Home » News » Clintonville News » New pastor at Clintonville UMC

New pastor at Clintonville UMC

Ziegler feels welcome in community

By Erik Buchinger


Diana Ziegler, the new pastor of Clintonville United Methodist Church, said the community has made for an easy transition.

Ziegler’s first day was July 1 and she noticed a welcoming feeling in the Clintonville community.

“It’s been going wonderfully,” Ziegler said. “Everybody is so warm and so welcoming. This is a very comfortable place to be, and I feel very welcome here.”

Ziegler is originally from Marinette. She has lived in Seymour the last 20 years.

Prior to becoming a pastor, Ziegler spent 14 years as a special education teacher and worked in alternative education for high school students at risk of not graduating for various reasons.

“I think my background in education lends itself very nicely to leading a church,” Ziegler said. “A lot of what a pastor does is very similar to what a teacher does. As a teacher, I considered myself just a leader. I don’t have all the answers as teacher or pastor, but I can lead. An educational background lends itself very nicely to being a pastor because you’re still leading a group of people to help them find answers.”

For the last two years, Ziegler has been a family engagement coordinator for CESA 8 while completing coursework to become a pastor.

“I became active in the church as a song leader providing music in the church, and I became more involved in Bible studies,” Ziegler said. “I just needed to know more and was hungry for more so I started taking some course work to learn more about the Methodist faith and learn more about the Bible.”

Ziegler became a certified Lay Servant, which opened the door to becoming a pulpit supply for a variety of churches all over Northeast Wisconsin.

Ziegler said she has enjoyed the small-town atmosphere of Clintonville.

“I am a small-town person and have a small town personality,” Ziegler said. “The small community appeals to me personally not just in the church. My experience in the different churches have been to have primarily been smaller community churches, and that is where I feel at home. When this was presented and I met with their staff relations parish committee and spent time with district superintendent, it really was a good fit.”

Ziegler said she is most excited about growing together in the church.

“I really think that once people recognize that God is there in the good, bad and ugly, we grow as a community, as a social community, faith community, we grow together and stronger,” Ziegler said. “That’s what I’m looking forward to. We grow in unity.”

Ziegler said she could not specify her plans for the future but is excited about what the church has to offer.

“I have all kinds of hopes and dreams for this church community,” Ziegler said. “I’m looking forward to learning them, learning the history of this church, learning where they want to go and helping them grow, not just as a church. It would be wonderful to grow church membership and fill the pews on Sunday. That would be awesome, and I think that’s the goal to have but it’s not just that. I want to know their goals for the community as a whole, and I see this church really becoming an integral part of the Clintonville community and the surrounding area.

“There’s so much love in this building, and there’s so much potential for what can become here at the church and what this community can do for the surrounding communities.”

Less than a month after landing her new job, Ziegler confirmed she made the right decision.

“What I have seen in the congregation in the three weeks here, it just solidifies that for me that is a great opportunity,” Ziegler said. “We could put Clintonville on the map as an incredibly vibrant community that has a lot to offer here.”

Scroll to Top