Sullivan and Moreano look back on life, memories of Monticello

     After 22 years of serving the serving the United Church of Monticello congregation, serving the Monticello community, and raising their family here, Jean Sullivan and Ed Moreano are moving on to new adventures.

     The couple have been co-pastors of the United Church since they moved to Monticello in August 1999. At that time, their children, Buster and Cleo, were 4 years old and three months old respectively. Now, both kids have graduated from college and starting down their own paths in life.

     The family will be relocating to Cedar Rapids at the end of June. Sullivan will be working remotely for the Partnerships in Prevention Science Institute through Iowa State University.

     “I’ll be helping to develop training around people who have had traumatic experiences,” explained Sullivan, noting that the timing is ironic as we come out of a pandemic, which was certainly traumatic for many people.

     “Jean has discovered a path for herself that’s become her full-time calling,” praised Moreano.

     After working for Above & Beyond Hospice for the past 13 years, Moreano will be joining Iowa City Hospice as a bereavement counselor.

     “I’ll be a support for families following the death of a loved one,” he said.

     Serving a protestant church for 22 years is quite the exception to the rule for any minister.

     “It’s a long time,” reflected Sullivan.

     “It was congenial,” said Moreano. “We all got along with one another.”

     He elaborated saying the church had a shared conviction that their ministry would “one of good faith and effective service.

     “The prospect of being long-term was very amicable,” added Moreano.

     When the family relocated to Monticello from the Boston, Mass., area, they were hired as co-pastors. While it’s not uncommon still today for a single church to have two pastors work as one full-time pastor, it is more common to see a single pastor in this role.

     “You do see more clergy couples now versus when we were in school,” said Sullivan.

     She said it was just easier sharing a church rather than one trying to find another nearby church without a minister.

     Moreano admitted that he’ll forever be grateful for the opportunity to be a co-pastor because he was able to still be a full-time parent.

     “As a man in this culture, a lot of men don’t have to or get to make this choice,” he said. “I very much embraced the co-ministry.”

     When the family moved to town, they recalled the warm welcome they received, not only from the United Church, but the community has a whole.

     “We felt a real connection from the start,” said Sullivan.

     Despite moving in during fair week here, they were welcomed by a sizable crowd.

     Over the past 22 years, the couple has seen lots of changes within the local church.

     “A lot of mainstream churches have to contend with the aging of the congregation,” Moreano said.

     Sullivan said she’s enjoyed the fact that their ministry wasn’t just contained within the United Church, but throughout the community.

     For a decade or more, she was a volunteer chaplain at Four Oaks before they left the community. This relationship was formed through a member of the United Church, Janet Martin.

     “We’d bring gifts and supplies to the girls, hold Bible studies, have pizza and taco parties, play Bingo,” recalled Sullivan. “We led worship with them, focusing on meditation and sharing.”

     She said the girls even gave back to the community through service projects and outdoor cleanup days.

     The Express interviewed Sullivan and Moreano upon their arrival in Monticello. In the Aug. 18, 1999 issue, Moreano was quoted as saying how much they enjoyed their neighborhood here in Monticello, “neighbors that truly take the time to be neighbors. We feel embraced by the community already.”

     Those same sentiments were echoed during this interview, 22 years later.

     “It was the authenticity of the neighborhood that we related to,” Moreano said. “There was a sense of community on this block. People in this town take an interest in their neighbor’s welfare and well being.”

     Both Sullivan and Moreano took an interest themselves in the community by being heavily involved in many ways. Sullivan led the Heart & Soul process, worked with Four Oaks, Cedar/Jones Early Childhood Iowa, and Decat/CPPC. Moreano served on the library board, liaison for the food pantry, and Above & Beyond.

     “It was a joy and pleasure to see how the library continued to grow,” he said. “It’s a service to this community, and provides a vital resource, as well as information and education to the community.”

     Moreano also spoke to the positive interfaith response in Monticello, with the churches all coming together to form the Monticello Ministerial Association, which oversees the food pantry.

     “I’ve given thanks for the degree of interfaith respect that exists in this community,” he said. “It’s a tremendous benefit. I’ve always felt welcome at any church and vice versa.”

     Serving the church for a couple of decades, the couple has certainly been a part of so many congregants’ lives.

     “We’ve been there for celebrations and losses,” recalled Moreano. “We’ve provided love and support.”

     They said the United Church always had an open-door policy in which people of all faiths were welcome.

     “That spirit existed here already,” Moreano said, before their arrival. “People who weren’t even members here have participated in the life of this church.”

     Sullivan said it was the church’s modeling of community service that led to their own community involvement over the years.

     “People understand the roles you have to play in the community to foster and flourish the lives of others,” said Moreano.

     “It’s about strengthening the community,” added Sullivan, “whatever those needs are.”

     With their children moving on to bigger life experiences, Sullivan and Moreano said now is just the right time to make their own change in life as well.

     “We felt another set of doors opening for us,” said Moreano.

     After their depart in a week or so, a new pastor, Kathryn Newhall, will take over the United Church, as well as the Methodist church in Anamosa.

     Their last Sunday will be June 27, with an open house celebration from 2-4 p.m. at the Durgin Pavilion at Camp Courageous. The community is invited to attend.

     “Although we’re moving down the road a bit,” said Moreano, “this place and lives here will go with us and will remain in our hearts.

     “We’re very grateful this community allowed us to become their neighbors, pastors, and friends.”

     “We’ve been very happy here,” echoed Sullivan. “We made our home here.”