Rev. James Eckblad, Senior Pastor

Our new Pastor, James (Jim) Eckblad, arrived at Hillsboro Presbyterian Church in early January as our professional Interim Senior Minister, and is expected to be with us for a good while.

Pastor Jim has served several churches in the United Church of Christ, and holds official standing in the UCC, with a “privilege of call” in the Presbyterian Church, USA.  Immediately prior to coming to Hillsboro, he served two years as Interim Senior Minister of Linn Presbyterian Church in Lake Geneva, Wis.  Before that, he served for more than 13 years as the installed Senior Pastor of Immanuel UCC in West Bend, WI.

Before accepting the call to the West Bend congregation, Pastor Jim was a trial attorney for nearly 9 years with the firm of Kay & Eckblad, S.C. (now known as Kay & Andersen, S.C.), practicing as a trial attorney in the areas of large construction, product liability and business litigation, as well as pursuing a burgeoning practice in clergy sexual misconduct cases.

Pastor Jim brings a great deal of enthusiasm to his position at Hillsboro, helping us to focus on learning who it is and where it is that Christ is calling us, respectively, to be and to go as a congregation apart from an otherwise terrifically-effective leadership under our most recent senior minister, Dr. David Kidd.  While it will not be easy to disentangle our identity and mission from David’s nearly four decades of leadership, Pastor Jim wants us to know that it is both necessary and exciting – and that the only thing that matters along the way is our daily attempt to be faithful to Christ.

Pastor Jim holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin, an M.Div. from Yale University, and a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School.  He also has completed more than 70 hours of training in ‘professional interim ministry.’

Until accepting the call to Hillsboro, Pastor Jim was also practicing as an Executive Coach.

He and his wife, Barbara, with five ‘grown and gone’ children, have a permanent residence in downtown Milwaukee, WI. 

Dr. Nancy McCurley, Associate Pastor

Nancy McCurley has served over 15 years as Hillsboro's Associate Pastor. Revered by the congregation as a trusted pastor, Nancy is one of those extraordinary people who practices the teachings of Christ without hesitation. Going the second mile for those in need is her way of life.

A native of Jackson, Mississippi, and a lifelong Presbyterian, Nancy came to Nashville to attend Vanderbilt University. She met Tom McCurley, her future husband, at Vanderbilt. She worked first in Alumni and Development at Vanderbilt and then edited a science journal at the University of California in San Francisco during the years of Tom's medical training.

After the McCurleys returned to Nashville, Nancy visited Hillsboro Presbyterian Church where she was "struck by Christ's joy in giving." By now the mother of two children, Joseph and Greer, she says,"After thinking my life was already planned and settled, I was grasped by God as I experienced a sudden personal call to pastoral ministry. I was offered a job at Hillsboro and worked there part time while I attended Divinity School.

Over the years, Nancy has worked alongside David to a loving, Christ-centered community at Hillsboro. She has been a driving force behind the development of an outstanding array of prayer ministries, care of members programs and HPC's Stephen Ministry.

She also works with Benevolence and Outreach to encourage both local and international ministries as Hillsboro reaches out with the arms of Christ to embrace the world He loves.