“I grew up in the Episcopal Church, and after a decade of not being actively involved, I was really missing being part of a church community. That’s what I was looking for, and that’s what I found at St. John’s. That’s what drew me. And the music.”
Emily Wiant (she/her) moved to St. Paul from St. Cloud about 17 years ago for her work as an auditor with the state of Minnesota. A parishioner who knew her parents invited her to visit St John’s. She attended a few times, and joined the choir. “Music has always been a big part of my life. I play piano and a little guitar, and I take hand drumming classes through community ed.”
Besides music, Emily has a passion for travel. “The past couple years I’ve done a lot of traveling. Last year I went to Denmark and Norway. My happy place is my family’s cabin in Montana, which I haven’t been able to get to for a couple years because of flooding. This year I took a train trip across Canada from Toronto to Vancouver. It’s a four-day trip, and it was a really fun experience to feel the different landscapes and meet different people.” Emily says that it was also an opportunity to learn about herself: “I found that the traveler version of myself is much more extraverted than my usual self. It’s still me but a different side of me than I usually express at home.”
When at home she enjoys baking. “Cakes mostly, and pie and cookies. I have a somewhat unearned reputation as a baker in my office”; although, she says, she bakes less post-pandemic since she works from home more.
Emaily says she appreciates a number of things about St John’s. “Beyond the music, which I absolutely love, one of the things I really like is what I see in the commitment to service and engagement with the community. I’ve been really interested in the work with First Nations Kitchen. I’d like to be more involved in that in the future.”
Welcome, Emily!
