Meet Sara Gannon

Sara Gannon has served as the Christian Education Director at First Presbyterian Church since May of 2006. Sara grew up in McPherson, Kansas, the oldest of 6 children. She attended William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. A major event in her faith formation while in college was a three-week service-learning trip to India which involved working at Mother Theresa’s Home for the Destitute and Dying as well as attending Mass at the Calcutta Mother House and briefly meeting Mother Theresa. The summer following graduation she and her husband Ned were married. They lived in Kansas City for a year, Sara working as a nurse and Ned finishing his degree at the KC Art Institute. In 1997 the couple packed a few bags and moved to New York City where Sara worked at NYU Medical Center, first in Acute Rehab and then in Maternal-Child Nursing, while Ned earned his MFA in Illustration at the School of Visual Arts. They lived in Staten Island, commuting most days into Manhattan by ferry which allowed a great deal of time for reading. During this time Sara developed a great love for Catholic spiritual writers such as Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day and Henri Nouwen. They lived in New York for several years enjoying the art, music, food, culture and people of the city and while there became members of Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church.

In December of 2002, their son, Eliot was born and in 2004 the family moved to Wisconsin when Ned was hired as a professor in the Art Department at UW-Eau Claire. Their daughter Claire was born in December of 2005. Sara completed a Parish Nurse course and volunteered in Health Ministry at First Baptist Church and also became involved with ecumenical campus ministry. At this time she realized a love for ministry within the church and felt called to serve in the position of Christian Ed. Director at First Presbyterian. She continues to love working with children, youth and women’s ministry, as well as Common Ground Campus Ministry at UWEC.

Sara treasures reading in the evenings as a family as well as independently. Some interests include women’s social issues and spiritual formation. She enjoys a good cup of coffee with a friend, ethnic foods, cooking, traveling, and hiking with her family and dog Agnes.