The Rev. Nancy Ross Zimmerman
Personal Background
Nancy grew up in Cincinnati, attended the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music before transferring to Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey where she was schooled as a church musician.
Nancy and her first husband Jeff Ross served as music directors in congregations in New Jersey, Virginia, and Texas before Jeff was killed in a family car accident. Nancy eventually moved with their two young children back to Cincinnati where she served as Director of Music and Youth in Hamilton Ohio.
It was at The Presbyterian Church in Hamilton that Nancy and Craig Zimmerman met and were married, blending their children into a family of five. Nancy felt called to ordained ministry in 1997 and attended the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary where she received her M.Div. in December, 2000. In her final months of seminary she was called as Associate Pastor at Northminster Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati where she has served since January 2001.
Nancy and Craig gladly claim three married children and their spouses, Robert and Debbie Ross, Jessica Zimmerman and Michael Andresen and Ashley Ross and Claude Cassion. Rob and Debbie live in Philadelphia and have three children, Tennyson (8), Delaney (6) and Millie (4). Ashley and Jessica each have a dog!
Nancy loves hiking, exploring, and photography and if she could do all three and be in Scotland, she would be delighted! (Feel free to ask her about Iona!) She also enjoys spending time with family, especially at the beach on Topsail Island, North Carolina. Nancy’s mother, brother, two sisters, and their children, all live in the Cincinnati area.
In the Words of Nancy Ross-Zimmerman
I am a relational, perceptive pastor who is sensitive to the Spirit’s leading in helping people to open up and make connections from the past, present, and future. I find I am able to give perspective, guidance and hope to families, and I feel blessed doing so.
I have a deep respect for the traditions of the PC(USA), and recognize that life is dynamic, and as Presbyterians, we have always been and need to continue to be, reforming. I feel called by God to encourage a congregation to think about the challenges posed by the unique contextual situation in which we will find ourselves in 2019. In order to thrive and grow, change is necessary and I feel energized and equipped to navigate growth and change through innovation, both inside and outside the walls of the church building.
I feel best suited for a position that allows me to minister to both the gathered Body of Christ as well as to help cultivate the spiritual development of members, and to equip them to exercise their gifts in ministry.
I am skilled at leading creative worship, in both contemporary and traditional settings, providing a calm but joyful presence, assuring worshipers that they are beloved and valued. My preaching is grounded in scripture, and my gifts will bless a church that is open to the possibility of seeing and hearing God and God’s Call to a faithful life in fresh ways.
• I have grown in recognizing the Spirit’s direction, and as such, I am a Spirit-led leader who sees things as they could be and trusts God’s leading.
• After eighteen years in pastoral ministry, I better understand and accept that I am not the Savior. (I do not need to be involved with everything, nor do I need to fix everything.) I work to maintain a balance, which means that I trust God is also at work. Taking time for myself, my marriage, and my family will be essential to a long life of faithful, cheerful service.
I believe in God the Creator of all, and that God chose to be in relationship with us and sent Jesus Christ, God Incarnate, to be our Lord and Savior. I believe that God desires to empower us to be God’s ambassadors in the world, and so gifts us with the Holy Spirit. I believe that this Trinitarian God has worked and continues to work throughout this world.
In addition to serving as associate pastor for sixteen years, I served as acting head of staff from June 2015 until October 2017.
