LeighAnn Morgan - The Importance of Community, Active Listening, & Offering Forgiveness - Cumberland Road

Episode Transcript
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T.J. (00:03):
You are listening to the Cumberland Road, and I'm your
host, TJ Malinoski. Thefollowing is a faith
conversation with LeighAnnMorgan. She is the
congregational life director atWinchester Cumberland
Presbyterian Church inTennessee, and she is a

(00:27):
ministerial student at MemphisTheological Seminary. We discuss
the loss of her father, theimportance of community, the
power of active listening, andthe necessity of offering
forgiveness. You can hear inLeighAnn's voice her love for

(00:49):
God and her love for people ofall ages. She has an openness to
the future, and her Christianfaith is steeped in wisdom that
far exceeds her age. On a sidenote, I was able to meet some
friends of Cumberland Road in myrecent travels. I was able to

(01:11):
hear how these journeys onCumberland Road and what they
mean to them, and I even receivesome teasing when I'm unable to
provide a new guest every week.Your kind words and your
expressions has filled me withawe and gratitude. You've helped

(01:32):
me appreciate how important ourwords, our conversations, our
faith, and our journeys are. Ithank you all. And now, friends,
here is a faith conversationwith LeighAnn Morgan. Alright,

(01:55):
LeighAnn. You have a story tobegin this conversation. You
were famous or infamous in theMcKenzie, Tennessee area while a
Bethel student. So tell me thestory.

LeighAnn (02:09):
So it actually started my freshman year. It's my first
time being away from home atmind you. It's the day after my
birthday. I was not feeling thebest. I was like, you know, I'm
not gonna get out.
It's raining. I need to dohomework anyways because, you
know, the first week of classes,you got a little bit of homework
to do. Mhmm. And, my friend,Alyssa Hudson, calls me, and we

(02:31):
just met. She's also a CP.
And, she goes, hey. Can you comepick me up at the grocery store
where my friend works? She'srunning behind, and she's gonna
be late for work. I was like,sure. Yeah.
I can totally do that. So it'scoming a flood outside. I'm
being dramatic saying that, butit was, like, pouring down rain.

(02:52):
In Bethel's parking lots, theyget covered with water easily.

T.J. (02:56):
Mhmm.

LeighAnn (02:56):
So I was like, okay. We got this. So I'm taking my
quickest route I know to EWJames.

T.J. (03:02):
Which is a grocery store.

LeighAnn (03:03):
Which is the grocery store I'm heading to. And
there's this one road besidethere's the Block City Pizza
place right beside it too. Mhmm.To kind of if someone's been in
McKenzie, they can be able toimagine in their head. So I'm
just going along the road, andI'm seeing a little bit of water
across across the road.
And I was like, I can staytowards the middle and be fine

(03:25):
to get through it. Well, I didnot stay towards the middle,
and, I my tire got stuck in themud on the grass and sunk. And
then the water rose up fromthere because, apparently, that
road floods very easily. And Ididn't know that being newly to
Mackenzie.

T.J. (03:45):
Mhmm.

LeighAnn (03:46):
And they didn't have any signs up or anything. I
called my friend. I was like,Alyssa, you need to come
outside. You're not gonnabelieve it. I I'm drowning my
car.
It was a whole thing. I wasyelling at her on the phone.
That's when we we became bestfriends, and that's also the
first time she had to call mydad and be like, hey, mister

(04:07):
Richard. This is Alyssa,Leanne's roommate, so don't be
mad. It was a grand old time,and the cop told me to stay in
the car.
And I was I did not listen tohim. I got out of the car
because the water was already,like, at the door level, not on
the door yet, but at the doorlevel. Because if I would've

(04:28):
stayed in there, I would've hadto climb out the window, and I
was not about to do that. And soI created 2 signs in Mackenzie
now. There, there's one at thefirst end of the road and one at
the other end of the road.
And I put it through onFacebook.

T.J. (04:46):
I take it that you, made it to safety.

LeighAnn (04:50):
I did make it to safety. Drenched in water,
sewage water at that. It was nota grand it was not a great time,
but it was a funny story to haveforever. If it says anything, my
friend took, they had to bring anews article in every week, of
something that happened in theirlives or something that happened

(05:12):
back in their hometown. So shebrought in that, news article
for her speech class and I said,oh, thank you, Grace, for doing
that.

T.J. (05:21):
So have you gone back and, posed by the signs that were
instituted by Leanne?

LeighAnn (05:28):
When dad picked me up my freshman year, we, I think it
was that the end of thatsemester, we went and took
pictures this side of it. It'son Facebook, and I had it as my
profile picture for a very longtime. And I had many phone calls
of, Leanne, do we know turnaround, don't trim? I said, we
do, but y'all don't understand.

T.J. (05:51):
Well, that was a lot of change in your life at that time
because you're a new Bethelstudent. Bethel is in McKenzie,
Tennessee, Bethel University.First time away from home? I
mean, like, really away fromhome?

LeighAnn (06:05):
Yes. Being really away from home. I went to camps and
everything, but never for monthsat a time.

T.J. (06:15):
And adjusting to student life and making new friends and,
you run your car into rushingsewage water.

LeighAnn (06:25):
Yeah. Dad made me have to call insurance, deal with the
cops and everything, get it towhere it's supposed to be. He
made sure I'm I was the one thatdid that. He also made me go
clean out the car of stuff,which is reasonable. He did not
come to my rescue.
He's like, you can do he's like,you can do all of this

T.J. (06:47):
Oh, wow.

LeighAnn (06:48):
Since you were the one that did it.

T.J. (06:50):
The pains of growing up, all that responsibility at once.

LeighAnn (06:55):
Luckily, I had great friends that God blessed me with
that went and helped me clean upmy car. She was a golfer, so she
had old, what is it, hard glovesthat she would use. Mhmm. But
she had a pair of old ones, andshe's like, well, we'll put
these on and then we'll cleanout everything because it was
disgusting.

T.J. (07:13):
I bet. I bet. I bet you that vehicle never smelled the
same again.

LeighAnn (07:18):
It was totaled. So you didn't have to smell it for too
long.

T.J. (07:25):
What were your plans as a Bethel student? What did you
want to study?

LeighAnn (07:31):
So to be honest, I really didn't wanna go to Bethel
for a very long time. BecauseWinchester, Tennessee is a small
town, and Mackenzie, Tennesseeis an even smaller town. Mhmm.
So I was like, I don't knowabout this. And then it came
about the, ministry bridge, thewhosoever will ministry bridge

(07:54):
program came about, while I wasserving on ministry council.
And, it was a no brainer that Iwas gonna go to Bethel after
that. I was like, I've answeredthe call to ministry, so I just
won't go to Bethel. Going there,I was like, I don't wanna be
tied down to doing just a majorin Christian studies because,

(08:15):
like, well, then what if I endup burning out or anything, and
I don't have anything else toback up to what to do? So I was
like, okay. What do I want to doif I don't work in a church or
work in something Christianbased, I was like, I wanna do
counseling.

(08:37):
And Bethany University has agreat program of human services,
that it gives you a broad rangeof things to study. I got
counseling classes. I got, drugand alcohol classes. Mister,
professor Tim Lindsey, which Iknow a lot of CP people have had
him. Right man, he's a CPhimself.

(09:01):
He taught me a lot, taught meabout social work, if I wanted
to do that, how to docounseling, how the brain works.
So I took psychology andsociology classes. So it was a
really it was just a broad majorto be able to help me later in
ministry. And, also, if I endedup not wanting to go in

(09:21):
ministry, I had something to do.

T.J. (09:25):
You grew up in a minister's family. Did you have
moments where you could berebellious and, mischievous? Or,
Leanne, were you a a good kid, amodel kid in every congregation
that your dad served?

LeighAnn (09:46):
I will say that I'm a good kid. I never was
rebellious. I was not thatnormal preacher's daughter that
people pursue. Like, the like,the TV show preacher's daughter.
I was not like that.
I was fairly a good kid. Leftschool and everything, but I
will say I was probablymischievous. My mom always said

(10:08):
that the only reason we got introuble is because we played
with the elders' kids.

T.J. (10:13):
Oh, I like that. So it reversed. So typically, you
think, oh, well, it's thepreacher's kids that influenced
the other youth in the church,but I like your mom's take on
it. She was like, no. It's theelder's kids who's who's been
influencing Leanne.

LeighAnn (10:31):
So I will say I did have some good friends, that
their parents were on, session,so I got to hang out with them
quite a bit. But I will say Iprobably did a little
mischievous things. Not as muchas my brother, I will admit.

T.J. (10:49):
We'll have him on at another time. How about that? He
can tell his own journey.

LeighAnn (10:53):
Oh, yes. He would he would do great. He would tell
you about why, the Florence CPchurch has certain things in
place because of him.

T.J. (11:02):
Oh, wow. So he also is famous and infamous.

LeighAnn (11:06):
Just a few other towns.

T.J. (11:10):
The Morgan family is making its name in different
states. Let's talk about,growing up though in in a
minister's, you know, house, inin a Christian household. What
was that environment like foryou? Did you guys have
conversations all the time aboutthe Christian faith? Yeah.

(11:33):
What was that experience like?Well,

LeighAnn (11:39):
it was an experience with Richard Morgan, so it it
was always fun. Growing up, I wewere always at the church. Never
missed a day being at thechurch. If the doors were open,
we were there. I had a lot ofinfluence in my life, especially
getting because I got to see dadin the youth minister's role.

(12:00):
And so I had a lot of siblingsthat were able to influence me
in my life, and show me what itis to be young in faith, but and
still be able to do life, how tohave faith when you're in high
school and stuff. So I was ableto see that, and I really
enjoyed that. I also got to goto camps a lot. Got to see all
the things they were doing. So Iwas like, oh, I get to do that

(12:21):
one day.

T.J. (12:22):
Oh, that's right. Because you're younger. So you have all
these little bit older, rolemodels and you're just soaking
in how they interact with theworld and how their faith speaks
to it. So you you have a longlist of people then that have
influenced your faith.

LeighAnn (12:44):
Oh, yes. I have a whole list of people that I
would love to mention, and a lotof them are camp counselors.
And, some of them were the onesthat my siblings grew up around
my sister and my brother. Theyinfluenced and my and my parents
influenced a lot. Obviously, mydad influenced me going into the

(13:06):
ministry.
He was a big supporter in that,and he was great. And I love
getting to see everything hedid, and they were very open
about ministry, because I knowsome parents are not. They like
to hide things because there issome things at the church that
you don't tell. Obviously, theydidn't tell me everything, but

(13:26):
they were open and honest of,like, so we are not gonna be
here right now because we haveto go do this. And so I always
understood that ministry ishard, and it's hard on the
family too.
You really have to have a strongfamily unit to be able to do
ministry and also be with yourfamily, kind of balancing that
and how to interact with that.So we did talk about it a lot

(13:49):
and so that's how my life hasbeen going on.

T.J. (13:54):
You're right. There's a lot of ministers that have to
make difficult choices. Let'ssay you have a family event or
just an activity, you know,playing board games or going to
see a movie or a sports event,you know, or a play. And then
there's something within thechurch that happens in the

(14:14):
congregation and the life of thecongregation and making those
difficult choices that maybeyou're not physically there for
a family crisis within thechurch, but the minister's mind
may be even though they'resitting, you know, on the
bleachers or playing a boardgame or in a movie theater or

(14:35):
wherever it is or even a familyvacation. I've heard I've heard
some horror stories of a familythat has a minister, a husband
or wife.
And then there's something thathappened at the church and they
choose to return early. And sofor you, your environment was a

(14:56):
little bit different. It feltlike a good balance.

LeighAnn (15:01):
It was a good balance, and there were sacrifices that
had to be made sometimes, like,maybe my dad was a person that
did not like to be gone onSundays. And so as growing up, I
didn't understand why wecouldn't be the families that go
away for weeks at a time

T.J. (15:16):
Mhmm.

LeighAnn (15:17):
On vacations. Because I was like, well, all my friends
get to do it. Why can't we begone on a Sunday? But then I
would always have something tohappen on a Sunday that I just
loved and enjoyed. And now Iunderstand because I don't like
to be gone on Sundays.
I like to be surrounded by notonly my family, but also my
church family. Mhmm. They becamegreat people. I love where I

(15:42):
work at because they brighten myday on Sunday mornings because
they come in, and they're soglad to be there. And I like to
make them feel that way thatthey that we're glad that
they're there too.
So now I get it.

T.J. (15:56):
There's still something to be said though if, you know,
when the school day is over on aFriday, to hop in the car and,
you know, take a quick weekendtrip, which is often not
available for those who areserving in the ministry in
various capacities.

LeighAnn (16:17):
There were some times I wanted to be gone. I would
love to take a weekend trip, butwe couldn't do it. Or not saying
that we didn't do it every nowand then, but it was it was
tough to not be able to bethose, I'm gonna say, cool
families that could take weekendtrips all the time.

T.J. (16:35):
Yeah. You're at home and then some of your friends are,
like, skiing or at the beach.When I first met you, you were
younger and but you were alwayswith your dad. The 2 of you were

(16:55):
always together. And it wasimpressive to me because you
were a youth at that time, andyou could have been anywhere
else.
But there you were in a boardmeeting or a presbytery meeting
or some church event or activitywhere everybody else in the room
was, at minimum, twice your age.

LeighAnn (17:16):
My dad was my best friend, and I was a daddy's girl
growing up. If it says anything,when I was sick, out of school,
I was not too far from him inthe church. I was either behind
his chair or I remember one timewe went up there to he was
working for a little bit, andthen we would go back home so I
could be at the house. But Ijust remember I did not wanna be

(17:38):
away from him. I had to bebehind his chair watching the
computer while he was sittingthere trying to work and
couldn't really move because Iwas sitting behind his chair.
Me and my dad have been we werealways together. I'm grateful
for our relationship because Iknow some people don't have that

(17:58):
relationship, and I could justnever imagine not being around
him, getting to see him do whathe does. I remember many times
going to camp when I was 6 yearsold and because my mom had to be
there also. And, that they wouldgo out in the afternoon and do
things, but I would sit in themess hall with a big old blanket

(18:20):
on the floor, and they had thelaptops, and I had DVDs, like, a
box of DVDs with me. And I wouldjust put one in, and I would
just dance around having a grandold time while they were out in
the afternoons doing theirthings.
I can always remember those, andI'm grateful for those memories
I have now. I think it had a bigold it had a big influence into

(18:43):
answering the call intoministry, which I think,
obviously, God had a hand inthat of what he was doing there.
He's like, I'm a let you see acouple things.

T.J. (18:52):
Yeah. The good and the bad, the struggles and the joys
that come with the vocation.You've been able to see them and
experience them firsthand. Yourdad died suddenly how many years
ago?

LeighAnn (19:13):
This year starts to well, the 2nd year starts in
this November. So we're at ayear over a year in.

T.J. (19:21):
And being that close to him that you were, what were
some or what are some of thegreatest gifts and skills and
insight that he has parted withyou that has shaped your faith?

LeighAnn (19:39):
Oh, that's a tough question. Because of the like,
it's there's a lot. He was avery loving man. He always
listened to people and figuredout what they liked. He was very
intentional of that.

T.J. (19:56):
Mhmm.

LeighAnn (19:56):
If he found out someone liked a certain band, he
would go find out fun factsabout them so he could have a
conversation with them. So Iguess learning to be an active
listener, even when people don'tthink you're listening to them,
maybe they're just having aconversation out loud, and they
say one thing, and he can pickit up and run with it. So being

(20:16):
an active listener, I knowthat's one thing he's left with
me. He left his big heart. Itwas really cool at his.
We had a celebration of lifebeen a celebration of life, and,
he sorry. I'm trying to come upwith what I was trying to say.

(20:41):
It was interesting to see aspeople walk through because we
did the visitation before thatjust slowly, everyone walking
through, and you could tellwhere they were in his ministry
by what name they called him.And it was so amazing to see
that and seeing how much of abig heart my dad had and leaving

(21:02):
that with us now of us tocontinue his ministry and have
our big hearts. Because usMorgans, we have huge hearts for
people, and we love everyoneeven though they may do
something so wrong to us.
I getting to see all thedifferent sides of ministry, I

(21:23):
I've seen where people have hurtmy dad, and I can get all of us
in the family get angry about itsometimes. And then he was just
like he was just going on withhis day. He's like, I still love
them, and they're still doinggreat, and he cared about that.
He didn't care about what theydid to him. He offered
forgiveness, and it was kindafunny.
That was my first, like, sermonwhen I started at full time at

(21:48):
Winchester. The first time Ipreached was about forgiveness,
and I thought that was kindafunny because I was like, well,
maybe dad's trying to speakthrough speak through and say,
you gotta offer forgiveness topeople. And, so those are the
least 2 of the things I knowthat he's left with me is, like,
the big heart and being activelistener. There's probably more.

T.J. (22:10):
Those those are tough skills to develop because they
don't always come easy, youknow. Somebody has hurt us, we
want to respond, likewise. Andwith all the distractions in the
world from our phone to whateverthe next new shiny thing is can

(22:32):
really we can be presentphysically, but in you know, our
minds be somewhere else. To beintentional in those two things
I think human beings also werepretty savvy to be able to tell
when somebody is authentic, whensomebody is present, and when
they're not.

LeighAnn (22:53):
He was always, I just remember at camp when we would
walk up to the mess hall, and hewould be playing music that he
knows that the kids love. And ifthe kids asked for it to be
played, he would make sure thatit was clean and everything for
church camp, and he would makesure to play it for them because
that's what they liked, andthat's what they wanted to

(23:13):
listen to. And then sometimes hewould play the oldies or as I
always enjoyed the eightiesmusic because me and him had a
great relationship about thewhole eighties. He he would play
that type of music because he'slike, oh, a counselor said that
they left this band, and helikes to let them relive there

(23:34):
all days days and show the kidsthis music because they may not
get to hear it at home. Youknow?

T.J. (23:40):
Right. May not want to.

LeighAnn (23:43):
There was sometimes he played music. I was like, there
why are we playing this? This isboring.

T.J. (23:52):
Leanne, when have you felt the closest to God?

LeighAnn (23:58):
The times I think I think there's different times of
there's different timesthroughout my whole entire life
that I felt close to God. Butwhen I feel the closest to God
is when I'm at Crystal SpringsChurch Camp in Kelso, Tennessee.
We have a saying down here thatGod lives there and which many

(24:19):
people probably say that, butthere are church camps too
because god lives at churchcamps. And it's just when you're
there, there's, like, thispresence. I don't know what it
is, but there's just thispresence that lives have been
changed there.
And, I'm serving in Emmaus rightnow with my mom, and I did a
talk. And, in my talk, I talkabout the presence that is there

(24:44):
of Crystal Springs, and I don'tknow what it is. It's where I've
made big life decisions. I mean,I answered my call there. I've
made great friends there thathave last a lifetime.
I'm now serving there in camp asa camp counselor, and, also,
we've taken our church there,and I've got to do ministry for

(25:05):
the church I work with of whereI answered my call at. So it's
kind of like a surreal momentfor me. I also got engaged
there, so, you know, big lifedecisions were made there.

T.J. (25:14):
Oh, really? I didn't know you were engaged.

LeighAnn (25:17):
Yes. I got engaged this past Christmas, and he
surprised me and did it at mychurch camp that I grew up at.

T.J. (25:24):
Well, congratulations. Do you have a wedding date yet?

LeighAnn (25:28):
We do. It is October 10, 2026.

T.J. (25:31):
Okay. So this is after you get done with school?

LeighAnn (25:36):
Yes. That was mom's one stipulation, which I found
out about this afterwards,obviously. She said the one
stipulation is that you'll haveto wait till 2026 after you
finish your degree.

T.J. (25:50):
Well, what is his name, and how did you meet?

LeighAnn (25:53):
His name is Nick Trout. I know great last name
Trout. I met him through mutualfriends at Bethel.

T.J. (26:01):
Mhmm.

LeighAnn (26:03):
We just started talking, and, I was home for
Christmas. And so I wasn't near,Mackenzie, but he lived in he
lived in Murray, Kentucky, soabout an hour away from
Mackenzie. And then it got closeto me coming back, and we were
FaceTiming 1 night. He goes,alright. So what date is it that
you come back?
And I told him, oh, it's thisFriday and blah blah blah. Get

(26:27):
back about this time. And he Iwas like, why? He goes, well,
I'm coming to pick you up on adate. I said, oh, so we're just
you're not gonna ask me to go ona date?
He goes, no. I'm telling youwe're going on a date. And so
then the rest is history. And wewent to the great old El
Vallarta for a Mexican datebecause, you know, there's not
too many places to eat inMcKinsey.

T.J. (26:48):
Mhmm. Mhmm.

LeighAnn (26:49):
And then all you can do basically in that town is
either a, drive around or b, gohang out in the dorm room. So we
drove around for a little bit,drove to the lovely town of
Martin, and then he got lost.And I told him which way to go,
and so that's the first time hedidn't ever listen to me. And
that's when he learned he needsto listen to me because, his

(27:11):
saying is that I'm always right.He jokes about that.
He knows I'm not always right.And so we just always go back to
that story of the first time hedidn't listen to me. And then we
went back to the dorm room, andhe met all my friends. And they
liked him, and we started datingfrom there.

T.J. (27:29):
Well, I didn't know that. Again, congratulations. You were
referring to Crystal Springs.This is when you feel the
closest to God. So let's talkabout perhaps the excitement,
the anticipation, not that godis contained in any physical
location, but there is sort ofthis preparation of, like, I

(27:51):
know I'm going to this place,which could be worship on Sunday
or a camp or a retreat or thingslike that.
Kinda walk me through maybewhat's going through your mind
as you're preparing because it'sa place of transformation. It's
a place of renewal for you, butit's also a place of good

(28:16):
memories. So and the reason I'masking this is because there are
so many people that don't havethose types of connections. So
it's always good to hear fromsomeone who can kind of pinpoint
and say, this is the placewhere, Leanne can be filled and

(28:37):
renewed and enter into a newweek, a new season, ready to go?

LeighAnn (28:46):
I think for me, trying to think how I go about this, it
seems like when you know you'regoing to church or you're going
to a certain event, life startsto happen. And I also went on a
chrysalis flight there. So,like, I just remember everything

(29:07):
seems to start to happen in,like, life happens and all this
goes on and you're like and youstart doubting of going. But
then it's that push of knowing,okay. When I go there, when I go
to church, when I go to CrystalSprings, when I go to Bethel for
CPYC, I don't have to thinkabout that stuff for a week

(29:29):
because or I don't have to thinkabout that stuff for this amount
of time because I'm in a placeof I can be myself.
I don't have to worry aboutanything because God's gonna
handle what's going on in theoutside world. He's gonna handle
what's going outside of thesechurch doors and everything.
Then there's that anticipationof when you get there, when you

(29:53):
leave, that stuff coming back.But I feel like you go in a
different mindset because you goin there so down into anything,
whether it be church on aSunday. You go feeling so down
because of what's been going on,but then God fills you back up
with the presence of community,the presence of hearing

(30:13):
something in a sermon, hearingGod speak to you directly
because, you know, every timeyou hear a sermon, there's just,
like, that one thing that alwaysjust it's like, yeah, that's
directed towards me

T.J. (30:24):
Mhmm.

LeighAnn (30:24):
Without it without the pastor meaning it to.

T.J. (30:28):
Well, only an active listener would pick that up.

LeighAnn (30:34):
But, like, you you're filled with a presence of God of
being able to face, whateveryou're going through when you
leave those places of, like,okay. I can handle this
differently now. Because I thinkabout in high school, I would go
there was nothing too major thatwould happen, but it was like I

(30:54):
just felt like my friendsweren't always the best for me.
And I had great friends, butthey weren't helping me in my
faith. You know?
Mhmm. And I was like, I don'tknow what I need to do when I
leave here. And every time Ileft, I always left with new
friends I found at camp that Icould talk to when things
happen. God wasn't telling me Ineed to leave those friends.
He's like, you just need morefriends to be able to help you,

(31:17):
like that you could talk to.
You can still have thosefriends, but you have a faith
based friend that you can turnto when you have certain
questions. Because I had friendsthat were they were a part of
the church, but they are part ofa different church. And so when
I answered the call intoministry, one of my friends,
which church of Christ, and, shedoes not believe in women

(31:37):
ministers. And so I just didn'thave anyone to talk to because I
was like, oh, well, I don'tknow. I can't just tell you
because you're just gonna tellme I can't do it.
And I helped her grow in openingher mind of that. She still
doesn't fully support, but sheunderstands me in a different

(31:57):
line. So I have enjoyed thatpart, my best friend from high
school.

T.J. (32:02):
Well, tell me about your call to ministry. You you
alluded to that it was at camp.But, I mean, as a young person,
you have all these options thatare available to you in terms of
a vocation. Why this one?

LeighAnn (32:20):
I guess I'll start about my, say, sophomore or
junior year of high school, andI wanted to be a teacher. That
was what I was planning to do. Iwanted to be in the classroom
working,

T.J. (32:33):
all

LeighAnn (32:33):
this, but I think God had other plans of that,
obviously. He wanted me to be adifferent teacher, still a
teacher, just a different one.Mhmm. But Paleo, the mentorship
program, got started. I satthere and pondered over if I was
gonna do it.
I was like, I don't know aboutthis. I really don't know. I'm
still young. I still got time.

T.J. (32:56):
And do you mind? I'm gonna interrupt you for a moment. Just
kinda give a little bit ofbackground of what Kaleo is.

LeighAnn (33:05):
So Kaleo is this mentorship program that helps us
to take a time for young peopleto look into their call into
ministry or not ministry. Well,I say any type of work you do is
a type of ministry. It's justdifferent it's different,
whether you're a teacher, you'rea doctor, it's still a form of
ministry.

T.J. (33:25):
Yeah. Not necessarily a formal ministry like ordained
ministry. Just, your youth, youknow, your high school age,
male, female, and you're at thatplace where you can, you know
what are what are the nextsteps? What's available to me?
Industry is 1, but it could beengineering.
It could be it could beanything.

LeighAnn (33:48):
But you spent the year with a mentor, and mine was miss
Mary McCaskey. And we got tolook at call stories in the
bible, but also then callstories of people in the church
in the CP world, which I enjoyedthat part. I enjoyed getting to
read the call stories of theBible and then also get to see
call stories of people like, oh,I didn't know this about this

(34:09):
person, because I've just seenthem at CPYC or seen them at, as
one of my camp counselors. So wegot to read both stories, and
there was usually questions.Also, during the the year, it
was a year program, we had tocome up with a project that we

(34:32):
felt like would benefit to helpus, figure out what God has
called us to.
I didn't know what I wanna dofor a very long time, but
finally, miss Mary asked me shegoes, so what do you feel like
God is calling you into? Shejust flat out asked me. I said,
I'm a be honest. I think I'mbeing called into ministry.
Specifically, I think I'm beingcalled into youth ministry.

(34:54):
And from that day, it just kindastarted God's plan started
working out perfectly. They wereworking out perfectly before,
but I didn't see it until Ianswered that call. It was like,
once you've hit it, like, the,like, the benchmark, and he's
like, okay. Now we can keep golike, you hit this part, now we

(35:16):
can keep going. Like, I wasfinally seeing it starting to
fall into place.
And, the pro the my project Icame up with, I wanted to talk
about body image because Imyself had struggled with it for
a very long time and stillstruggle with it daily. But I

(35:36):
wanted to do a program forgirls, and I was like, I don't
know how I'm gonna do it orwhere I'm gonna do it. I didn't
have the plans put together yet.And then God placed it in my lap
to do it at fall retreat, thatthat year, and I was gonna be
talking to my peers. So I was alittle bit nervous.

(35:57):
You know? I was like, I don'tknow about this. I'm talking
straight to my peers about bodyimage and that you're perfect
the way you are because God hascreated you that way. He wanted
you to be that way. And so weprayed before miss Mary was
there.
We prayed. And then I went in. Iplayed a little video, and then
it was my turn to talk. I waslike, I don't know about this.

(36:20):
And as soon as the words startedto come out of my mouth, I felt
an ease come over me.
It was like that ease of Godbeing like, okay. You're in your
place where you're supposed tobe. This is what I've called you
to do, and the the rest ishistory after this.

T.J. (36:39):
Well, how did the presentation go? Did it solicit
good questions? And

LeighAnn (36:45):
It went great, and, I got really good feedback from my
peers, my friends that I hadmade. And it was great to hear
them say that, you did a reallygood job, and I learned a lot.
And I was like, that was myfirst time of getting feedback
from something I had done, and Iwas like, I really enjoyed this.
Because it makes me feel betterin my heart that I helped

(37:07):
someone learn something, andmake them feel better about
themselves.

T.J. (37:12):
And our peers are always the toughest group to speak to

LeighAnn (37:17):
I'm telling you.

T.J. (37:18):
Regardless of age.

LeighAnn (37:21):
There's still sometimes I I, get nervous
before. Now it's a differentnervousness of like, okay. Is
someone gonna hear something inwhat I say? Did I do all I
needed to do? Was there someonegonna like it?
Not necessarily to my peersanymore, but to the whole

(37:42):
church. It It was interesting tosee that dynamic change. I'm not
I can talk to my peers. My placeI love to talk to is middle
schoolers. They are a fun timeto have a conversation with.
I got to speak I got invited tospeak at SCA, the Fellowship of
Christian Athletes, at NorthMiddle School in town, and I had

(38:06):
a grand old time. I've learnedthat's my favorite place to be
is with the middle schoolersbecause they're so funny.

T.J. (38:12):
Yeah. And come up with great questions and imagination
that and creativity that I wishwe would carry with us forever,
but that that time period, it'sso strange, you know, you're
learning your body, you'relearning your mind, you're
becoming more aware of yoursurroundings and the world

LeighAnn (38:35):
Yes.

T.J. (38:36):
And the contradictions in the world, and those young
voices just call it out for whatit is.

LeighAnn (38:44):
Right now, there's this he's he's a young man. He's
in, he's in 8th grade at themiddle school, and I subbed for
his class one day, and he justcame up and was talking to me.
And but now we've created abond, because he found out that
I was working at the church, andwe've created this bond. And
anytime I sub, he makes sure tocome and find me. Like, this

(39:07):
other day, I subbed this pastFriday, and he just made sure to
come and find me because he'slike, miss Leanne, I feel like
you're a friend to me, and I canask you a question.
And then he's like, can I tellyou something in secret? And I
was like, oh, yes. And and itjust it it warms my heart to
know that he has found somewheresafe that he can go talk to. It

(39:29):
those are my favoriterelationships to make of, like,
they know they can come talk tome. Sometimes they are middle
schoolers, and they're becausethey're still learning about
their body and everything.
And so, like, sometimes I'mlike, alright. As I said, we
need deodorant, but I tried to,like, stop myself. I'm like,

(39:50):
okay. They're talking to youseriously. So that's what I've
learned.
I've loved if, like, they stilllove you and then you're but
you're like, are you sweaty?Don't hug me. I'll talk to you,
and I love you from a distance.

T.J. (40:07):
That's hilarious, Leanne. You're in seminary now. So in in
early in in your seminaryjourney, what's your early
impression so far?

LeighAnn (40:21):
I'm loving every second of it. I'm learning new
things every single week ofclass. I'm lucky I don't have to
go to Memphis every single week.I only have to go once a month,
so I love that part. I know alot of people didn't have that
luxury of having online classes,so I'm grateful for the chance
of being able to not have havingto travel as much.

(40:44):
So I do love that part because Iactually get to learn stuff in
class and then get to apply itdirectly to the church. So I'm
enjoying that part. I've learneda lot of things I didn't know.
I'm keeping my mind openedbecause I'm like there's some
things I'm like, I've neverheard that before. And and then

(41:10):
there's just things I'm like,well, I didn't get taught that
in seminary.
Me and Michael have a fun thingthat he'll come to me. He'll go,
you're not taught this inseminary, so just take a note of
it. It was fun getting to seethat part too of, like, oh,
well, okay. I guess I'm notlearning this in seminary, so
I'll just have to do it, learnhow to do it.

T.J. (41:32):
Well, it it's an educational piece. And I don't
know if there's any institutionthat can prepare an individual
for everything that you mightencounter in life. You but the
same goes for family as well.Family prepares you for
adulthood and, life outside thehousehold, But even then, and

(41:57):
you're together every day orvery, very often, still cannot
prepare an individual foreverything that they may
encounter.

LeighAnn (42:07):
Sadly, I wish there was just one institution that
would do that for me.

T.J. (42:12):
Just to wrap every wrap everything up. All your
questions answered. And it wouldbe in a book or an app that you
could just, look at it at anyday and time, and you would find
your answer.

LeighAnn (42:27):
I would love it. But then I feel like you'd still be
missing something because I'mlike, it's something about
getting the experience.

T.J. (42:34):
Mhmm.

LeighAnn (42:34):
Especially in ministry, it's like something
about getting the experience ofactually having to do something.
Like, it's some it's a totallydifferent feeling. I could sit
here all day and read a book inseminary class, but once I apply
it is when I finally understandit. Becoming hands on is when I
finally understand, okay. Thisis what what's happening here.

T.J. (42:55):
And and I believe our approach to higher education
also kind of informs, you know,if we're looking at our
schooling as a how to, then wewill miss opportunities of, for
potential growth, you know,where it just becomes a manual
of operations. That's notnecessarily so, nor does the

(43:16):
world work in that way either.So I I think our mindset also
influences how we approach justeducation in general, any type
of education. Leanne, you areyour title is community life
director at the WinchesterCumberland Presbyterian Church

(43:40):
in Tennessee. I wanted to askyou, what is an average month
like for a community lifedirector in a church?

LeighAnn (43:50):
I'm either a community life director or congregational
life director. It depends onwhat we're feeling at that day.
It's the same thing.

T.J. (43:57):
Okay. I was about to ask, is there a distinction between
the 2?

LeighAnn (44:01):
There's there's not much of a distinction, but it
goes month to month what itlooks like. As you know, in
ministry, it's it changes everysingle month. But I get to do a
little bit of everything, whichI enjoy that part. I get to work
with, Dan who's over our youth.I get to work with mister Steve,

(44:21):
who's over our children's, and Iget to work with Amber and
Michael.
And Amber helps with a lot withour, contemporary service, which
is at 9 o'clock. So I get tosee, kind of how she works with
that. I get to lead biblestudies. I have a daytime women
bible study that me and Amberboth lead. We take alternating

(44:41):
weeks, So it's kinda fun gettingto see that because there's a
time where I'm sitting andlistening and being a part of
the study in, as like a, howwould you not a spec would it be
a spectator, would you think?

T.J. (44:54):
Almost almost like a student because you're a

LeighAnn (44:56):
nerd too. Student, and there's sometimes where I'm
reversed, and I'm the teacher,and so I enjoy that dynamic. I'm
kind of able to fill inwherever. I get to preach every
so often. I'll be preaching thisnext Sunday, actually.
So I'm in the schedule forpreaching, and I get to lead
worship on Sundays, whether itbe in the 9 o'clock and then

(45:20):
sometimes in the traditionalservice. Mostly, I'm in the
traditional, and I enjoy that somuch. I get I love getting to
meet the older people. They'reso funny. So I get to do that.
And then in the summers, I I'mable to easily go to camps. We
have camps at the church that wedo. We have VBS, so I help lead
in those. So I get to do alittle as I said, I get to do a

(45:42):
little bit of everything, and Iget to help start things that I
would love to see happen. And,yeah, that's what I that's what
a community life director is.
It's basically an associate, butI'm not ordained yet. So that's
what we came up with.

T.J. (46:01):
Yeah. To use a baseball term, it sounds like you're a
utility player. You're able toplay in different and various
positions in baseball justwherever they can plug you in
because of the talent. And itsounds like you're being
utilized with your gifts thereat Winchester, wherever you can
plug in.

LeighAnn (46:21):
I am in

T.J. (46:22):
That's a great opportunity.

LeighAnn (46:23):
Oh, yes. And they're great with schooling, because
they help me with I when I'm inschool, there's a quarter of my
time that's used for just schooltime. Mhmm. And they're very
helpful of working out. If Ihave to do a night class, like,
this past semester, I had aWednesday night class.

(46:44):
Who has a Wednesday night classfor seminary? I don't know.

T.J. (46:47):
You do.

LeighAnn (46:49):
Clearly, at Memphis Theological, they do. They had
one class that was on Wednesdaynights. So I was able to, like,
eat, and then I didn't lead aWednesday class. So I was able
to easily slip away after eatingwith everyone, get to spend time
with everyone to go take thatclass. So they're very helpful
in that, and I learn a lot fromevery single one of them on the

(47:11):
staff and everyone in thechurch.
They're great mentors for me. II wouldn't I I don't know where
I would be if I didn't havethem.

T.J. (47:23):
Well, Leanne, you have been part of the Cumberland
Presbyterian Church all yourlife. What do you think some of
the greatest gifts and assetsthere is for being part of this
church family, thisdenomination?

LeighAnn (47:41):
Being a part of this for my whole entire life, it's
great in the sense of that thefact that we're so
interconnected with each other.Now there is some that that are
not as interconnected, but we'reable to help them become
interconnected with everyone. Ilove being able to go when I was
on ministry council, going toministry council and seeing

(48:03):
people I already knew because Iwas like, I don't know how I'm
gonna feel about going to hangout with a bunch of older adults
that I don't really know. Butthen I get a welcoming face
from, like, Nathan Wheeler. Iwould see him at the meetings,
and I would just feel alreadybed better being there.
And we're also loving 3 g.Someone there's, one of my

(48:28):
friends from Bethel, because,you know, Bethel is the CP
school is and everything. Andhe's like, well, y'all are like
a cult. I said, no. We're not acult.
We just love each other so much.We're like a I say, like I told
him I said, we're like a big oldfamily. We have our issues. We
have our problems with eachother. As any family does and

(48:51):
any church does, there's gonnabe problems that arise.
But at the end of the day, westill all love each other. At
least, I think so. We all loveeach other.

T.J. (49:04):
What ideas what dreams do you have for the Cumberland
Presbyterian denomination? Wherewould you like us to be in 10
years' time?

LeighAnn (49:15):
I know we don't need to stay the same because if you
stay the same, you're notgrowing or changing, with the
world. But I would con I wouldlike to see us to continue to
grow in helping everyone elsebecome together, and be be able
to be like, oh, yeah. I knowthis person, and I would love to

(49:35):
see that. Sometimes I hate thatwe don't have as many events
together, because we all have,like, our own events that we do
throughout the year. But then,like, we have CPYC at camp where
all the kids can come together.
And then I say General Assemblyis just a grown up CPYC. It just
has business meetings instead ofplaying games and everything.

(49:58):
So, in the general assembly, wehave that. I like, I wish we had
more time to be able to spendtogether, which well, well so I
kind of hate that part wherewe're not always being able to
be together as much.

T.J. (50:11):
Yeah.

LeighAnn (50:12):
Because there's some people that don't get to see
each other at all. So I'd liketo see us continue to grow and
add more people to the family,but then also be able to come
more together.

T.J. (50:25):
I like meeting new people. Like, maybe I've seen a name or
heard somebody's name that's,you know, in the Cumberland
Presbyterian Church. And thenfinally get to meet them. Or
maybe I've never met them orheard their name. And then being
able to, get acquainted and andlearn more about them, you know,

(50:47):
and share and interact.
Well, and I guess in a way, thispodcast sort of does that, you
know. It it, sort of feeds that,being able to get an opportunity
to sit down with great peoplelike you, Leanne, and and, learn
more about you and where youcome from, and where god is

(51:07):
leading you. I mean, that it'san amazing thing.

LeighAnn (51:13):
I have enjoyed getting to listen to this podcast
because it helped me to meetmore people and Mhmm. Or at
least get to hear their story.Because sometimes you don't get
to meet everyone because it'skinda hard to meet everyone
sometimes, especially whenyou're at an event and there's a
bunch of people there.

T.J. (51:30):
Right. Right. And then if you have responsibilities. Mhmm.
You know, as a community lifedirector, who's a utility
player, you end up doing alldifferent kinds of things.
And so you might just be able towaive, and then you're moving on
to the next thing.

LeighAnn (51:46):
At Winchester, I'm blessed with the fact of our
session really helps us too.And, also, the ladies of the
church, kind of all the membersof the church, they do a really
good job of if we're not able tosee that someone is new being
there, they make sure to tell usand what their name is. There's

(52:09):
this lovely lady of the church.Her name is miss Linda, and
that's what she does. That'slike her I call it her gift that
she has that she makes sure andgoes out of her way to go meet
these new people, writes downtheir name, first and last name,
if they have kids, where they'refrom, where they're living, if
they're from there.

(52:31):
She's amazing. And this a coupleSundays ago, she was walking
around the church with a momthat had a kid, showing her
where the nursery was, lettingher meet miss Paula, took her
upstairs to show her upstairs,took her downstairs, let her see
the downstairs, but she was veryintentional of, okay, to make
you feel comfortable being here,I wanna show you everything so

(52:52):
you know where you're going. Andso you felt com she felt
comfortable leaving her child inthe nursery. Miss Linda's a
great woman.

T.J. (53:01):
Nice. So she is the hospitality team at the
Winchester Church.

LeighAnn (53:08):
I guess you could say.

T.J. (53:11):
That's great. There needs to be more Linda's out there in
the world.

LeighAnn (53:15):
There I always say there's there's some type of
miss Linda at every churchbecause there's lovely ladies at
the church that that they theythey know how to talk to some
people.

T.J. (53:27):
Yeah. They don't meet a stranger.

LeighAnn (53:29):
Oh, they don't.

T.J. (53:33):
Well, I know you must be neck deep in books for your
seminary coursework, but I likeasking every guest when given
the chance some books, music,movies in your life that really
are speaking or have spoken toyour faith that you would

(53:54):
recommend for those who arelistening?

LeighAnn (53:58):
So fun facts. I'm really not a book reader. I'm
having to push myself to read mybooks for seminary classes. I
just never was a reader. But I'ma big movie person, so I can
suggest some some movies.

T.J. (54:12):
Alright. Go for it.

LeighAnn (54:13):
I'm a big old movie person. I am a big fan of, I
don't even know who does themovies, but I love Fireproof and
Courageous. All those movies,those are really good movies.
And, there's one movie. I'm ahave to look it up.
So hold on. Can I put a

T.J. (54:34):
boss here first?

LeighAnn (54:38):
Okay. I think I found it.

T.J. (54:40):
Alright.

LeighAnn (54:43):
Okay. So another movie I have fallen in love with this
past year that I just foundamazing, and I don't know if you
typically see it as a Christianmovie, but it gives a lot of
insight to the faith. And it'sabout that, Arkansas player. I

(55:04):
can't think of his name. Is itBrandon Burrows?

T.J. (55:06):
Is that it?

LeighAnn (55:07):
Oh, yeah. Brandon Burrowsworth from Arkansas, and
it's called Greater. If you havenot watched it, you need to
watch it because he was a greatman of faith. And he just always
knew that even though no onecould see him being going
professionally into football, heknew God had bigger plans for
him, and he pushed for it andalways turned to God in faith. I

(55:32):
have a couple quotes on mycomputer at work from the movie
because I was like, that'sthat's so true.

T.J. (55:39):
It's pretty cool when you find a movie that is not just
enjoyable, but also inspiring aswell.

LeighAnn (55:48):
So I'm a big movie person, but I'm also a big music
person. And being at Bethel, wehave Tuesday chapel. And so I
was introduced to a lot ofmusic. And going to conferences,
I was introduced to a lot ofmusic. So I can also suggest
some music.
I love music. I actually have aplaylist on my Spotify if anyone
ever needs to find it. It'scalled Jesus Jams. I got my old

(56:12):
music. I got my new music.
I got a little bit of VeggieTales in there.

T.J. (56:16):
Alright.

LeighAnn (56:17):
I have a good old Veggie Tales remix that someone
has done, and it's hilarious.

T.J. (56:23):
And and this is a playlist that you've created?

LeighAnn (56:27):
Mhmm. I've created it all myself.

T.J. (56:29):
And so you could actually share that, or we could we could
look it up. So what was itcalled again?

LeighAnn (56:34):
It's called Jesus Jams.

T.J. (56:36):
Okay. Alright.

LeighAnn (56:37):
And it's hilarious. I I it was just so happened that I
just finally was like, you knowwhat? I need to separate it out
because there's sometimes I justwanna listen to good praise and
worship music. When I'm driving,especially my long drives to
Memphis. Sometimes you wanna getaway from all your other music
and just listen to God musicbecause God speaks through

(56:57):
music.
And he speaks through people,and he speaks through movies. He
speaks through books. He speaksthrough everything, really. But
some music that I've startedlistening to, I'm a big fan of
is it, Elevation Worship? Lovetheir music.
My big one right now is here asin heaven. I love the message of

(57:19):
it because I think about it, andI'm like, yeah. Yeah. And then I
also love in Jesus' name by isit I think it's Katie Nicole.
And it's just speaking the nameof Jesus over things that are
going on in life because there'sa lot of things that people

(57:40):
don't know about going onpeople's lives.
There's things that happenbehind closed doors that no one
wants they don't like to talkabout, So you can at least pray
over things that are going onwith for them, even though they
don't tell you. That kinda helpsme to remind me, okay. I need to
pray for my friends today. I maynot know what they're going
through, but I can at least prayfor them and hope that that does

(58:03):
something for them. And I knowit will do something for them.
I have a lot of music. If I sayit wrong, I can tell you my
whole playlist. If you just lookat my playlist, you can see what
kind of seasons I go through, mylife of, like, okay. So I need,
I needed some down music,something to be able to just

(58:25):
ponder over, and then there'smusic that's really uppity and
you wanna jump up and down,listening to that you would sing
like Grace Combo. So and then Ihave a lot of, Tasha Cobbs
music.
I like a Tasha Cobbs fan.

T.J. (58:42):
Well, Leanne, you have given me some, a movie to check
out I haven't seen, and thenyou've introduced me to some new
music that I'll have to checkout as well.

LeighAnn (58:53):
I love movies and music. It's

T.J. (58:56):
Just not books?

LeighAnn (58:58):
Just not books. I'm really not a big book fan. I'm
not gonna lie. When he gave mesomething to ponder over for
books, I was like, he's gonna beupset to know I don't read
books. I only read them, and Ihave found insight from the
books from seminary.
So that's helped me to do that.But I just I read a lot of books

(59:20):
growing up because we had to forschool, just to get, like they
did the reading logs, and so Ijust I'm not a books person. If
I read a book, it was usuallyalso a movie. So I'd read the
book and watch the movie.

T.J. (59:35):
What if the book was narrated with music in the
background and imagery for youto look at?

LeighAnn (59:47):
I do end up listening to this. I'll pay attention to
those.

T.J. (59:52):
Okay.

LeighAnn (59:53):
A good old Morgan Freeman moment. Yep. Okay. I'll
listen to it. I I remembergrowing up, there's a page.
It was like what was it? I don'teven know what it's called now.
But they would read the book tous. It was these famous people
that read read children's books.Mhmm.
And they would show you thepictures of the book and
throughout the whole thing. Itwas a whole video. And, so

(01:00:16):
that's what I would do for,reading.

T.J. (01:00:19):
Alright. So we need to make that happen for all
theological books.

LeighAnn (01:00:25):
Some of those theological books, I'm like they
say things, and I'm like, I'mgonna have to look that up
because I don't understand whatthat word

T.J. (01:00:33):
is. Yeah. You have to have a dictionary, a theological
dictionary next to thetheological book that you're
reading.

We're reading, I'm in Hebrew bible right now, and so
we're going from beginning toend going through the books and
everything. And, we just gotthrough the Torah and all that.
And so she had us read in thefirst part of the bible where it
talks about this person is bornof this person, and it and it's
this really outlandish name. AndI became there's a TikTok that

(01:01:08):
I've watched that, when you'rereading the bible in the old
testament and there's a name andyou just it's like is born of
this blah blah blah. And so Isaw myself doing that because I
was like, I hope she doesn't askus who is the son of blah blah
blah.
Right. Because I'm like, I don'tknow any of these names really
well.

T.J. (01:01:30):
And and there's no face to go with the name. So there's no
visual. So not only is it aboutpronunciation, there's no face,
there's no connection that wemight get with, you know, being
in the presence, either seeingthem or hearing them speak.

We were talking in our bible study, I think it was a
couple Wednesdays ago, andtalking about it's just like we
watched, like, The Chosen, andsome of them do. I hadn't
watched it yet. And they werejust talking about how they're
depicted in the thing, if that'sactually their true picture of
what they would look like. And Iwas like, you know, it's gonna

(01:02:08):
be really cool if in heaven theythe actual person meets who
played them in The Chosen and belike, you actually didn't depict
me right, or you did you did theperfect job of how I looked.
Because, like, it's like a Idon't know.
It's like that moment. They meettogether in heaven. I'm like,
that'll be interesting to

T.J. (01:02:29):
see. You don't wanna be a part of it, but you want to
observe the conversation. Okay.I get it. Well, Leanne, thank
you for giving me, part of yourday to share your faith journey
and getting to know you better.
I know I've been saying thatfrom time to time with each
guest, but it's true. There'ssomething to be said for being

(01:02:53):
able to carve out time foranother human being and and we
just talk. You know, we talkabout our faith and, that's
inspiring and encouraging in aworld that needs both
inspiration and encouragement.

I think there's I I love the CP church because we
can sit and talk for hours. Ilove it. I love having
conversations with people, and II love seeing their, like, face
light up when someone hasn'tcame to see them in a while, and
they love to get to see them.Mhmm. There's, there's one lady

(01:03:32):
I love to go visit at the churchbecause it just makes my day.
Every time I go see her,sometimes they're in there in
the kitchen working and doingstuff, and then sometimes we're
just sitting there talking. Ilove every second of it, and
they're she's so funny. She's alittle bit older, and and it's
just something that presence.But also there's a presence of

(01:03:54):
when you're talking to a littlekid. It also makes my day too,
especially when I get to pick onthem.
I love picking on the littlekids, but nothing too mean. I'm
just, like, picking on them,just being like, what are y'all
doing? And they when they run upto me and say, miss Leanne, it's
so good to see you, especiallywhen I'm subbing in the schools.

(01:04:14):
It's just something thatpresents of I make their day,
but they also made my day whenthey came and ran up to me. I
don't know.

T.J. (01:04:25):
Yeah. I I think everybody has their own essence. And when
you're intentional of reallygetting to know another person,
you're drawn to it, you know.You want to to hear them tell a
joke or tell a story or just bein their area because you've had
you've shared previousexperiences with them or other

(01:04:48):
encounters or you want to try tocreate those, create a
friendship or relationship. AndI think the Christian community
does that really, really well.
We really do in our in our bestmoments. In spite of our worst
moments, I think those are someof the gifts that we have to

(01:05:09):
offer the rest of the world.

I remember when, everything had happened on that
Sunday of my dad's passing, thechurch it was on a Sunday, so it
was kinda hard to be like, okay.So what are they gonna do at
church? So what they did insteadwas that they came together for
a time of prayer and being theretogether because that's what

(01:05:33):
they needed. And so that just tome, it shows what the Christian
faith can be like and is like,Not can be like, it is like that
we love on each other whenthings happen. And when everyone
came together to a funeral.
I love seeing that. It's alwaysa sad moment, but it's just

(01:05:53):
like, we can come together whenthings happen and love on each
other because that's what peopleneed. People need loves.

T.J. (01:06:02):
Yeah. We do. I do. You do. Everyone does.

Sometimes it's just a good old hug can make your day
better.

T.J. (01:06:13):
Yep. That's very true.

And it's fun to be in a relationship because my
boyfriend, well, now fiance, hedidn't grow up in that type of
church. He grew up in a verysmall church that it wasn't
really connected or anything toany things anything else. And
he's like, it's kinda cool tosee us put this wedding
together, and you have so manypeople to come. I was like,

(01:06:37):
these people also love youbecause of what you've done for
me, and, they just love youbecause they don't know you yet.
They wanna get to know you.
That's how the CP world works.We don't know you yet, but we
already love you.

T.J. (01:06:53):
Yeah. Yeah. But he's already learning that, you know,
if you're not prepared, that canbe overwhelming at first.

He when he saw dad's, when we got to the church, I
told him I said, this church isalready full. Goshen's not that
big of a church. I was like,it's already full with the
presence of people that can't bethere. They've already told us
that they can't be there becausethere was something already
happening. I was like, it'salready full right now.
And I was like, just wait. Andhe even had to step out at one

(01:07:26):
moment because he's like, I needa second. I was like, okay. You
can go step outside. That'sfine.
Because it can be overwhelming

T.J. (01:07:35):
Yeah.

Getting to meet everyone and also try to
remember names.

T.J. (01:07:42):
How has it been to both receive healing and loss and yet
still be in a role and in avocation where you must offer
healing? How do you deal withthat balance?

I think I'm still learning how to deal with it.
But it's like knowing when Ineed a second. Knowing like, I
know in myself when I need tostep away and I need to take a
second because there's somethinggoing on that I'm not gonna be
able to help someone. I'm like,okay. I'm dealing with something

(01:08:23):
in myself, grieving wise, that Ineed to step away and maybe go
for a walk or, instead go dosomething else, especially at
camp.
I've had to learn that because acamp was a place that me and my
dad had a great we had a greattime all the time there, and I
have a lot of memories there. SoI have to learn when I need to

(01:08:44):
step back because I get to like,I'll get emotional, and I'm
like, okay. I don't need to bearound the kids right now
because I need a second, and Ineed to catch my breath and
kinda center myself. So that II'm still learning how to deal
with that because there's stillsometimes I get really angry,
and I'm not given the best care.So I just I guess learning how

(01:09:09):
to okay.
I don't need to be talking toyou right now because I can't
really help you at this moment.So I'm gonna step away. I'll be
right back.

T.J. (01:09:21):
I'm still learning too, LeighAnn. I don't know if that's
any consolation. But, yeah,learning limitations and and
what helps, rejuvenate, youknow, clear the head. And
sometimes removal you know,removing myself from
circumstance or situation or thecontext and, gives me a

(01:09:46):
different perspective. It allowsme to ask questions of myself or
of of the context where I can goback with a clear head.
And and maybe actually, receiveboth healing and offer it, you
know. Mhmm. We keep talkingabout relationships.

(01:10:07):
Relationships are this give andtake. You can't just always take
nor can you always just keepgiving.

Mhmm. Gotta find a nice balance. Sometimes we
talked about it in a lot of myclasses at Bethel. Like, people
always say that relationshipsare 5050. No.
Sometimes it's not always 5050.Sometimes you're giving
everything because that's whatthey need at that time. And then

(01:10:34):
sometimes they're givingeverything because that's what
you need at that time. And thensometimes it is balanced, and
then sometimes it's like 80 20.It's an ever moving scale in a
relationship.
Any type of friendship, actualintimate relationship, anything
like that. It's it's a lot ofI'm gonna give you a lot, and

(01:10:55):
then you're not gonna give meanything back. And then there's
sometimes where it's reversed.

T.J. (01:10:58):
Yeah. Or why ascribe numbers to a relationship when
we could use descriptive words

Mhmm. Of what that relationship

T.J. (01:11:08):
what we can offer and what we can receive. That would
change the perspective on therelationship away from numbers
and more about attributes andgifts. I don't know. Just a
thought.

I like that thought though.

T.J. (01:11:27):
It would probably be the only one that I have of the
week, but there it is. Leanne,thank you.

Well, thank you for having me. Yeah. Thank you.

T.J. (01:11:43):
Yeah. Thank you for opening up and fielding my
questions and, your laughter.It's been good.

I tell my friends, I'm a great old time if you finally
break my wall down. I may bevery silent, especially, like,
when I first get to a placebecause I'm like, I don't know
about this. But once you get megoing, I get I get I get there.

T.J. (01:12:15):
Thank you for listening to this episode of Cumberland Road.
Please share this podcast withyour friends, your family, those
you work with, those you go toworship with. Cumberland Road
now has transcripts. So you cango to the Cumberland Road
website and see some transcriptsthere. And with the most recent

(01:12:39):
update on Apple Podcasts, youcan find transcripts for each
episode. In closing, I leave youwith these words from the
directory of worship of theCumberland Presbyterian Church.
These words are a blessingshared with those who make a
public profession of faith. Befilled with the spirit of

(01:13:02):
Christ. Live a life worthy ofthe gospel with all lowliness
and meekness, with patience,forbearing one another in love,
eager to maintain the unity ofthe spirit in the body of peace.
Be an imitator of Christ. Walkin love. Thanks for listening.

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LeighAnn Morgan - The Importance of Community, Active Listening, & Offering Forgiveness

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}LeighAnn Morgan - The Importance of Community, Active Listening, & Offering Forgiveness