Rev. Christina M. Montgomery is a Black, disabled, fat, femme lesbian woman pastor who serves as racial justice manager for the office of the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. In her free time, she loves to cook, make art, sing, and collect elephant items.
“My draw toward doing ministry for the dying and bereaved began in early 2015, after the death of my great-nephew, Jayveon, who was born with VACTERL association. He was flown to Riley Children’s Health, and for 60 days he underwent surgery after surgery, test after test, in an effort to keep him alive. Ultimately, he was just too sick, and my niece made the brave decision to let him go. Between coming to terms with my own chronic, progressive health condition—I have multiple sclerosis—and watching my family grieve Jayveon, I became obsessed with death, dying, and mortality.”
Rev. Christina is an INELDA-trained end-of-life doula serving marginalized communities in and around the greater Chicago area under the name Accompany Dying. She attended Colby College in Maine, where she double majored in American studies and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies. She received her master of divinity in May 2021 from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.