Rev. Dr. Chomingwen Pond, age 91, of Minocqua, passed away on August 4, 2019. Rev. Pond was born in Madison, Wisconsin on September 1, 1927. She earned her bachelor’s degree in geology from Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin in 1950. She went on to Germany, where she took a post with the U.S. Army directing recreational programs for soldiers. It was then that she decided that she wanted to learn more about the Christian faith. She pursued a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Garrett Biblical Institute in 1961. While attending seminary, she spent a summer in Montgomery, Alabama, and became heavily involved in the Civil Rights Movement. She earned her Ph.D. in religion from Claremont Graduate School in 1987.
Rev. Pond entered into ministry in 1962. She was the first woman to become ordained in full connection with elder’s orders in Wisconsin in 1964. She served inner-city and small-membership churches for approximately 15 years and taught at Payne Theological Seminary in Ohio. She later became a missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries and served in Sierra Leone and in Zimbabwe at African University. During her years of missionary service at Africa University, she taught ethics in the Faculty of Theology. She retired from ministry in 1998.
She was committed to peace with justice ministries and held strong connections to the global church, especially in Africa and to Africa University.
She continued to remain active in the Wisconsin Conference. She also served on the conference board of global ministries and was the Heartland District secretary of global ministries for nine years.