Rev. Tara Wilkins | Pastor

Rev. Tara Wilkins (she/her) has been the pastor at Bridgeport United Church of Christ since 2012. She is sought after as an inspiring speaker, workshop leader, and preacher and is often a guest lecturer at colleges and universities. With over thirty years in the LGBTQ Welcoming Faith Movement, she is a fierce advocate and justice warrior, proclaiming an inclusive Gospel that honors many paths to God.

She is one of the founding members of the Portland Interfaith Clergy Resistance; a group bearing moral witness in the streets: holding sacred space, centering BIPOC voices, journeying alongside justice seekers (#BlackLivesMatter). Butch, masculine of center, pastor, leader, activist, writer, contemplative, lover, and mother are just some of her identities, but her favorite job is being Gram to her grandchildren. She and her pastor spouse, Jennifer Ruth Lynn Garrison live intergenerationally with some of their children, grandchildren, two cats, and an Aussie doodle named Artemis.