An ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Gench was on the faculty of Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg from 1986 to 1999. She served as a member of the PC(USA) General Assembly’s Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church. Recent publications include Faithful Disagreement: Wrestling with Scripture in the Midst of Church Conflict, Back to the Well: Women’s Encounters with Jesus in the Gospels and Encounters with Jesus: Studies in the Gospel of John.