By Ron Stephens
The members of the Community Church of San Miguel de Allende are very happy to announce the return to San Miguel in September of frequently returning and beloved pastor Steve Winkler and his wife Heather.
Steve and Heather Winkler first came to the Community Church in 2016. He is an ordained United Church of Christ pastor and served churches in Vermont, Ohio, and New Jersey prior to his retirement after 44 years of active ministry. This will be Pastor Steve’s fifth time to serve as Minister-in-Residence for the Community Church including two months’ “virtual presence” on the church’s web services during the pandemic last November and December.
Heather is retired from a career as an elementary school guidance counselor, and she and Steve now live fulltime in retirement on a lake outside Woodbury, Vermont.
The Winklers have celebrated multiple significant life events during their times of service to the church in San Miguel. For example, in January of 2020, during their third mission here, they celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary. And during their fourth tenure, this time virtually, their fourth grandchild Jasper was born in December of 2020. Because worship services were being held virtually, they could not only fulfill their obligations to the church, but also at the same time be in the States for Jasper’s birth–a happenstance much appreciated by their daughter, Jasper’s mother.
The Winklers have learned to take full advantage of new technology to keep close to their family; they hold weekly family gatherings on Zoom with their three children, their spouses, and the four grandchildren. These get-togethers are full of lively conversations, games, and weekly updates.
Heather is an avid gardener, and Steve recently started playing drums with a nearby town band. Both enjoy playing pickleball, a pastime they are happy to be able to engage in during their time in San Miguel.
The Winklers are excited to be able to return “live” to San Miguel and rekindle friendships with the many people here whom they have met, and who have been touched by them in previous visits. They look forward to sharing with the Community Church family in the new worship facility at Callejon de Alcocer 24 near La Luciernaga mall.
The Community Church of San Miguel holds a traditional English language worship service at 11 am on Sundays. The church is composed of friendly Christians from many different faith traditions and welcomes all believers to join them in service to God.
During this time of renewed precautions due to the pandemic, the seating in the church continues to be socially distanced, and the Church Council has established the following guidelines to protect the health of all those attending services: if you are not vaccinated a mask is required. If you are vaccinated a mask is optional. Thank you for respecting this policy.