While working as a nurse in the early 2000s, Threadgill felt a nudge toward religious life. And as a cradle Episcopalian, she followed that instinct into seminary.

After 20 years of leading congregations in three parishes, she officially retired from her position at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Johnstown on March 1.

Threadgill, 76, said her retirement is bittersweet, as she will miss her congregants, but she is ready to enter the next chapter of her life.

North and South

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church stands in Johnstown, where Reverend Nancy Threadgill has worked since 2014. Mirror photo by Colette Costlow

Threadgill calls herself a “product of the north and south,” as her medical engineer father hailed from Texas, while her mother grew up in Sewickley, Pa. As a result, she spent time in both parts of the country.

“I really had lived half my life in the north and half my life in the south,” she said.

The second of three children, Threadgill was born on Feb. 23, 1950, in Hawaii. When Threadgill’s parents believed her 8-year-old brother, Jerry, wouldn’t receive the education they wanted him to have, they moved back to Sewickley before eventually relocating to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, when Threadgill was 13 years old.

“And that was in the ’60s,” she said. “So if you think about it, we’re moving from the north to the south in the ’60s, it’s quite a culture shock.”

Once again, the family picked up and moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where Threadgill told her father they were staying until she finished high school at Indian Hills in 1968.

Reverend Nancy Threadgill points to a sign in St. Mark’s Episcopal Church dedicated to a previous priest and family that died in a Johnstown flood. Mirror photo by Colette Costlow

However, when Threadgill went to Michigan State University to study medical technology, her parents moved back down to Baton Rouge, where they stayed permanently.

“I think she (my mother) decided she didn’t want to move again,” Threadgill said. “And she certainly didn’t want to go up north … She didn’t like snow.”

With a bachelor’s degree in medical technology and a master’s degree in clinical laboratory science from Michigan State in her pocket, Threadgill decided to study nursing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

She certainly didn’t expect to feel nudged to become a priest in the midst of her nursing career.

Feeling uncertain about her future calling, she waited for her feelings to settle before moving to Fort Walton Beach, Florida, to be closer to her mother after her father passed away.

A Morley’s dog, made by a Boy Scout, sits in St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, which commemorates the parish’s free pet food pantry, open once a month. Mirror photo by Colette Costlow

As a nurse in Florida, however, the calling persisted as people continued to ask her if she thought about the priesthood. But she couldn’t see herself as a priest.

“I kept trying to say no for a long time, but eventually it came through to me that maybe,” she said.

Religious life

When Threadgill was attending church as a child, women were not allowed to become priests.

“We couldn’t even be acolytes on the altar, which made me mad because my brother could be an acolyte,” she said. “I couldn’t just because I was a girl.”

The General Convocation of the Episcopal Church officially accepted the ordination of women in 1976, clearing the way for Threadgill’s and many other women’s future careers.

Two priests from the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast told Threadgill that they’d sponsor her if she wanted to become a priest.

Threadgill’s older cousin, Linda Green, called Threadgill’s decision to leave her successful nursing career to follow the priesthood courageous.

“This was at a time when women in ministry in most traditional denominations were a novelty, and breaking that glass ceiling took a lot of effort and intense scrutiny from many people,” she said.

With a dream in mind, Threadgill completed a three-year residency from 2003-06 at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary.

“We formed a family,” she said, mentioning that she formed a group with other aspiring priests throughout the program, bonding over their shared and unique experiences.

“We worshiped together, we learned together, we celebrated in shared meals together,” she said.

After graduation, she returned to the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast, where she worked as a curate in Mobile, Alabama. Shortly after, she became the rector of an African American church, Church of the Good Shepherd.

“When you come out of school, you have a lot of book knowledge,” she said, reflecting on the beginnings of her work in the church. “And then suddenly you’re thrust into working.”

After spending eight years as the rector, Threadgill decided to relocate back to the northern part of the U.S.

“I decided I needed to get out of the south for various reasons, but one is it’s way too hot,” she said tongue-in-cheek. “I don’t deal well with heat.”

When looking for priest positions up north, she applied for an opening at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Johnstown.

True calling

Taking a chance, Threadgill entered St. Mark’s for an in-person interview in 2014.

“When Nancy walked in and said she was a ‘cat person,’ I was hooked,” said St. Mark’s administrative secretary Joanna McKinley, who has six cats and three rescues herself.

At the time, Threadgill had six cats of her own. And because of her fondness for animals, she quickly took over the parish’s free pet food pantry shortly after being named head priest.

She also brought along two kittens — named Mark and Maggie — who lived at the church and attended Mass for eight years.

They were the face of the food pantry, according to McKinley, who mentioned that they greeted families who brought in food or donations. They passed away in 2023 due to an illness.

“Nancy has opened her heart to everyone who has walked through our doors,” McKinley said. “She has always been a positive light in my life.”

Looking back on her career, Threadgill said her favorite part of being a priest was conducting baptisms, as they signify new life for babies, children and adults alike.

“It’s welcoming new people to Christ,” she said.

At the same time, she said it’s special to be present when someone dies.

Because of her extensive nursing background, she said she wasn’t afraid to enter hospitals or deal with death, recalling that she was frequently chosen to work with dying patients as a critical care nurse.

“I could be patient and work with families or people who were dying,” she said, “so that’s one of the (religious) nudges that I think I had that people saw.”

Green said Threadgill has lived and preached the command to “love God and love your neighbor.”

“I have heard her preach sermons from her heart, which confirms to those around her that her call was real and true,” she said.

“St. Mark’s is a better church because of the love and compassion that she has shown to us and to those who have had the honor of meeting her,” McKinley said.

Mirror Staff Writer Colette Costlow is at 814-946-7414.

The Threadgill file

Name: Nancy Threadgill

Residence: Johnstown

Age: 76

Education: Indian Hills High School; Michigan State University; University of Wisconsin-Madison; Seabury-Western Theological Seminary

Careers: Medical technician, nurse and priest

Hobbies: Crocheting, knitting and cross-stitching

Pets: Cats: Magic, Samson, Lilibet and Stripes