Do you know that feeling when someone looks at you and you actually feel seen? Through your skin, through your walls, protective exterior, and all the way to your true self? That is how one feels in the presence of Pastor Linda Cooper. When asked why she lives and serves as a pastor in Danville Linda replied, “There is life in every person. We must protect that life. If you are breathing, there is opportunity.”
Linda has lived in Danville for 60 years. She is the youngest of 10 siblings, graduated from Danville High School in 1979, attended DACC on a softball scholarship and studied Criminal Justice during her time there. After college, she worked for UPS for 13 years where she learned many useful skills, and she currently serves in ministry at St. James Free Will Baptist Church. She was nominated by one of her congregants who said, “Pastor Linda never turns away anyone… If you ever see her out in public, she will always greet you with her big, warm smile that brightens up your day. She never overlooks you.”
Not only does Pastor Linda give her life to ministering to others, but she also spent the last several years caring for her elderly father until he passed away in February of 2021. During that time she put her own cancer diagnosis on hold and waited until he passed away to pursue her own medical treatment. She believes that so many of the outcomes we have in life depend on how we approach the situation, and she refuses to let cancer define her. She says, “I am not in denial, but I also don’t identify with it. Everything can be restored.”
When the doctor told her that because of her diagnosis she could no longer hug children due to vulnerability to viruses, she knew it would be impossible. She says, “Let the little children come to me. I’m not going to give up hugging the children.” Pastor Linda Cooper loves everything that has breath. She admits, it is difficult being a female pastor at times, but she says, “God called me. I won’t be defeated.”
If you have someone you would like to share,
visit https://forms.gle/deCPiQ1cxn1pDLhZ9
or contact Ashton Greer, City of Danville agreer@cityofdanville.org or
Nicole Van Hyfte, Vermilion Advantage nvanhyfte@vermilionadvantage.com.
Ashton Greer
Community Relations Administrator
