Faces of Calvary: meet Terri and Christy

Terri Stall

Tell us a bit about your childhood.

I grew up in central New York State in a very rural town. The town activities were all centered around the Baptist church. It was part of my life every day except Thursdays and Saturdays. I became a Christian sometime between probably 8-10 years old after watching the movie “Thief in the Night.” The Lord never let me go after that despite all my efforts to live a life apart from Him. He’s watched over me ever since, through hard experiences, heartache and stupid decisions. 

How did you come to live in Rochester?

I moved here July 19, 1998, to start work at Mayo’s Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center as a trainer. I’ve been there ever since. 

What is something you care deeply about?

Sparing the long story, and at risk of sounding too cliche, the truth is that I most care about doing what Jesus calls me to do. He taught me a great lesson in surrender and the blessing that follows. The blessing I received has brought me to a better understanding of Jesus’ love and my purpose here. I long for the day when the trumpet sounds and Jesus calls my name. I want to be all about His business when the call comes. I fail so often getting caught up in worldly things, but the truth is that I gain the most joy despite circumstances when I spend time with my Father first. So I care first about that, which then gives me the strength to love others, especially those I don’t want to love. I’ve had to learn, and re-learn, I’m not special. He loves them just as much as He loves me. So I must love them. I can’t fix anyone. 

How does your faith integrate into your work?

Take my love for Jesus into how I serve my clients: what a joy it is to have a client come and say ‘thank you’ to me because they did a hard thing. It’s selfish really, to be in a service-oriented profession. I get to be alongside someone in their journey and hopefully be a positive influence in that. It does so much for my heart. I’m a pusher but from a place that believes in them even when they don’t. Jesus believes in me even when I don’t. I want to show up for them as He ALWAYS shows up for me. 

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Christy McCollough

Share a core childhood memory and a bit about your younger years and places you’ve lived.

I grew up in a solid Christian home in Ames, Iowa. I actually attended an E-Free church very similar to Calvary during my entire childhood and teen years. I have many fond childhood memories, because it turns out (I didn’t really know or appreciate it at the time!) that my parents are really fun! From family pie fights and silly suppers (with an encoded menu,) to themed family dinners (the cowboy meal where we had to wear flannel shirts and sit on the floor around a pretend campfire comes to mind,) my mom was always planning out of the box things to keep my younger brother and I laughing. Occasionally she and my dad would randomly sneak into our bedrooms at night to TP our rooms while we slept. No joke. I also woke up one night to them rearranging my bedroom furniture. Just to throw me for a loop!  One of my absolute core memories, however, revolves around Christmas, and is a tradition my husband and I have joyfully carried on in our own home. While chaperoning a field trip at an Iowa farmhouse museum, my mom learned about a tradition that prairie families had, of running a piece of string from each child’s bed, throughout the house, and ending at their stocking. So that next Christmas Eve, she and my dad got two skeins of yarn. After my brother and I went to bed, they tied one end to each of our doorknobs, and then they went nuts with that yarn. We woke up on Christmas morning to a giant spider web of yarn, strung throughout our entire house. It went over chandeliers, through spindles on chairs, inside kitchen cupboards, downstairs, upstairs, and everywhere in between. My mom just laughed at us and said, “roll it back up into a ball! No presents until you’re done!” Every Christmas after that, she and my dad would sit and leisurely drink their coffee while Kyle and I crawled through the house, Mission: Impossible style, working our way towards our stockings. Now Tim and I enjoy doing the same with our own kids. 

Share about how you met your husband and grew your family.

Tim and I met during our freshman year at Iowa State University. Early on, we both got involved with a campus ministry called The Salt Company, and got to know each other singing together on the freshman group worship team. Well, I should say, I got to know him. He didn’t really notice me until the following year, when our paths started crossing a little more often. I was taking a calculus class with his roommate, who invited me over to their dorms to join a study group that had formed amongst all the mechanical engineering students on their floor.  Every so often the all-male group would get a little crass, so I’d slip out of that room and wander down to study with Tim. He was literally always head down in his books, but we found a companionable study silence. Lo and behold, we also started running into each other on the nights of Chemistry exams. He was appalled to find out I planned to walk home alone in the dark after my test, so he gallantly offered to walk me across campus to make sure I arrived home safely. Over the years we became great friends, had a few awkward relationship-defining-talks, and he eventually got up the courage to officially ask me out on a date. When we finally got engaged I told Tim I couldn’t picture myself as a mom, and not to talk to me about kids for at least 5 years. I was in grad school working on my Doctorate in Physical Therapy when we got married, and was very career driven. Needless to say, sometimes I wish I could go back in time to tap that girl on the shoulder and give her a sneak preview of what was to come, and to whisper in her ear, “don’t worry, you’re going to LOVE motherhood, way more than this full time career thing.” And here we are, 20+ years later, with four kids and homeschooling! Never would have guessed, but I tell people that it’s the hardest best thing I’ve ever done. Audrey (16), Norah (14), Justus (12), and Sawyer (9) bring us endless joy and laughter. We added a sheepadoodle (Beatrice – named after one of the kids’ favorite Shakespeare characters) to the family 2 years ago. And I recently went back to work, very part time, at ActivePT, and I do enjoy that job too! 

How did you end up in Rochester and how long have you attended Calvary?

Tim accepted a job with Rochester Public Utilities this past summer, so we officially moved to Rochester the last week in July, and visited a few other churches before checking out Calvary. By only our third Sunday visiting, we were shocked to walk in the door and watch our children instantly scatter to go talk with all of the friends they’d already made, so it felt like a pretty natural fit from the start. 

What is your favorite thing to spend money on? 

Home decor. As a child I was constantly rearranging furniture, trying to find the best layout for every room. Now I love following design accounts on IG, repainting our interior in the winter when I get tired of looking at the walls, and I’m pretty much constantly thinking about upgrading our kitchen and curtains! 

Share one thing that you love to do that you get to do nearly every day.

Read, read, and read some more. I love cozy mysteries (think Agatha Christie,) historical fiction, British humor (PG Wodehouse), and books about classical education. My favorite read from last year was A Gentleman in Moscow. 

Name two things you consider yourself to be very good at.

I’m a big-time grammar nerd; I really enjoy diagramming sentences. I’m also an excellent procrastinator. 

What one thing (modern convenience) could you not live without?

I’ve become a little too dependent on my espresso machine. I could live without it, but I’m not sure my family would want to live with ME without it. 

What are 3 things you highly value?

Truth, Goodness, and Beauty.