Bio
Dr. Veronica P. Palmer is a committed ministry professional, with multiple levels of experience. For 25 years, she has been an adaptable, highly-motivated, forward-thinking individual with an excellent work ethic and a servant leader’s heart. She has served rural, suburban and urban congregations.
As a pastor, she focuses on coaching and leadership in building and maintaining meaningful Christ-centered relationships with all people at every level of the church and community. Dr. Palmer also served as a district superintendent in the Greater New Jersey Conference of The United Methodist Church.
During the last 12 years, leading up to 2020, Dr. Palmer has been appointed to an urban, multi-cultural congregation, Calvary-Roseville United Methodist Church. The name changed to Rise Church in December 3, 2017, to re-clarify the scope of the church’s mission and identity.
She has work experience in theological seminaries, colleges and media.
Looking to the future, while continuing with her ministry, Dr. Palmer has launched the Samara Palmer Organization, to honor her late granddaughter, and to use what she has learned to help others. She recognizes that people with serious mental illness are doubly challenged. First, they struggle with the symptoms and disabilities as a result of the disease, and second, they are also challenged by stereotypes and prejudices that are misconceptions about their illness. Hence these individuals are robbed of opportunities that would enable them to enjoy the quality of life they deserve. One of the goals of the Samara Palmer Organization is to work with persons and assist them by promoting mental wellness in hopes that they will find their place in society.
Founder's Message
Sometimes things happen that become memories that stay strong within us. Samara Palmer’s short life, and the reason it ended so abruptly, when she was but a toddler, has scorched a place in my soul that has not only remained, but has grown.
It has made the ups and downs of life more clear in a way that has remained with me throughout my ministry, in ways that continue to both surprise me and to encourage me to reach out to others, to share with them and encourage them to share their sadness and joys with me.
They have caused me to realize the tools of wellness are those that last a lifetime.
There’s a saying: "Give a person a fish and they will be fed for a day. Teach a person to fish and they will be fed for life." At the Samara Palmer Organization, you will discover the tools that help you embrace wellness for a lifetime. Learning to live well, to be well, to parent well, to work well, to love well will transform your day-to-day interactions with others, from your friends and family to people you deal with professionally.