Martha Spong is a United Church of Christ pastor, author, and clergy leadership coach. She has served congregations of diverse size and situation, in Maine and Pennsylvania, as both a settled and intentional interim pastor.

A co-founder of RevGalBlogPals, she served as Executive Director from 2013-2020. Under her leadership, RevGalBlogPals received the United Church of Christ’s Antoinette Brown Catalyst Award for providing a provocative space that advances women in ministry. She received a grant from the Louisville Institute for her Pastoral Study Project, Sustaining Clergywomen: the Role of Online Community in Alleviating Isolation. 

Martha loves knitting socks, singing along with musicals, and cheering for the Washington Nationals. She lives in South Central Pennsylvania with her wife, who is a Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor. They have four children, two lively dogs, and one disgruntled cat.

Author

My books have featured essays and poems written by me and other women faith leaders.

Reflectionary

I’m a longtime blogger, seeking those places where life meets the lectionary. I post scripture reflections, prayers and liturgy.

Coaching

I am an ICF-accredited coach and work with pastors and faith leaders of all denominations.

Through beautiful stories, Rachel G. Hackenberg and Martha Spong teach the reader how to move through denial and failure into acceptance and grace. With insightful vision, they paint a picture of life that prevails on the other side of failure. If you are searching for honesty in the life of faith and how to live in the midst of struggles, this book will be a balm to your spirit.

The Rev. Becca Stevens, founder of Thistle Farms and author of Love Heals

“If there was such a thing as a spiritual grief group, this would be the book I would recommend. The grappling with scripture, where its promises deliver and where they don’t, is simultaneously consoling and provocative. The truth-telling about how faithfulness is experienced with the Real Presence and Felt Absence of the Divine Parent is desperately needed and, to me, is the balm of Gilead that this book delivers.” – From a review of Denial is My Spiritual Practice (and Other Failures of Faith)

The Rev. Julia Seymour

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