Rev. Jenny Saperstein grew up in the PC(USA) and has served the church as a deacon and as a ruling elder. She is a graduate of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Jenny grew up “in the west,” notably, Washington state, California, and Colorado. However, she has ancestral and family roots in Michigan.
Jenny is anishinaabe, waganakising odawa — a member of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians in northern Michigan. After seminary in Texas, Jenny and her husband Patrick moved to Michigan where she found her first pastoral call here at Northside. Jenny and Patrick have two children and two hypoallergenic dogs.
Jenny was invited to preach before the 225th General Assembly of the PC(USA) in summer of 2022. At this same assembly she was elected to serve a four year term on the Board of Trustees for the Presbyterian Foundation. She is currently serving on the board’s subcommittee for Creative Engagement and Social Witness. You can view Jenny’s sermon from the General Assemby worship service online here:
When asked what she believes, she says, “I believe God is good, gracious, and loving, and humankind is made in that image. We are called to love God and to love one another because we have been created to celebrate diversity and live in community, as modeled in the mystery of the triune God.”
We welcomed Jenny to Northside in April 2020.
When asked about her time here so far, she says, “I began my ministry here entirely remotely during a pandemic. But this small and spunky congregation adapted well to worship by Zoom, knowing we can pretty much fit onto one laptop screen. We connected to people both near and far in new ways, welcoming them into our worshipping community and many folks still join us remotely as we continue our hybrid services.
“We came through 2020-2021 focused on survival (as the whole world was) and turned in the past year toward a period of revival — of remembering what we are called to do with the life we have. We renewed commitments to mission by becoming a Matthew 25 congregation, upholding our values of inclusivity and social justice. Partnered with our siblings in Christ and ministry at St. Aidan’s Episcopalian Church — with whom we share our buildings, grounds, and social justice work — we spent 2022 rebuilding our Faith and Food garden and made improvements to our building, reminding us that we are rooted here, and more than a virtual gathering.
“While we are first a worshipping congregation, we are also ecumenical partners who work with others to be the body of Christ in the world. Very few churches are doing the same ministry they were three years ago as the world around us shifted. But Northside is historically and truly not afraid of things new and different and I am looking forward to the next chapter with this creative and caring congregation.”
