Laura Kelleher: Louisville Free Public Library

by Emily Pauw

Throughout my interviews everyone has grown up in a church that was unwelcoming or unsatisfying, and sometimes of a different denomination. Then as soon as they walked into CHPC, they were most likely welcomed by Lucy Steilberg or Mary Love, and eventually they fell in love with our church. Laura Kelleher’s story was a little different, since she grew up in a Catholic church but then attended a Unitarian Universalist Church for five years. Once she moved back to Louisville she couldn’t find a church to her liking, opted for a protestant church, and ended up here 9 years ago.

After listening to these people’s stories, I just cannot imagine myself not coming to Crescent Hill every week, much less not being Presbyterian anymore. Maybe it’s just because my life has been peppered with mission trips to Appalachia, conferences at Montreat, and knowing and loving people with such strong faith in God. Laura just wasn’t raised in a community like me. Her church told her that people weren’t good enough, and that we needed to try harder. And then Jane’s sermons insightfully taught her more about God’s grace and love.

Nowadays, Laura is the branch manager at the Bon Air Branch of the Louisville Free Public Library. Usually when I enter the public library, I see bored teenagers on Facebook and at least three homeless men wandering aimlessly around. And Laura doesn’t deny that this happens at her library. She simply asks the homeless to leave if they are sleeping or loud, but most times they are not a problem. Laura has even had old ladies come up the front desk and whisper, “There is a homeless man sleeping in the Fiction section” as if they are a disease and not to be talked about.

Laura said that when you choose to be part of a non-profit organization, you choose to be in a world where money isn’t the bottom line. There are many people in our church that either work or volunteer at a non-profit organization, such as Salvation Army or Kid’s Café. And although that is wonderful, I feel that Laura touches people in a unique way. Whether it’s is helping an unemployed mother apply for a job online or telling an insecure teenager that she is beautiful inside and out, Laura does in fact bring her faith with her everyday to work.