New associate pastor at Eagle Harbor will focus on outreach.

As a child, Emily Tanis-Likkel led make-believe church services for her family members, baptized her dolls and drew pictures of herself as minister at the pulpit.

Those dreams, it turned out, were providential.

On May 15, Tanis-Likkel will become the first minister ever ordained at Winslow’s historic Eagle Harbor Congregational Church – previous ministers have come “pre-ordained” – and will be installed as the church’s first associate pastor, joining the Rev. Dee Eisenhauer in ministry.

“She loves Jesus, and she has a real interest and belief in healing prayer and ministry,” the Rev. Eisenhauer said. “We think Emily has a great gift for ministry, and the qualities that she brings to the pulpit will be a wonderful complement to what I have to offer.”

Although she didn’t know any women in ministry growing up, Tannis-Likkel “felt the call” at age 8, and was fairly certain of her career choice by 11.

She grew up in western Michigan in a conservative Protestant home – her father was a minister in the Christian Reform Church – but decided to switch to the more liberal Congregational denomination, also known as the United Church of Christ, her first year in seminary.

Her childhood church no longer seemed the best fit for her changing values, which included “accepting all people and affirming each person’s worthiness.”

UCC churches were among the first to ordain women and homosexuals and many of them, such as Eagle Harbor, are “open and affirming” of gay couples and will perform religious commitment ceremonies for them.

“If I was approached by a gay couple that wanted a commitment ceremony, I wanted to be able to say ‘yes,’” Tanis-Likkel said.

She also wanted to be ordained in a denomination where her gender was not a roadblock to the pulpit. Women had a hard time becoming ordained in the denomination in which she grew up, she said, “and if I was called, I didn’t want to deal with the distraction of gender and to have that be an issue. I wanted to get to work.”

While earning her masters of divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary, Tanis-Likkel served as a ministry intern at Eagle Harbor from April 2003 until December 2004. The part-time post was ideal, because the Tanis-Likkels had a new baby, Eva, now age 2.

“I was sad when it ended,” said Tanis-Likkel, who was approached by parishioners who asked, “Can’t you stay?”

Eisenhauer also wanted Tanis-Likkel to stay, and proposed a job-share arrangement in which she would give up one-quarter of her salary so Tanis-Likkel could serve part-time. This arrangement will allow Eisenhauer to be with her two school-age children, and it gives Tanis-Likkel plenty of time with her own toddler.

Parishioners supported the notion, especially since a series of focus groups last fall showed that there was a desire for more pastoral outreach in the 200-member congregation.

Tanis-Likkel’s part-time ministry will focus on care and visitation, focusing on older members of the church. She also hopes to involve younger members of the congregation in lay ministry.

“This is exactly the kind of ministry I was hoping for,” said Tanis-Likkel, who moved to the island three years ago when her husband Brett was hired by Mercury Online Solutions. “I wanted a ministry close to where I live, to be an example in my community. I think it’s important to support your neighborhood church.”

As soon as the couple knew they were coming to Bainbridge Island, Emily contacted the Rev. Eisenhauer about an internship. She did not know, at first, that the Rev. Eisenhauer was married to her husband’s new boss.

The women hit it off right away; Eisenhauer was exactly the same age as Tanis-Likkel, 28, when she began her career as a minister.

As an intern, Tanis-Likkel was given a place to build her skills. Last summer, when Eisenhauer took a sabbatical, Tanis-Likkel took her place as guest minister, tending to the flock and delivering the sermons on Sunday.

“I love writing and preparing sermons,” said Tanis-Likkel. “And Dee is so good at it, her sermons are so full of imagery, there is a lot for me to model.”

With four ministers in her immediate family, she will never lack mentors. In addition to her father, her mother-in-law, father-in-law and brother-in-law are all ordained in the Christian faith. They’ll come from as far as Michi­gan to attend the ordination.

“Emily is a great listener and not one to offer unsolicited advice, and those are great qualities to have in pastoral care,” Eisenhauer said. “She is a kind and good listener. Even outside of the ongoing health care crises that some of our older people deal with, there is a lot of loneliness and isolation, and we want to be sure that people feel the warmth and love of our church.

“Emily will be our messenger.”