McMurry University
News Release

Rev. Zachary Harrison Kerzee, a 2011 graduate of McMurry University, recently was honored with the university’s Outstanding Alumni Award in Religious & Spiritual Life.

Kerzee is a minister and woodworker in Sterling, Massachusetts. He studied religion and Greek at McMurry, was highly involved in Religious and Residence Life, and co-founded the McMurry Gay Straight Alliance. After McMurry, Kerzee attended Harvard Divinity School on a full scholarship.

He met his future wife, Kendra, a Spanish teacher, while attending Harvard Epworth UMC. After seminary, Kerzee founded Simple Church, a Methodist dinner church, and began serving Worcester Fellowship, a church for the homeless in Worcester, Massachusetts.

In 2020, Kerzee began serving historic First Church in Sterling and continued his ministry to the homeless at Worcester Fellowship. His work in ministry innovation has been highlighted in several books and publications including Faith and Leadership Magazine, Christian Science Monitor, and The New York Times.

Kerzee also builds acoustic guitars using recycled church pews and library shelving from New England churches. The Kerzees are adoptive parents to Amberly (10) and Tiana (9) and their loyal black lab, Lawrence (2).

Kerzee was one of seven alumni honored by McMurry. Others were:

Judge Jorge A. Solis (1973), Distinguished Alumni Award
Hunter Sims (2007), Young Alumni Achievement Award
Leslie Chalmers ’99 – Outstanding Alumni Award in Business 
Aletha Lizette Williams ’04 – Outstanding Alumni Award in Math & the Sciences
Rory Peacock ’01 – Outstanding Alumni Award in Education
Tom Turner ’01 – Outstanding Alumni Award in Fine Arts