Biography
Rev. Dr. Nancy J. Horvath-Zurn grew up on a dairy farm in western Pennsylvania. Though her family attended a Presbyterian church, her earliest spiritual recollections come from the creation theology espoused by her father from the top of a John Deere tractor. During the spring corn planting seasons she learned to see God in the earth and sky, the weather, and all creatures.
As an adolescent, Nancy became involved in the Jesus People movement of the 1970’s. She turned her back on the spiritual lessons from her father and became absorbed in the spiritual laws and requirements for "born again" Christians. This led to her attending a Baptist College a thousand miles away from the farm and family.
In the mid-eighties she came out as a lesbian and discovered Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC). She loved the inter-denominational inclusion of this church. They did not seek to be a melting pot, but instead to recognize the faith beliefs from all Christian communities. She graduated from a United Church of Christ seminary and was credentialed MCC clergy in 1991. Since that time she has pastored churches in Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas and Minnesota.
Over the past fifteen years, through her own personal spiritual journey, Nancy has walked through open doors beyond Christianity to what she calls an inter-spiritual approach to her life. She loves to explore other faith beliefs and often integrates parts of them into her own. While she strives to live out the teachings of Jesus, she incorporates the rituals and beliefs of other spiritualities into her life as well. She defines herself as a spiritual being, a child of God. She has come to recognize her gifts as a sensitive as well.
Her home office speaks to her beliefs. On the walls are crosses from Celtic, Byzantine, and Taize’ traditions. A Buddha meditates on her desk across from a Tibetan Singing Bowl. One wall is dedicated to her Native American spiritual beliefs, and a small table serves as an altar containing stones, shells, bones, and other medicine items. Her bookshelves are packed with an eclectic assortment of spiritual reading.
Nancy believes that each and every one of us has a spiritual path. The problem, she says, comes when our path and beliefs are dictated by others, and we don’t come to terms with what we truly believe, and why we believe it. Her mission is to assist individuals and small groups in illuminating their spiritual paths through exploration and reflection.
This gifted spiritual mentor, speaker, author and photographer holds a BA in psychology from Bethel College, St. Paul, Minnesota. She received her Masters in Divinity from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. She earned her Doctorate in Ministry from Phillips Theological Seminary of Tulsa, Oklahoma with an emphasis on Practical Theology.