Shimiko Montgomery

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About Shimiko Montgomery

I am at First Presbyterian because of their dedication to joining God in working toward a more just, compassionate, and peaceful world.  This church has a long history of being a beacon of hope and love to the vulnerable and the marginalized. I am honored to be included in these ceaseless efforts in creating change for a better world.

Before this, I served as the Associate Pastor at the United Methodist church (aka Bend Church)  here in Bend.  My work there also centered around justice and missions, especially in their outreach to those experiencing homelessness in this community.  I was also their 2015 Chili Cook-off winner and a very useless right fielder on their softball team.

I am from the Marshall Islands, one of the earths lowest lying island nations, and grew up on the neighboring island of Pohnpei, one of the wettest places on earth. So living in the high desert is quite an experience! Before we moved here, we lived in Bali, Indonesia and in Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. To say the least, I love to travel.  I love eating food I have never eaten before, taking in new sights, sounds and smells, learning about other cultural traditions, and meeting new people.  Some of my best memories are of travels involving a lot of free time, a moped, and the possibility I might get food poisoning. But now I have the even better thrill of being a mom to three little children. When not chasing them around, I like to fiddle around the downtown library, my favorite place in all of Bend, or relax with a snack plate of cheeses and a cold beer.