Pastor Leanna comes to Valley Ministries with many years in ministry in and out of MCC.
Pastor Leanna was raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is the only daughter in a family of six kids. She was not raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, but as a teenager she became involved. She served a missionary for the LDS church in the Cleveland, Ohio region in 1979 and 1980. It wasn’t until she returned from her mission in late 1980 that she came to realize that she was a lesbian. She tried to remain in the church, but found it was not compatible with who she was. She left the LDS church in 1983. In 1984 she was officially excommunicated because she was lesbian.
While attending her first gay pride event, Leanna became aware of a church which followed many of the theologies that she loved. She joined The Restoration Church of Jesus Christ and served in many leadership positions during her time with them, including as the Presiding Bishop of the denomination.
In 1994 God called Leanna to join MCC. She joined Cathedral of Promise MCC in Sacramento in late 1994 and served under Rev Elder Freda Smith.
In 2004 Pastor Leanna left Cathedral of Promise for seminary at Pacific School of Religion. She graduated from PSR in 2007 with a Master of Divinity degree and a Certificate of Religion and Sexuality from the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry. In 2014 she received a Master of Theological Studies from Liberty University Seminary.
Leanna served as pastor at New Hope MCC in Santa Rosa from 2008 to 2010 after which she took a leave from ministry. During her leave, Rev. Terri Miller told her that God wasn’t through with her, and the time would come when she would be called back into ministry.
In 2023, God called Pastor Leanna back into ministry here at Valley Ministries MCC.