Today we’d like to introduce you to Rev. Tim Seery.
Hi Rev. Tim, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My name is Rev. Tim Seery and I serve as the pastor of the Congregational Church of La Jolla located in La Jolla Village. I have served here since 2017 when I moved to San Diego from Boston where I lived for the better part of a decade earning a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School in 2017 and a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Religion from Harvard University in 2014. I am an ordained clergyperson in the United Church of Christ (UCC)–the most progressive historic Christian denomination with its origins in the earliest Pilgrims who arrived to New England in the seventeenth century. Today, we are hardly Puritan–we were the first Christian denomination to ordain a person of color, a woman, and an openly LGBTQ+ minister and the first to fully voice unequivocal support for the rights of trans people.
I grew up in North Central Montana where a career in progressive politics was my goal. However, I recognized that most of my home state did not share my political persuasion nor would they be ready to elect a gay man. During the time I set off for Harvard, there was an uptick of LGBTQ youth suicides in mostly highly religious and conservative communities throughout the country. I wanted to do work that mattered and to use my identity and skills in a way that could make lasting change–even if that was for only one person. I was fortunate to have been raised in the most progressive church possible and wanted to go to college in New England to an institution founded by Congregationalists. Harvard was where I ended up. I used those years to immerse myself in the study of queer and gender theory, religion, activism, and the skills of ministry. I developed a deep love for preaching and counseling. I witnessed the transformative power of church communities and dedicated myself to not just leading a congregation but to being a face for progressive justice in whatever community I was called to serve.
In 2017 I was called to the Congregational Church of La Jolla, never having been to San Diego before. I have fallen in love with this community, beach culture, and the people of America’s Finest City. Outside of church I have had a long abiding passion for Latin America traveling there four times a year. San Diego was the perfect choice as a border community literally on the doorstep of Latin America. I started learning Spanish when I moved here, established roots in Baja California and in 2023 passed the Mexican citizenship exams. In June 2025 I received my Mexican passport from the Consulate of Mexico, San Diego. My ministry is about not just crossing but collapsing borders and reaching beyond difference to discover the deeper truths that exist all around us.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
One obstacle I have often faced is being an outsider everywhere. I am a native-born, fourth generation Montanan but often don’t feel fully Montanan. I am a transplant to California. I am a gay man who leads a Christian church and often this requires a lot of explaining to other LGBTQ people. I am not a typical Christian either–in that I recognize the legitimacy and beauty of all expressions of faith, view scripture through a context-specific, historical lens and for me the Bible is only one of many guides and inspirations for my faith. I am now both a Mexican and an American but don’t fully fit into either, despite loving them both. In Spanish, there is a saying, “no soy de aquí, ni soy de allá” (I am not from here, nor am I from there.” This captures best the primary challenge I have faced in my life which is also an incredible gift and source of creativity.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a pastor. Such an interesting and semi-strange existence. I see a side of human-life that most never see. I sit with people in the midst of their deepest crises. I see people on the best days of their lives and on the worst days of their lives. I hold and make space for other people’s trauma and I listen to stories so emotionally powerful that many will haunt me forever. I get to be beside people during their last moments on earth and I get to be among the first who welcomes those just being born into this world. Week-after-week I take ancient scripture and listen for what it is saying to us in our modern time–listening for the ways that God is calling us to be in this time and place. I get to represent God’s love with my embodied identity and that is an incredible privilege.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.revtimseery.com
