not the tourist destination it is now. I do however miss the smell of the water and the sand between my toes. I went to grade school in Texas, high school at Warren Central in Indianapolis, and college at Ball State University. Fresh out of college I went to Norfolk, VA and then onto Iraq working as a civilian for the Department of Defense. I was a safety inspector and an on-call mass casualty response medic. In all of that I met and married the love of my life. What led me to ministry? In a short amount of time, I experienced quite a bit of tragedy and loss. I lost my grandparents and then my mom in a car accident. Two weeks later my aunt lost her battle with stomach cancer. Three years later my husband died of a heart attack caused by a heart defect he didn’t know about. He was 34. In 2013 my dad went in for surgery and never woke up. In all of the sadness and pain I left the church in anger and then returned a year later to discover that God never left me but I who ran from God. I threw myself into leading youth ministry and young adult groups, and found a home with the church band at New Palestine Christian Church where I later became worship leader. And all that led me to seminary and ultimately right here to Sixth Street Christian Church. I am excited to be here at Sixth Street and look forward to working with and for each of you. Blessings, Rev. Charissa Ramey