PROFILE IN SERVICE: LEANNE NAKANISHI
By Bette Caldwell
Without Prayer,
there is no Faith;
Without Faith,
there is no Love;
Without Love,
there is no Service;
Without Service,
there is no Joy or Peace...
-—Mother Teresa
Leanne Nakanishi joined Westwood
UMC in 1994 after “church shopping”
for several months. She stated that she
was very moved by then-Pastor Sharon
Rhodes-Wickett and her messages, feeling that Sharon was speaking directly to
her. She was also impressed that a clergywoman would hold the position of Senior
Pastor.
Leanne, a graduate of UCLA with a
major in English, had planned to attend
law school but changed course the summer after her graduation. She entered the
business world and is currently employed
as a real estate agent by Coldwell Banker.
She manages to juggle her busy life at
work with many major commitments
within The United Methodist Church –
here in Westwood and beyond.
Early on, Leanne became actively
involved in the life of our church by serving on various committees, including
the writing team for the congregation’s
Mission and Vision Statements. I first
became acquainted with Leanne in a
Caring Ministry Group that formed at
the church. Leanne was attracted to this
group, in part, by her diagnosis of breast
cancer. In our discussions, it became
evident that Leanne was a very special
person with many gifts to share with
others.
Her insight and sensitivity were
strong qualities which she has shared
many times over the past two decades.
Our relationship continued when Leanne
chose to become trained as a Stephen
Minister in our congregation. Those persons who became Leanne’s care receivers
were, indeed, fortunate. Similarly, the
other Stephen Ministers benefitted from
her presence in the group.
Extremely creative, Leanne has often
created anagrams, including the one below in which she shares about herself:
PHOTO: PATRICIA SCHMIDT
Leanne Nakanishi
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