STAFF RELATIONS WELCOMES WILLOW CARTER! August 5, 2026 Ru-Lee Weller Passman STAFF RELATIONS WELCOMES WILLOW CARTER! Many of us already know willow (yes, no capitalization!) through her involvement with Blessings or Family Promise, as a livestream tech or musician, as last year’s Deacon of Formation and Engagement, or as the person running the bake sale for a Calvary concert, and probably a number of roles I have failed to mention. In short, willow has been an amazing volunteer at Calvary in her three and a half years with us! But we now welcome willow as a Pastoral Resident with Calvary for the coming school year as she continues to work towards her MDiv at Iliff School of Theology. She’s going to be an amazing Pastoral Resident, too! A few facts about willow that you may not know, but that give her a great skill set for her work, include: She received her bachelor’s degree in Women’s Studies with a minor in Religion from Vassar College, and a graduate certificate in Human Computer Interaction from Tufts University. She held several internships with feminist advocacy groups at that time, which included marketing, authoring position papers, planning, organizing and hosting events, leading workshops, web design and development, and IT support. She has done private and contract video game development work for literacy non-profits, focusing on educational games, cooperative games, games about social dynamics, and games about difference. And now willow is putting her talents to use in a staff role for Calvary! She will participate in many pastoral duties including chancel leadership, preaching, staff meetings, worship planning, attending board meetings, memorial service planning, leading small group classes and Bible studies, and a number of projects over the coming months. The Iliff Vocational Residency program requires her to complete at least 400 hours in the position. Her schedule will include hours on Sundays and Mondays plus alternating Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Please join us in welcoming willow to Calvary in the Pastoral Resident role, and give her your support throughout the coming year as she learns more about the job of being a pastor and also lends her many talents to us at Calvary. Beth Dickinson Staff Relations Deacon