Prior Law Practice Experience Is a Big Plus for Pioneering Pastor
Sara Smith had been in practice only three years after earning her law degree from the University of Houston in 1988 before she decided to pursue a different career—the ministry.
But her experience as a trial lawyer for the U.S. Department of Labor and, while earning a master’s degree in divinity at Texas Christian University, her part-time job at Chappell & Handy working on class action litigation, have been integral to ability to help her congregation, the pioneering pastor of United Congregational Church in Bridgeport tells the Connecticut Law Tribune.
“I help people get out of speeding tickets and things all the time,” says Smith. “I helped people in the ministry deal with landlords. The law affects everything we do and the ministry affects everything we do because it’s all about people. It’s a good combination.”
Among a number of other significant “firsts” in her life, she is the first female pastor in the 314-year history of her church, the article notes.
