Meet A Member
DeLania Hardy
DeLania is a self-identified “Army Brat” who lived outside of the US (Germany and Panama) during most of her youth. She fondly remembers Christian youth trips in Europe: “How about a $25 youth fellowship retreat weekend while skiing in the Alps?”
Her religious upbringing was eclectic: “On the whole, I think my parents tended to think of themselves as Southern Baptists but the reality of living overseas on a military base is you go to the Protestant service. One week your minister could be Lutheran, the next Presbyterian, and the next Baptist, all of whom would operate under the generic style of a military religious service.”
DeLania did her undergraduate studies at Virginia Wesley College and Bath College (Bath, England), and earned an MA at George Washington University in Political Management with an environmental politics emphasis. Since graduation from GWU she has worked with several DC organizations involved with national policy issues related to the environment and transportation.
DeLania’s eclectic religious experience as an Army Brat set her up for her connection with Pilgrims. She says, “Many folks we worship with come from a variety of religious backgrounds, I do like that about the church. I believe the inclusiveness does lend itself to a level of honesty that many churches don’t convey because folks are trying too hard to be something they are not.”
Each Sunday, as an act of hospitality, Pilgrims offers a meal to hungry people in our area. In an act of discipleship, DeLania volunteers her time to coordinate the volunteers from Pilgrims and elsewhere who prepare and serve the meals. She will eagerly accept your help in this simple demonstration to the world of God’s dream for humankind—an end to suffering.
Shelly Ver Ploeg
“I’m not sure what role God and the church
play
in my life but I enjoy trying to figure it
out and I enjoy Pilgrims! I moved to DC in
1998 and began looking for a church home.
On my first visit to Pilgrims for worship,
almost no one was there. My first thought
was--"Uh-oh!" But during the service, I
found out everyone was on a church retreat, which impressed me. I came back when others were around and kept coming back.
I became a member in 1999.”
Shelly is from Pella, Iowa, where she lived on a farm with two sisters, dogs and cats, a pony, and a horse. The family attended a nearby Reformed Church of America, where she participated in every church activity possible--sometimes by choice, sometimes not.
Shelly went to Central College in Pella and then to Cornell University, Ithaca NY, for graduate studies in economics. She attended the First Presbyterian Church of Ithaca, but stayed under church radar, sitting in the back and not participating in other activities.
At Pilgrims she has taken an active role in the Pilgrimage, serving as Chair of its Board of Directors. The Pilgrimage is Pilgrims’ largest outreach activity, serving about 1400 out-of-town youth each year, providing them with low-cost lodging and experiential learning about urban poverty.
Shelly is employed as an economic researcher by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and teaches an economics course at the University of Maryland, College Park, on poverty, family, and health. (Her secret ambition is to have her own home improvement reality TV show!)
Melissa Rosenblatt
I was raised in the Roman Catholic Church, went to Mass regularly, and attended Catholic schools where each day I was taught about God and the church. Still, I would often feel that something was missing; that my relationship with God should be stronger and exist outside of church and school. I continued to attend church regularly despite these concerns, out of obligation rather than desire until approximately 3 years ago when I stopped going entirely.
About a year later, Jeff [Jeff Pittman, her partner] and I started looking for a church to attend together. I was not exactly sure what I was looking for but I knew that I wanted something different than the experience I grew up with. What drew me to The Church of the Pilgrims was the congregation’s palpable sense of community and active faith. After attending several times, I realized that that’s exactly what had been missing from my past church experiences. Since I’ve been attending Pilgrims regularly, I’ve been nurtured by our community of faith and encouraged to put my faith into action in many different ways.”
Melissa is from New York City, where her parents still live. She loves working with young people as the Director of Intern and Fellowship Programs at Families USA, a national nonprofit, non-partisan organization dedicated to the achievement of high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans. At Pilgrims Melissa is an Elder on the Session (like being a member of a Board of Directors), responsible for leadership development. She and her partner, Jeff, also a Pilgrim, live in DC’s Woodley Park neighborhood.
Joining hands for the benediction
