Pastor Paula V. Mehmel, Hampton’s pastor since 2023, describes herself as “a radical, evangelical, Lutheran mystic who found a home in the United Church of Christ.” After 27 years serving as a pastor in North Dakota, she moved to New England in 2017, because her two sons both settled here after graduating from Harvard. She served a Lutheran Church before retiring just as the COVID era ended. However, her call to ministry convinced her that she wasn’t ready for full retirement so she was delighted to find a half-time call in Hampton, where she could use her gifts in this small but mighty parish. She loves being a part of the UCC because she truly appreciates the progressive theological approach and the lack of hierarchy in the way the church is organized. It has been a good fit.
A Minnesota native, she holds an undergraduate degree in English and German from Washington University in St. Louis and her Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry in Preaching from the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. Pastor Paula has a passion for preaching, pastoral care and for serving the last, the lost and the least, with a special interest in homelessness, refugees and immigrants and addressing issues of sexual violence. She once also created a no-cut community theater in her small town in North Dakota to assure herself a small role in the ensemble each summer, fulfilling her desire to sing and dance on stage. One of the many reasons she was thrilled with her move east is that she is two hours from New York City, where she goes to as many shows on Broadway as possible. Thus far, though, no opportunities to perform.
When she isn’t at Hampton, in addition to her love of Broadway, she is an active community volunteer, a writer and blogger, takes ballroom dance classes and relishes a chance to dance any time it’s appropriate, and is a globe-trotting traveler. Additionally, she serves as President of South Sudan Leadership and Community Development, a Ugandan based NGO working with South Sudanese refugees in Uganda, where she travels regularly. She relishes the opportunity to share her thoughts on anything from social justice to theology to random musings about her latest travel adventures and loves listening to and supporting people as they discern their own faith journey.
Hampton UCC 