BIO: Reverend Amanda “Mandy” Stein has been serving Trinity United Methodist Church since the summer of 2001.

Amanda is originally from Grantsburg, WI and attended Hamline University in St. Paul, MN before transferring to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 1994 she graduated with degrees in Political Science and Latin American and Iberian Studies, along with a certificate of study in Women’s Studies. After graduation Amanda worked as scheduler and events coordinator for a congressional campaign before pursuing a Master of Divinity degree. She attended seminary at Wesley Theological in Washington, DC, with an emphasis in urban ministries, and went on to graduate with honors, including having received the 1998 Community Involvement Award for her class.

From 1998-2001 Amanda and her husband, Jason lived abroad, spending their first year of marriage in Strasbourg, France. The following two years they volunteered in Latin America with the Guatemalan Accompaniment Project and the International Service for Peace in Chiapas, Mexico. In 2001 she returned to the United States to pastor Trinity Church.

Amanda serves on the WI Conference Conflict Transformation Team, is a member of the board of the Wisconsin Council of Churches, and is chairperson for the WI Conference Board of Church and Society. In 2005 Amanda was invited to be a Lewis Fellow, a program of Wesley Theological Seminary designed to help young clergy achieve excellence in pastoral leadership. In 2007 Amanda was elected by the Wisconsin Conference of the United Methodist Church as a delegate to the Jurisdictional and General Conferences.

Amanda is married to Jason Stein, a reporter for the Wisconsin State Journal, and they have two young sons, Zane and Xavier. See below for more information on Pastor Amanda.

In The News…
Women of Faith
Seeking Reform for Immigrants
Two Neighborhood Churches Collaborate
Young Clergy Speak
Refugee Struggle as Biblical Struggle
Newscope April 8, 2008 Special General Conference Edition

Pastor’s Blog
Click here to visit Pastor Amanda’s blog (irreverentrev.blogspot.com). Link opens in a new window.

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FUN BIO: Amanda Stein has been pastor at Trinity Church for eight years. For most of her time at Trinity, church members have called her “Amanda” or “Pastor Amanda,” as she requested since she didn’t think that as a twenty-nine year-old pregnant woman starting at her first church assignment she could get much respect as “Pastor Mandy.” (She would have been wrong, by the way…).

Amanda lived abroad for three years between graduation from seminary and serving Trinity Church. She and her husband, Jason, lived in Strasbourg, France, Guatemala, and Chiapas, Mexico (click for photo). She’s fluent in Spanish and really likes jamaica (hibiscus) tea and fresh tortillas (and food in general, really).

Amanda gets her exercise from chasing around her two boys, Zane (8) and Xavier (4) and by playing frisbee with MUFA (Madison Ultimate Frisbee Association)—a “fav” sport she’s been playing for the past few years.

Mandy loves serving Trinity Church and considers her appointment to the congregation one of the greatest blessings in her life. The people are amazing and ministry is exciting and fulfilling. She still can’t believe that she can walk to work, as well as swim, bike, play, run, eat, and cheer on the Badgers at so many great places in this wonderful neighborhood.