Melissa Upchurch, Marshall's 1st woman pastor, reflects on end of 12-year tenure

MARSHALL - Melissa Upchurch made history when she moved to Madison County, becoming the first woman pastor in Marshall.

But Upchurch will be moving on from Marshall, as she participated in her last church service at Marshall Presbyterian Church on Sept. 17.

Upchurch will be returning to her hometown, Fayetteville, Arkansas, to be nearer to family, she told The News-Record.

Upchurch moved to Marshall in August 2011.

Her path to Madison County was an interesting one, as she started her professional career in the newspaper industry after receiving her undergraduate degree in journalism from University of Arkansas.

Then, Upchurch moved to technical writing and worked many years as a technical writer, editor, and documentation manager at a company owned by H. Ross Perot called Electronic Data Systems Corp. in Dallas and Plano, Texas.

Upchurch worked for EDS for 14 years before deciding to pursue a seminary education at Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Theology, where she studied for six years and earned a Master of Divinity.

Upchurch told the Community Housing Coalition she received an email from the Presbyterian Church saying that the domination was looking for pastors to place in “hard-to-place” locations.

"I was warned in my interview with Marshall Presbyterian Church that I was the first female pastor in Marshall," Upchurch told The News-Record. "So, I had to kind of work a little harder at certain things to be noticed that men didn't necessarily have to do."

The Arkansas native made her presence known, becoming a fixture at downtown Marshall events, including the annual Veterans Day and Memorial Day celebrations on the courthouse grounds.

Mayor Nancy Allen told The News-Record that Upchurch "was an inspiration for all of us."

"She volunteered countless hours to the town and served on our Downtown Strong Initiative," Allen said. "She will be truly missed."

According to Upchurch, it was at times difficult to shake the "woman pastor" title.

"When I came I started meeting people and introducing myself, and sometimes I'd get introduced, 'This is Melissa, our female pastor,' and I would say, 'Well, would you introduce a man as 'This is so-and-so, our male pastor?'" Upchurch said.

"So people kind of had to learn. But it's way beyond that now. You have Lisa Hannah at the Methodist church in Mars Hill. You have Paula Dempsey with the Baptist Association."

Dempsey is a retired reverend and director of partnership relations with Alliance of Baptists.

Upchurch credited Dempsey, who was the first woman pastor in Madison County, with serving as a mentor to her, which Dempsey said made her "proud" to hear.

"Women don't have many mentors," Dempsey said. "It's just the truth of the matter. At least the generation that I came through, we didn't have many women mentors. Mostly, my mentors are all male."

Dempsey said she first heard about Upchurch from a colleague who worked with her prior to Upchurch's move to Texas.

"I just reached out to Melissa as soon as she came to town to let her know that she wasn't alone," Dempsey said. "I was glad to welcome her to the community."

Reflections on her experience

Viewed by many residents as a progressive pastor, since she first became a member of the Marshall community Upchurch said she has witnessed a lot of change in the county.

"I've seen a ton of change, and I haven't even lived here that long," Upchurch said. "I'm not a native by any means. But I remember being here when the sheriff's office moved from where the hotel is now."

But a lot of that change is immaterial, according to Upchurch, as Marshall has become a more tolerant community in the 12 years she lived here.

"I think overall things have changed for the better with the society, because LGBTQ orientation was just not heard of in Marshall; you didn't speak of it in 2011," Upchurch said. "But now, you see people walking down the street and it's much more open. I'm glad to see that. There are some churches around that that are still not welcoming of people of, what I would say, are a different orientation than I am.

"My job isn't to judge them. My job is to help them have a relationship with the Christ and with the people in the congregation. I don't care what their 'sins' are. We all have 'sins.' It's how people define sin. I don't define an orientation as a sin. We're born like we are. We're very welcoming of anyone who wants to come in the door."

Looking back on her time in Marshall, Upchurch said she's mostly filled with gratitude and appreciation.

"I appreciate the hospitality that I've been shown," Upchurch said. "I appreciate that the congregation has been willing to try new ideas, and they have. When I got here, Marshall looked a little tired. But it's the people. I met the people, and I thought, 'Gee, I could thrive here.' And I did thrive."

Johnny Casey is the Madison County communities reporter for The News-Record & Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jcasey@newsrecordandsentinel.com.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Melissa Upchurch, Marshall's 1st woman pastor, says goodbye to Madison