The Moravian Church

of Downey

OUR MISSION: "Sharing the love of Christ"   

in non-essentials, liberty;

in all things, love.

Hi. I'm Rev. Christie Melby-Gibbons.

“Rev.” was added to my name on September 6, 2009 when I was ordained a Moravian pastor at the     

Main Street Moravian Church in Northfield, MN. (Most call me "Pastor" and not "Reverend," which I prefer. I'm not your typical "professional" professional. I am a very caring person and will take serious things seriously, but the rest of life I take not-so-seriously.)

My spouse (David Melby-Gibbons) and I now call Downey, CA our home. We're both 2005 graduates of St. Olaf College, where we met and then became life-mates. In May of 2009 I received a Masters of Divinity (don’t be fooled: I haven’t actually mastered anything) from Moravian Theological Seminary in Bethlehem, PA.

Some things to know about me:

 -I strive to be a Christ-ian, but I doubt/question religion and faith a lot.

 -I dislike chocolate and coffee.

 -It pains me to see anything get wasted, especially food. (David and I are "freegans"...look it up.)

 -In addition to English—my native tongue—I speak some Russian and fluent Gibberish, and am hoping to learn more Spanish.

-Television has not been a part of my life for over 8 years—I don’t miss it.

-Creativity is woven throughout each day of my life—I am a visual artist, specializing in taking other people’s “junk” and turning into beautiful/functional artwork. I am also a beadist.

 -I tend toward pacifism—I even (almost always) return insects (unharmed) that I find indoors to the outside.

-I love you.

"They'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love. Yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love."