Biographical Information

Sara Mueller (Chip) was born in Snyder, Texas on August 2, 1938 and was the oldest of three daughters. Her father worked for the telephone company and then the Department of Defense, so she traveled a great deal and lived in a wide variety of places including one year in Liverno, Italy. Chip graduated from Mt. Vernon High School in 1956 having attended twelve schools from 1st to 12th grades. She then attended George Washington University for two years and graduated from the Columbian College with an Associate of Arts degree in pre-education.

Chip worked for Lorman and Parrish Law firm during summers and school vacations starting in 1953 until 1958 and was secretary to the Professor of Pharmacology and research assistant at George Washington Medical School during the summer of 1957.

Chip was married June 8, 1958 to a Naval Officer and Link, Jr. was born Feb. 13, 1961. Chip was confirmed in the Episcopal Church in 1964 but did not become active in parish life until she and her family moved to Charleston in 1965. Her daughter Kathleen was born in 1966. At St. Andrews Parish in Charleston, Chip taught the fifth grade Sunday school class and was the United Thank Offering chairperson. She was the Hoo Koo-Pu chairperson at her church in Hawaii and served as a Cub Scout Den Mother and a Brownie leader for two years.

American Treasurer for the Turkish American Women's Cultural Society for one year, was TAWCS bazaar chairman for one year and was a member of the TAWCS bookmobile team for three years. She audited the Turkish short course at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Ca. for two years and was a member of a Turkish conversation group that met weekly for three years in Turkey.

Following her return to the States, Chip and her family settled in the Virginia Beach area and she was active on the SACIANT Wives Board (Navy Wives Club). She also became very active in Emmanuel Episcopal Church where she served in the following capacities: Bazaar co-chairman, Children's Booth chairman Bazaar, Church School core group for five years, Vestry member three years, Adult Education Committee Chairman , Senior Warden two years, Education for Ministry third year student, Shrinemont Conference three years, and Shrinemont workshop leader for one year. Chip is also very active as a liturgical clown, and takes her clowning to other churches

Chip was instrumental in the spring and summer of 1982, as senior warden, in bringing the first ordained Episcopal woman priest to the Tidewater area. She was on the search committee which hired Pat Park to be temporary clergy at Emmanuel Episcopal Church while the regular clergyman was on a four month sabbatical. This was a real milestone for the diocese because the presiding Bishop's anti-woman priest stand has been well known and publicized.

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