Pastor Cerna Castro Rand

Our pastor, Reverend Cerna Castro Rand, is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church. Pastor Cerna was appointed to Prince of Peace in July 2011 after serving as an associate pastor of the First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple, in Chicago, IL for seven years; and as an Associate Pastor and Minister of Christian Education/ Family Matters at Grace United Methodist Church in Lake Bluff, IL.

Before coming to the United States in 1993 to study at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, Pastor Cerna was commissioned as a deaconess of the United Methodist Church in the Philippines and worked as a deaconess in the Philippines in the area of Christian Education.

Pastor Cerna graduated from Garrett-Evangelical with two Masters degrees in Christian Education and Divinity. 

Other achievements include:

• Certified Grief Counselor through the State of Colorado University and Center for Loss and Life Transition in Fort Collins, Colorado.
• Led several Volunteers in Mission trips to the Philippines, South Dakota and in Illinois.
• Elected as a delegate from the North Central Jurisdiction to lead the youth and young adult delegation to attend the First Youth Global Convocation in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2007.
• Served as the adult coordinator for the Youth Ministry in the Northern Illinois Conference for two years (July 2006-July 2008).
 

She was born the 9th child of 10 children in the Philippines and was raised in the Roman Catholic faith.  Pastor Cerna received her call to ministry when she was a senior in high school and active in the United Methodist Youth Fellowship.

She is a naturalist who loves life and enjoys reading, gardening, walking, knitting (dish rags) and playing with their lovely dog Goldie. Her favorite pig-out food is pizza.  Pastor Cerna  is a people-oriented person who loves what she does while working with people of all ages and backgrounds.

Pastor Cerna married Mark Rand on June 3, 1995. Mark was born in Rockford, Illinois. He grew up in Homewood and was educated at Purdue University, Indiana, and Northwestern University in Evanston earning his Doctoral degree in Physics in 1996.

“I give thanks to God for this new appointment at Prince of Peace UMC. I am very excited to be here as your pastor and I am looking forward to getting to know you, listening to your stories and working with you. We are all in transition, but we all love God and are committed to follow Jesus. Through God‘s grace we can do it, and there is no limit to what we can accomplish together because Jesus is our Leader. It is God who gives us power and strength to fulfill Jesus‘ work here on earth which is: ―Making disciples for the transformation of the world.” The Holy Spirit will be our guide as we move to a new start.“

If you have any questions about Prince of Peace. Please feel free to email her at:
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