Meet Our Pastor

Greetings! My name is Kendall Moore, and I was born and raised in the western suburbs of Chicago. I am the youngest of four brothers and a large extended family of religious and spiritual backgrounds that run the gamut: from the Mississippi Methodist and Baptist Background of my father, to the interfaith and spiritual explorations of my mother, to Buddhist and Muslim uncles and aunts, spirituality has been an important part of my journey. As a child, I had varied interests that I still carry today - a deep appreciation of the performing and writing of music, playing chess, reading books, and martial arts movies.

As a young adult I became passionate about music and endeavored to become a professional jazz trombonist and composer. I went to college at the Chicago College of Performing Arts Conservatory of Music at Roosevelt University. I had many opportunities to perform with various ensembles and play at the Symphony Center and to perform at various jazz clubs and play off Broadway shows as a musician. After graduation, I continued my music studies, focusing on composition and arranging, at the University of Miami, where I would eventually meet my wife Carolyn, a flutist and music therapist, whom I have been married to for six wonderful years. We eventually relocated from Florida to Texas as my wife accepted a tenure track position as a professor, and I worked as a professor at various universities in the metropolitan Houston area. It was also in Texas where we adopted our dog Emily into the family, our wonderful boxer mix who loves snacks, snuggles, and will never earn her keep but we love her all the same anyway.

The intersection of all of my passions as a musician, educator, a life-long learner, community building, and my spirituality would eventually happen in 2020 when I discerned a calling to ministry. After enrolling at Eden Theological Seminary in 2021, my life has been full of enlightenment, growth, trials, tribulations, and joy as I have walked this road of answering God’s call on my life. Being at Eden helped give me opportunities to grow and explore my developing ministry. Working with the LGBTQIA+ student advocacy group Common Ground helped expand my understanding of what it means to be inclusive. Working with professors in various courses helped show places where I needed to grow my understanding of disability, pastoral care and recovery communities, and learning more ways to read scripture to see a Beloved community for all. A fellowship with the Samuel Dewitt Proctor Conference assisted me in finding where the intersection of social justice, liberation, and love in congregational ministry have guided me. Bringing an ethic of economic justice and equity to healthcare spaces led me to becoming a board member for the non profit Music Therapy Access Fund, where the focus is to close the financial gap between music therapy care seekers and the caregivers.

With that being said, I am so glad to serve as the Pastor here at Cresskill Congregational Church. We are a community that loves you, and there’s nothing you can do about it! Come meet us for worship service, a community event, or just stop by my office and let me know how we can be of service to you and grow the blessings of our Beloved community.

Blessings,

Pastor Kendall

973-692-6256

pastor@cresskillucc.org