Pastor
Reverend Trudy R. Morphew, Pastor

The Reverend Trudy R. Morphew and her husband Randy came into this world as cradle Presbyterians and have been invested in the Presbyterian Church all of their adult lives. She grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, though born in West Virginia. Randy was born in Paris, Texas and eventually moved to Longview, Texas. The two met while students at the University of Texas. After marrying, they moved back to Longview where they became members of St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in which they both served as elders. Randy was self-employed, owning a muffler & brake shop and an auto parts store. Longview is also where they raised their two sons, Chris (now in Austin with family) and Phillip (now in Dallas with family).

In 1989, Trudy experienced what she now recalls as a holy moment when she knew God was calling her into ordained pastoral ministry. Up until that time, she had served as the youth director of St. Andrew and was active in Grace Presbytery, the Synod of the Sun and the General Assembly of the PC(USA). Since she had not finished her undergraduate degree earlier, she took the next 5 years to finish the remaining 2 ½ years of her bachelor’s degree in English and history at the University of Texas at Tyler.

In the fall of 1994, Trudy entered Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and graduated in December of 1997. She was ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in February of 1998 after accepting the call to be the Associate Pastor for Education at First Presbyterian Church in Stillwater, Oklahoma where she served for five years. Following that pastorate, she became the Chaplain and Vice President of Programs at the Presbyterian Mo-Ranch Assembly, a camp and conference center for the Synod of the Sun in the Texas hill country (similar in function to Ghost Ranch). It was not too long before she realized how much she missed parish ministry. And so after two years at Mo-Ranch, she accepted the call to be the solo pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Tahlequah, Oklahoma where she is currently serving. During her ten years of ordained ministry, Trudy remained active in the wider church, including serving as a commissioner to the 213th (2001)General Assembly and as vice moderator of one of the Assembly’s standing committees.

Trudy enjoys several hobbies and interests. Gardening, cross-stitch & needlepoint, sea shell collecting, birding, reading and spending time with Randy keep her busy when she is not working. Randy loves to play golf, walk their dog Nowell, cook and study the stock market and take care of Trudy! But their greatest joys come from their sons and daughters-in-law and their three grandchildren, Billy (4 yrs), Macy (1 yr), and Madelyn or Maddie (10 mos).

Trudy and Randy (and Nowell) are excited about moving to Rio Rancho and beginning their lives and ministry with us. Her commitment to becoming our pastor is vested in her belief that this is where God is calling her to serve and supported by a strong sense that we are a faithful congregation with a promising future. She and Randy look forward to an extended pastorate with us and to sharing ministry in the name of Jesus Christ for several years to come.