New Friends Community Church Pastor

The Friends Community Church, Sturgeon Bay, welcomes Nancy Bontempo as its new full-time pastor. Bontempo grew up in the area and is the daughter of Bud and Lorraine Selvick. After graduating from Southern Door in 1979, she enrolled at UW-Green Bay, completing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication and Business. She spent the next 30 years applying her education to leadership and team development in a corporate setting and her employers have included Schneider Communications, US Bank and Northwestern Mutual. Bontempo’s first love, however, has always been her faith. “I have been a student of the Bible from the time I was a child. I count myself blessed to have spent my life under amazing teachers who helped me understand the richness and practical application of the Word of God.” Nancy and her husband Dave returned to Sturgeon Bay in 2011 to help care for her father, who was suffering from dementia at the time. “Our plan was to come back for a few months in order to help my mom implement a plan for his care. Once we were back, however, we realized that we needed to make this our permanent residence. We’ve fallen in love with Door County and Friends Community Church.” Friends Community Church is one of the oldest in Door County, being established in 1880. The Society of Friends believes that both men and women are qualified to serve as pastor and that the Bible’s prohibition of women in ministry was written in light of societal norms at the time. The local Friends community has employed a number of women as pastor since its inception. Friends Community Church is located at 204 W. Maple Street in Sturgeon Bay. All are welcome to attend their Sunday service or Wednesday evening Bible study and prayer gathering. For details, call 920.743.2714.