Kirk News Headlines
Tickets are now on sale for the Conspirare Concert on Sunday, March 4! Click here to purchase tickets online!
During the month of February, please bring oranges and other citrus fruits to church on Sunday for the Two-Pound Challenge!
Rev. Carol A. Tate
Associate Pastor – Adult Ministries
Carol’s first call to attend seminary came to her at fourteen years of age while she was serving as pianist/organist for the 500-member First Baptist Church in Monticello, KY, where she grew up. She was dissuaded from that call by her Pastor because of her gender. Despite that dissuasion, Carol’s call has remained with her throughout life. She completed a BA in music at Centre College in Danville, KY, graduating Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude and valedictorian. With two years of further work at the New England Conservatory, Carol earned a MM Organ Performance. While a student, she served as organist at Trinity Episcopal Church in Danville and at Watertown Methodist Church in Watertown, MA.
For a number of years Carol continued to serve the church through her musical talent as Director of Music at the Presbyterian Church in Danville, part-time music faculty at Centre College, and Director of Music at the First English Lutheran Church in Richmond, IN. She served the 2000-member Westminster Presbyterian Church in Nashville, TN, for eleven years as organist, Interim Director of Music and Director of Music. During these years, she was parenting her, now adult, son and daughter.
In 1996, realizing that she must respond more directly to her call to the ministry, Carol entered the Vanderbilt Divinity School and completed a Master of Divinity in 2000, graduating with highest honors and winner of the Senior Project Prize.
Carol’s first called position was as Organizing Pastor of Emmanuel Presbyterian Church in Nashville, TN, where she ministered from 2002-2009. In this position, and later as Pastor, Carol attended to the details of fundraising and planning for the building, preaching regularly, training elders and lay leaders, offering variety in the church music, starting the church school, and providing pastoral care.
Carol was chosen to participate from 2005-2008 in the Institute for Clergy Excellence, an Eli Lilly funded grant for study of the state of diversity in the church, culminating in a trip to Turkey to look at the intersection of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. In 2009, Centre College awarded her an Honorary Doctor of Divinity.
“Scripture is God’s Word to me as it bears witness to God’s saving activity among the people of Israel and as the revelation of God in Jesus Christ to all people. But Jesus Christ is the incarnate Word of God.”
Preaching, teaching, development of lay leaders, theology and Reformed tradition, are extremely important to Carol. Instead of giving up our traditions to compete with mega-churches, she wants us to remain true to our tradition, and to be and to offer the very best of who we are.
“We cannot know where we are going if we do not know where we have been.”
Carol is married to Rev. Dr. K. C. Ptomey, Jr., who retired as head of staff at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Nashville. Following his retirement, K .C. was recommended for a chaired teaching position at Austin Seminary, where he is currently serving as The Zbinden Chair of Pastoral Ministry and Leadership.
In 2009, Carol followed K. C. to Austin and embarked on a Doctor of Divinity in Worship and Preaching at Austin Seminary. At the same time, she was working as Director of Chapel Music at the Seminary, playing all services, conducting the choir, and teaching psalmody. She was also a Parish Associate at the University Presbyterian Church in Austin. Carol looks forward to continuing a challenging and inspired ministry here at the Kirk.
Carol’s serves as Associate Pastor for Adult Ministries. She can be reached at revcat@kirkinthehills.org or by phone at (248) 626-2515, ext. 122.