Dawn Ruth Nelson, 65 of Souderton, died on Monday, August 21, 2017, at her parents’ home in Harleysville. She was the wife of Paul J. Nelson.
Born April 13, 1952 in Sellersville, she was the daughter of John and Roma (Jacobs) Ruth.
Dawn was a Mennonite pastor, spiritual director, and author, and a loving and nurturing wife and mother. She grew up in suburbs of Philadelphia and Boston almost in but definitely not of a Mennonite subculture in the 1950s and 60s--her family was Mennonite but her friends and neighbors were not--and her early dream was to be a folksinger in the mold of Dave van Ronk and Buffy St. Marie.
The sense of being in two worlds, of being marginal, led Dawn to do work on the margins of the Mennonite world--she was part of the first Mennonite peace witness in Ireland from 1979-1991 and then worked as a chaplain at Indian Creek Foundation for 7 years, trying to bring marginalized people more into the center of the church. Following that she served for 11 years as the first woman pastor of Methacton Mennonite Church, a small congregation on the fringe of Franconia Mennonite Conference. She studied in United Church of Christ and Mennonite Seminaries and at Neumann (Catholic) University, and in 2004 she received a doctor of ministry from Lancaster Theological Seminary. Her doctoral thesis was published in 2010 with the title A Mennonite Woman: exploring spiritual life and identity.
Dawn’s sense of a call to ministry developed before there were many women ministers in the Mennonite church. Her first description of what she wanted to do in ministry was to be a “soul nurse.” From then on seminary, spiritual direction training, and motherhood also prepared her for the task of pastoring. She enjoyed reading, writing, e-mailing, skyping, birds, chocolate, lots of movies, playing piano and guitar, walking, and silence. She was a board member and grateful participant in the Kairos school of spiritual formation.
Dawn was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in January of 2016. Although her life was cut tragically short by this disease, she managed to pack her last days and months full of activity. In July 2016 she was a keynote speaker at the 15th annual conference of Bridgefolk, a Mennonite-Catholic movement. Also in 2016 she was happy to play a large part in planning and then officiating her first wedding, marrying her son Peter to his wife Emily. Although Dawn’s quirky sense of humor and passion for others will be sorely missed, her family is eternally grateful for time spent together over the past year and a half.
In addition to her husband and parents she was survived by her children, Sarah, Peter (Emily) and Ben and two brothers Jay (Jane) and Phil (Julia).
Her funeral service was held on Saturday, August 26, 2017 at Salford Mennonite Church, Harleysville, PA.
Born April 13, 1952 in Sellersville, she was the daughter of John and Roma (Jacobs) Ruth.
Dawn was a Mennonite pastor, spiritual director, and author, and a loving and nurturing wife and mother. She grew up in suburbs of Philadelphia and Boston almost in but definitely not of a Mennonite subculture in the 1950s and 60s--her family was Mennonite but her friends and neighbors were not--and her early dream was to be a folksinger in the mold of Dave van Ronk and Buffy St. Marie.
The sense of being in two worlds, of being marginal, led Dawn to do work on the margins of the Mennonite world--she was part of the first Mennonite peace witness in Ireland from 1979-1991 and then worked as a chaplain at Indian Creek Foundation for 7 years, trying to bring marginalized people more into the center of the church. Following that she served for 11 years as the first woman pastor of Methacton Mennonite Church, a small congregation on the fringe of Franconia Mennonite Conference. She studied in United Church of Christ and Mennonite Seminaries and at Neumann (Catholic) University, and in 2004 she received a doctor of ministry from Lancaster Theological Seminary. Her doctoral thesis was published in 2010 with the title A Mennonite Woman: exploring spiritual life and identity.
Dawn’s sense of a call to ministry developed before there were many women ministers in the Mennonite church. Her first description of what she wanted to do in ministry was to be a “soul nurse.” From then on seminary, spiritual direction training, and motherhood also prepared her for the task of pastoring. She enjoyed reading, writing, e-mailing, skyping, birds, chocolate, lots of movies, playing piano and guitar, walking, and silence. She was a board member and grateful participant in the Kairos school of spiritual formation.
Dawn was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in January of 2016. Although her life was cut tragically short by this disease, she managed to pack her last days and months full of activity. In July 2016 she was a keynote speaker at the 15th annual conference of Bridgefolk, a Mennonite-Catholic movement. Also in 2016 she was happy to play a large part in planning and then officiating her first wedding, marrying her son Peter to his wife Emily. Although Dawn’s quirky sense of humor and passion for others will be sorely missed, her family is eternally grateful for time spent together over the past year and a half.
In addition to her husband and parents she was survived by her children, Sarah, Peter (Emily) and Ben and two brothers Jay (Jane) and Phil (Julia).
Her funeral service was held on Saturday, August 26, 2017 at Salford Mennonite Church, Harleysville, PA.
Dawn Ruth Nelson, 65 of Souderton, died on Monday, August 21, 2017, at her parents’ home in Harleysville. She was the wife of Paul J. Nelson.
Born April 13, 1952 in Sellersville, she was the daughter of John and Roma (Jacobs) Ruth.
Dawn was a Mennonite pastor, spiritual director, and author, and a loving and nurturing wife and mother. She grew up in suburbs of Philadelphia and Boston almost in but definitely not of a Mennonite subculture in the 1950s and 60s--her family was Mennonite but her friends and neighbors were not--and her early dream was to be a folksinger in the mold of Dave van Ronk and Buffy St. Marie.
The sense of being in two worlds, of being marginal, led Dawn to do work on the margins of the Mennonite world--she was part of the first Mennonite peace witness in Ireland from 1979-1991 and then worked as a chaplain at Indian Creek Foundation for 7 years, trying to bring marginalized people more into the center of the church. Following that she served for 11 years as the first woman pastor of Methacton Mennonite Church, a small congregation on the fringe of Franconia Mennonite Conference. She studied in United Church of Christ and Mennonite Seminaries and at Neumann (Catholic) University, and in 2004 she received a doctor of ministry from Lancaster Theological Seminary. Her doctoral thesis was published in 2010 with the title A Mennonite Woman: exploring spiritual life and identity.
Dawn’s sense of a call to ministry developed before there were many women ministers in the Mennonite church. Her first description of what she wanted to do in ministry was to be a “soul nurse.” From then on seminary, spiritual direction training, and motherhood also prepared her for the task of pastoring. She enjoyed reading, writing, e-mailing, skyping, birds, chocolate, lots of movies, playing piano and guitar, walking, and silence. She was a board member and grateful participant in the Kairos school of spiritual formation.
Dawn was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in January of 2016. Although her life was cut tragically short by this disease, she managed to pack her last days and months full of activity. In July 2016 she was a keynote speaker at the 15th annual conference of Bridgefolk, a Mennonite-Catholic movement. Also in 2016 she was happy to play a large part in planning and then officiating her first wedding, marrying her son Peter to his wife Emily. Although Dawn’s quirky sense of humor and passion for others will be sorely missed, her family is eternally grateful for time spent together over the past year and a half.
In addition to her husband and parents she was survived by her children, Sarah, Peter (Emily) and Ben and two brothers Jay (Jane) and Phil (Julia).
Her funeral service was held on Saturday, August 26, 2017 at Salford Mennonite Church, Harleysville, PA.
Born April 13, 1952 in Sellersville, she was the daughter of John and Roma (Jacobs) Ruth.
Dawn was a Mennonite pastor, spiritual director, and author, and a loving and nurturing wife and mother. She grew up in suburbs of Philadelphia and Boston almost in but definitely not of a Mennonite subculture in the 1950s and 60s--her family was Mennonite but her friends and neighbors were not--and her early dream was to be a folksinger in the mold of Dave van Ronk and Buffy St. Marie.
The sense of being in two worlds, of being marginal, led Dawn to do work on the margins of the Mennonite world--she was part of the first Mennonite peace witness in Ireland from 1979-1991 and then worked as a chaplain at Indian Creek Foundation for 7 years, trying to bring marginalized people more into the center of the church. Following that she served for 11 years as the first woman pastor of Methacton Mennonite Church, a small congregation on the fringe of Franconia Mennonite Conference. She studied in United Church of Christ and Mennonite Seminaries and at Neumann (Catholic) University, and in 2004 she received a doctor of ministry from Lancaster Theological Seminary. Her doctoral thesis was published in 2010 with the title A Mennonite Woman: exploring spiritual life and identity.
Dawn’s sense of a call to ministry developed before there were many women ministers in the Mennonite church. Her first description of what she wanted to do in ministry was to be a “soul nurse.” From then on seminary, spiritual direction training, and motherhood also prepared her for the task of pastoring. She enjoyed reading, writing, e-mailing, skyping, birds, chocolate, lots of movies, playing piano and guitar, walking, and silence. She was a board member and grateful participant in the Kairos school of spiritual formation.
Dawn was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in January of 2016. Although her life was cut tragically short by this disease, she managed to pack her last days and months full of activity. In July 2016 she was a keynote speaker at the 15th annual conference of Bridgefolk, a Mennonite-Catholic movement. Also in 2016 she was happy to play a large part in planning and then officiating her first wedding, marrying her son Peter to his wife Emily. Although Dawn’s quirky sense of humor and passion for others will be sorely missed, her family is eternally grateful for time spent together over the past year and a half.
In addition to her husband and parents she was survived by her children, Sarah, Peter (Emily) and Ben and two brothers Jay (Jane) and Phil (Julia).
Her funeral service was held on Saturday, August 26, 2017 at Salford Mennonite Church, Harleysville, PA.
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