New priest ordained at Coventry Cross

Staff Reports

Sherryl K. Netzler was ordained an Episcopal priest during a Sept. 14 service at Coventry Cross Episcopal Church in Minden. Officiating was Bishop Dan Edwards of Nevada, who was assisted by the Rev. W. Shepley Curtis and the Rev. Jane Foraker-Thompson.

Netzler was born in Ngaruawahia, south of Auckland, New Zealand. She taught school, and went on a two-year trip around the world. She met Serwind Netzler, who was filming a tour of the British Isles for the American Youth Hostel Association. They were married the following year in Michigan, where Serwind Netzler was a professional bass baritone at Christ Church Cranbrook in the Detroit area. The couple joined the church, where their daughter was later christened by one of the first Episcopal women priests.

The Netzlers moved to Boulder City, Nevada, in 1990 to become cottage parents at the Southern Nevada Children's Home and later became foster parents.

Sherryl Netzler wasn't raised an Episcopal, but joined St. Christopher's Episcopal Church in Boulder City. Her interests grew until she was encouraged by Nevada Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori to become a deacon, then priest. She was ordained as a traditional deacon in Fallon in 2006. She will serve with Curtis and Foraker-Thompson at Coventry Cross until her services are needed at other churches in the diocese.

Throughout her travels, Netzler's philosophy has been, "All we are asked to do is to love one another as God loves us."