About Peggy McClure

Certified Grief Counselor

B.A., M.A., J.D., M.Div

Peggy grew up in the Bluegrass country of Kentucky in Lexington where she was heavily involved in music as a teenager, playing the clarinet with the Central Kentucky Youth Symphony Orchestra and singing in church choirs while also engaged in cheerleading activities, church camps, sports and academics.

Peggy married her college sweetheart from the University of Alabama and they had two boys, Kevin and Steven. Her son Kevin was killed in a tragic automobile accident when he was 19-years old. Steven is an Emergency Room doctor in Huntsville. Peggy taught for several years in the public schools in Alabama, the state of Washington, and in the American high school in Heidelberg, Germany. She later became an attorney and practiced law in the Law Department of U. S. Steel Corporation for 18 years following a year's clerkship for a Federal Judge. In 1995 she married The Rev. Dr. M. Scott McClure whom she met in Greece on a journey of the third missionary trip of the Apostle Paul. Scott had been the Senior Pastor at Independent Presbyterian Church in Birmingham for many years.

Following Scott's death to cancer, Peggy too felt called to the ministry and became an ordained Presbyterian minister. She is an enthusiastic world traveler going to Zambia, Africa on a mission trip last summer as well as recent journeys to India, China, Japan, Israel, and the Czech Republic. She presently serves on the Alabama Symphony Board and is a long-time member of the Rotary Club of Birmingham.

Education

Peggy received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, with a Minor in English from the University of Alabama. In addition, she holds a Master's degree in Secondary Education, also from the University of Alabama. She later received the Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) degree from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in Birmingham.

Most recently Peggy received the Master of Divinity (M. Div.) degree from Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia. She holds a Certificate in Spiritual Formation from Columbia Seminary; has completed a Residency in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) as a chaplain at Northside Hospital in Atlanta; and is a Certified Grief Counselor (GC-C) with the American Academy of Grief Counseling. She is also certified in Grief and Death Studies under Dr. Alan Wolfelt, Director for the Center for Loss and Life Transition in Fort Collins, Colorado.

As an ordained minister, Peggy was the Executive Director for more than five years at Community Grief Support Service (CGSS), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization providing grief counseling, grief support groups, and grief education for those who have lost loved ones by death in the Greater Birmingham Community. Presently in addition to her counseling services, Peggy is the Pastor of The First Presbyterian Church of Trussville, Alabama.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13.

Clinical Experience

Peggy became intimately acquainted with grief following the death of her son Kevin, the death of both her parents, and then the death of her husband Scott. She realized that grief is a journey or a process and not an event, and for each of these losses, the journey is different. While doing her residency in CPE at Northside Hospital, she was assigned to the metastatic cancer floor where she ministered to patients dying of cancer. Peggy, herself, is a cancer survivor of many years.

While at CGSS as Executive Director, Peggy counseled grieving persons and led grief support groups. Her mantra is "one must grieve well and mourn well so that they can once again live well and love well", a saying originating with her mentor, Dr. Alan Wolfelt. Peggy finds it very rewarding to make a difference in the lives of bereaved people, walking that difficult journey with them. Peggy particularly welcomes the opportunity to help grieving parents and those who have lost a spouse. She also provides premarital counseling and support for those diagnosed with cancer and those struggling with their Christian faith.