How did your love story begin?

We met at Jr. High Church Camp, but we weren’t in Jr High! We were in our thirties. Robin was the nurse. Karen was the program director. Every summer, we staffed the camp for a week, loving our “mountain top” time. It took seven years until we had our first date (Karen was living in San Francisco. Robin was at Mayo in MN. We rendezvoused in Chicago. In a blizzard). That was 26 years ago. The adventure continues!

What is your favorite memory you've shared as a couple?

So many amazing memories! Karen is the first openly lgbtq bishop in The United Methodist Church. This has taken us to places around the world, meeting fascinating people. But by far, our wedding tops it all. Coming out when we did, a legal wedding was something we couldn’t even imagine when we were younger. But in 2014, we were able to stand before family and friends and pledge our love to one another. It was a joyous 4 day destination wedding with 100 guests (followed by a Tahitian honeymoon)!

What would you do with $20,000?

We would definitely make a donation to the National Center for Lesbian Rights. They do so much to protect lgbtq+ lives. We would use the rest on our home—we retired in September, 2024, moving out of the church-owned Bishop’s Residence in Colorado to our own home in Pugwash, Nova Scotia. We love it but there are several things on our “wish list” that would make it more comfortable (like a mud room. Or, as Robin calls it, a “decontamination center”—mosquitoes really love her!).