Priscilla Abbott, a native of Brownsville, Texas, has been a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) missionary in Japan since 1968. After graduation from Austin College in 1960, she was a junior high school English teacher in Brownsville for seven years. From 1968 to 1981 she was on the English faculty of Shikoku Christian College (now Shikoku Gakuin University) in Zentsuji. As a member of the Zentsuji congregation of the United Church of Christ in Japan she served as organist, elder, women of the church president, Sunday School teacher, youth leader and other ways, gradually deciding to turn to fuiltime church work.
Before ordination by Mission Presbytery on July 3, 1988, at First Presbyterian Church in Brownsville, Texas, Priscilla was a cooperating missionary in Nagasaki subdistrict of the United Church of Christ in Japan from 1982 to 1986 and completed Master of Divinity requirements at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Austin, Texas, during the 1981-82, 1986-87, and 1987-88 school years. During her teaching years in Texas, she completed the Master of Arts degree in English at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth during summer sessions.
Priscilla's most recent work is as pastor of Tarami Dendosho (Tarami New Church Development), a congregation of the United Church of Christ in Japan. She has been pastor of this congregation since it moved to Tarami Town in 1989. As the congregation has only nine members, each one, including Priscilla, has many jobs to do for the church. Since 1995 Priscilla has also been busy as a member of one of the major committees of Kyushu presbytery, or district, and was re-elected to this committee at the annual presbytery meeting in May, 1997. Serving as sole staff of a congregation in another country is an ongoing challenge and provides an opportunity to use every single talent God has given.
