The following is reprinted from Pastor Linda's Service of Ordination and Installation program:
By the grace of God and through the power of the Holy Spirit, Linda has been called to serve as
pastor of St. Mark Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hamilton, New Jersey. Linda grew up in Lawrenceville,
New Jersey, where she was raised in the Presbyterian Church. She received her undergraduate degree from
Yale University and a Masters in Education from John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio.
Linda's first vocation was secondary education, and she taught social studies at high schools in New
Jersey and in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. Her faith journey led her to work as a youth director at
Grace Lutheran Church in Cleveland Heights, Ohio and eventually back to New Jersey and to seminary.
Linda received her Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and also studied at The Lutheran
Theological Seminary at Philadelphia.
Linda gives thanks to God for all those who have accompanied her on this journey: First of all to her
parents Lew and Mary Jane Thurston, whose quiet example of faith in action has always inspired her; to her
husband Tom Cunniff and their daughters, Beth, Cassie and Julia, without whose unfailing support she wouldn't
be here; to her sisters, Karen Thurston and Jill Pierantozzi and other extended family; to the congregations
of The Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville, where she first had opportunity to preach, Grace Lutheran Church,
Cleveland Heights, Ohio, especially the youth group, where she matured in faith and first felt her call;
Abiding Presence Lutheran Church, Ewing, New Jersey, who nurtured Linda and her family during her seminary years;
and St. Paul Lutheran Church, East Windsor, New Jersey, who taught her so much during her internship training;
to the Lutheran community of Princeton Theological Seminary for their support and fellowship, and to all those
pastors and teachers who have supported her in so many ways, including the Reverends H. Dana Fearon,
Richard Israel, Larry Spielman, Daniel Whitener, Tracie Bartholomew, James Egan, Sonja Pancoast, Joel
Pancoast, Scott Hendrix, Dennis Olson, Paul Rorem, Wesley Smith, Hugh Smith, Dirk Lange, Timothy Wengert,
Melinda Quivik, to the members of the Northeast Ohio Synod Candidacy Committee, especially Mary Ann Schwabe
and the Reverend Steve Kimm, and the members of the Mercer Lutheran Cluster and text study group.
To God be the glory.
To learn more about Pastor Linda, read her first Good Tidings newsletter article
"As I am settling in..."
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