I am currently serving as the pastor of Englewood UMC. My major role was helping to restructure and revitalize the church. Before that, I served at Sulphur Grove UMC in Huber Heights, OH, where I launched a satellite campus.
My favorite memories of United Theological Seminary all have to do with great classmates and amazing professors. In the first church I served, a boy in my youth group was diagnosed with cancer, and that happened while I was taking Pastoral Care and Counseling. I am not sure how I would have worked in and through that situation without the help of Dr. Carolyn Bohler and my classmates. I still use the knowledge I gained there.
There were several late night discussions with Wendy Bair Christianson,'96, and Mary Shipley, '96, about the nature of ministry and how we were to fulfill our call to ministry as young women. Those conversations helped to shape the pastor I am still in the process of becoming.
And last, but definitely not least, I met the man who would, a few years later, become my husband.
United provided me with a sound theological framework on which I have been able to build all of the ministries with which I have worked. And it didn't just shape where I am today, it is still shaping me. I consider my pastoral identity to still be unfolding as I continue to discern where and who God is calling me to be. United helped by giving me great support and tools for this ongoing transformation.
My advice to students is to absorb all the information you can. Engage in discussions with faculty and students. Wrestle with your assumptions. Allow God to use United to shape and form you.
United Theological Seminary, Dayton, OH
One of seven apportioned giving opportunities of The United Methodist Church, the Ministerial Education Fund is at the heart of preparing people for making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. The 13 United Methodist seminaries help students to discover their calling through the challenging curriculum. The fund enables the church to increase financial support for recruiting and educating ordained and diaconal ministers and to equip annual conferences to meet increased demands. Please encourage your leaders and congregations to support the Ministerial Education Fund apportionment at 100 percent.
