Clergy & Staff

Sarah draws her energy from people. Her natural warmth and Midwestern friendliness will melt away any New England reserve. Church has always been an important part of her life, but at one time, she believed she was headed for a career in medicine and majored in biochemistry in college. Sarah knows that at various points in her life, God has revealed unexpected plans for her. Her favorite prayer: “God, give me eyes to see you and ears to hear you, and please be obvious.”

What we love about Sarah is her boldness. She won’t hesitate to bring people together. She knows our stories, and she seizes the moment. Even when we were in lockdown due to a global pandemic, Sarah called us to gather with our partners in faith at nearby churches and synagogues to make a stand for black lives. And we all did.

Before being called to serve at Wellesley Village Church in 2015, Sarah was senior pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Wilmette, north of Chicago, associate pastor at Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago, and associate pastor at Mount Washington Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati.

Sarah is a graduate of Alma College and Princeton Theological Seminary. She also earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and a doctor of ministry degree from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. Her thesis work on “Stewardship: An Epiphany” created a ground-breaking paradigm shift for congregational stewardship.

Although Sarah didn’t become a physician, she married one, John Butter, who practices internal medicine in Boston. They know about healing. Sarah and John have two daughters, Elizabeth and Caroline, and two dogs, Doodles and Wrigley.