Rebecca DriscollAmerican Baptist Churches, USA
Ordination CandidateOld Colony Baptist Association
Faith Journey
A Part of the Story
What? Where? When? Why? How? Insatiable childhood questions about God began with these words after attending a Catholic Mass with my paternal grandparents when I was three years old. The questions at this age were not complex. Nonetheless I am told they were numerous. I was curious to know this God everyone was talking about. This was the same age at which I began Sunday School at the Trinitarian Congregational Church (United Church of Christ) in my hometown of Norton, Massachusetts. My parents, younger sister and I were extremely active in the life of the church, participating in Christian education, property maintenance, pastoral relations, spring and fall fairs,Christmas pageants, youth choir, bell choir, youth groups, acolyte, vacation bible schools, soup kitchens, and Christian musicals. At the time, I did not realize this was faith-in-action. We were spending just as much time at church as we were at home. Our church community became my extended family and our church building my home-away-from home. I loved going to church. I loved being around the congregation members who made me feel safe and welcome, and I knew every inch of the building—even all of the dark and scary parts of the historic structure. I wanted to be as involved as I could be with the activities of the church and always looked to learn more and engage in the faith community. (I never wanted the lead role in school or church plays, but I was insistent on being Mary in the Christmas Pageant.) I loved Jesus’ story and I wanted to participate in the telling of it.
In 2003, when I was 14 the only minister I had ever known, Reverend Gordon Merten, retired and our congregation welcomed an interim minister, Reverend Kathleen Henry. She recognized my enthusiasm and eager involvement in church community activities. She asked if I would be interested in a summer camp conference called the Faith Youth Institute which was held atAndover Newton Theological School. She explained the program to my mom as a place where teens could glimpse what a ministerial career might look like and said, “If God wants you, He will have you.” The program sounded interesting to me, so I decided to attend the summer I turned 16. The Faith Youth Institute broadened my views of Christianity beyond my immediate community.We spent the better part of two days in Boston worshipping with the homeless community at Common Cathedral, volunteering at the Ella Baker House in Dorchester, cooking at the Haley House Bakery in Roxbury, visiting the peace garden for murder victims near the State House, and participating in a peace march. Back on campus we organized an Oxfam Hunger Banquet. We also attended the worship services of several different traditions including Pentecostal, Episcopal, Conservative Jewish, and Muslim. I returned for two more summers. The time I spent at Faith Youth Institute was truly transformative.
Deeper Connections
What? Where? When? Why? How? The Faith Youth Institute created just as many questions for me as it was able to answer. I was increasingly filled and my curiosity piqued. I was propelled from a child’s understanding of belief into a more mature and deepening faith. Alexander Levering Kern and Reverend Megan Lynes, mentors at the Institute, were instrumental in my theological growth. They taught me that it was okay to ask questions because being in conversation with God creates space for more intimate relationships with others and with God. They helped me to articulate my changing theological views and to understand how they impacted the way I interacted with the world. Over the years, I had always felt close to God—now I felt even closer. I began to hear God’s voice in prayer and discernment and through conversations with mentors. My understanding of my vocational call became clearer. God was calling me and encouraging me to consider something different than what I had in mind for my future. I had imagined myself a secondary school teacher, but here at the age of eighteen, I decided that I would step into God’s call and become a different kind of teacher--a minister.
While attending the Institute I met another participant named Alli Jean. We became fast friends and a few months later, she invited me to join her church’s youth group on their winter mission trip to San Antonio, Texas. I decided to go because I felt that my faith in Christ inspired and required me to love others--I needed to continue turning my faith into action. I was assigned to work as an assistant in a soup kitchen there. One day as I was serving food, an observant visitor said to me, “I’m a lefty, too!” At first glance, it did not seem that this man and I held anything in common: culture, economic status, age and skin color were themost obvious differences. ButI realized that we did have something in common beyond our left handedness, God loved us both and that connects all people to one another even if not much else seems to. This man was ministering to me in a way that I was not expecting. He helped open my eyes to the broader understanding of the priesthood of all believers. I realized that everyone I met could potentially teach me about Christ.
My theology grew again as a student at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. In Gettysburg I did not find the safe, loving faith community that I had at Trinitarian Congregational Church or at the Faith Youth Institute. I went to a different church from week to week, not finding a church home in Gettysburg.I was very concerned about how my faith life could be sustained and nourished when I was not consistently participating in one faith community while a student there. Things were changing at home, too. My family began to attend Candleberry Chapel in Attleboro, a cousin church to The American Baptist Churches of Massachusetts. Coming home to Candleberry Chapel during school breaks and having a consistent church family there was very comforting for me.
Social Justice
What? Where? When? Why? How? rose again in my heart. I discovered that forming a Christian community or living out one’s faith does not happen exclusively inside the walls of a church building. Living out my faith in action became my new form of worship while attending college. I joined the Center for Public Service on campus as a shift leader for The Campus Kitchens Project; became a volunteer coordinator for El Centro’s after-school program; and participated in discussion panels about race and gender. I joined the coed service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega. I was also a resident of Farmhouse, an on-campus housing option committed to food justice, environmental advocacy, and sustainable living. Through these activities and communities, I felt that I was living out my faith and promise to God to love all of God’s people. It reminded me of the scripture passage: “. . .what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). Participating in these activities helped me to see where God was working in the world and how to actively join God in that work.
After my sophomore year of college, I applied for a position as a park ranger on the Boston Harbor Islands for the summer. I spent the next seven summers working there. The islands taught me how beautiful and wonderful, but also how unpredictable God’s creation is. They taught me to care for the earth in ways that I had overlooked before. If I lookedclosely enough, I could see God in nature, just as clearly as I could see God in another person. The world is a sacred place, and we as God’s stewards are meant to care for the earth and the people who live on and in it. Paul emphasizes the important role of creation in his letter to the Romans writing: “. . . for creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God” (Romans 8:20). As I explored this new theological perspective, I could see the opportunity to work with congregations in nurturing faith based social justice and to care for God’s people as well as for God’s creation.
When I returned home each summerduring college, I joined my family at Candleberry Chapel and it quickly became my new faith home. We were welcomed into the congregation and soon felt that we belonged there. Worshipping there renewed my spirit and my personal prayer life was inspired in new ways. The minister, Reverend Kenneth Boyle, became an important mentor in my life. During my gap year, I expressed my desire to go to seminary. Reverend Boyle helped me in part of the discernment process to determine which school I would attend. I wanted a seminary that would challenge me to live into the world as a Christian, that would help me to continue to formulate my theology, andthat would aide in exploring ministerial paths. Boston University School of Theology has surely done that and more. Between my time in classes at Boston University School of Theology and in the ministry through my two-year seminary internship with Candleberry Chapel, itbecome clear that God is calling me to pastoral ministry. Ihave decided to seek ordination in the American Baptist Churches, as the American Baptist Churches best reflects my personal theology and commitment to pastoral ministry.
Looking Forward
What? Where? When? Why? How? These are the questions I will carry with me as I continue my faith journey. The Baptist community nurtures congregations where multiple theological perspectives are welcome, where questions can be asked, and where people have great care for one another and the places where they live. This commitment to the priesthood of all believers, local church autonomy, and the recognition of soul autonomy inspires me because it invites and encourages us to engage in deep, honest, and rich conversations and relationships.
In November of 2015, Candleberry Chapel called me as their Assistant Minister. This role has allowed me the opportunity to visit the sick and homebound of our congregation, prepare and deliver sermons, plan and lead worship, as well as design and teachseveral Christian Education classes. I have been humbled and honored to take on this role and grow with this congregation, especially as we experience a transition in our ministerial leadership with the retirement of Reverend Boyle and the welcoming of Reverend Bradley Miller. In this transition time, we have grown closer as a community, relying on one another, and learning more from the story of Christ. I look forward to what the future will bring to us and to our story.
Since January of 2016, I have been working closely with my Watchcare Pastor, Reverend Cheryl Harris, andmore recently with her congregation at The First Baptist Church of Attleboro. I began attending worship services, women’s group meetings, community activities, and assisting with the weekly soup kitchen there. In January 2018, I became a member of The First Baptist Church of Attleboro. The congregation has been so warm and welcoming, and I am so excited to be a part of their ministry. Although I have only been a member for a short time, it already feels like a home to me. I can feel God’s love in this place. There are deep, inspiring conversations anda commitment to hospitality. We listen for God in the midst of our ordinary, everyday life. There is a visible trust in this community as we hold each other in heartfelt prayer and share our gifts and talents, embracing our identity as Christ’s hands and feet in the world (Ephesians 4:1-16). I have been called to serve The First Baptist of Attleboro as the Assistant Minister which includes co-leading worship, preaching, helping to plan and lead weekly devotionals, and acting as liaison for food ministry activities. It is a great privilege to be called to serve alongside this congregation in the ways that God is guiding us.
God has gracefully enabled me to serve both congregations simultaneously. The two congregations hold their worship services, Bible studies, meetings, and fellowship events at different times. The churches are less than a mile and a half away from each other on Route 152, which eases travel. This schedule and locale as well as collaboration from both Reverend Harris and Reverend Miller have given me the flexibility to be fully present and active within both congregations.
God
Throughout my whole life, I have always believed that God existed. So much so that I asked questions about God because I yearned to get closer to God and deepen my relationship with God. I have found God in many ways and in many places: at school, in conversations with family and friends, at church, at work, and in nature.As Christians, we seek meaningful relationships with God, just as God desires to have a meaningful relationships with us. God created everything to be good and loves all things that have been created. God is omniscient and omnipresent, imminent, merciful, and God is love. There are still things about God that I do not know. Sometimes it is hard to comprehend the grandness to which God exists, and this makes it difficult forme to name God. Every name that could possibly be used still falls short and is constrained bymy human knowledge and limited bymy human language. Knowing God fully is beyond my ability, but I am committed to continue deepening my relationship with God by asking questions, praying, and watching for the moments in which I see God moving with us in the world.
That is the beauty of God. We, as Christians, have not stopped trying to express who God is to us or express our feelings to God. God wants to be known and loved by us. God continually acts in and through the world tobe both better known and present to us. Still, God is transcendent, so the mystery of God will always be maintained. God deeply loves everything that God created equally; God does not choose sides. Sometimes we assume that we know and understand God’s intentions for the world. When that happens, werisk jeopardizing the depth of our relationship with God. No matter our actions or decisions, God always seeks a deep and meaningful personal relationship with each and every one of us.
Jesus Christ
As God is the Creator of the world, Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of the world. I believe that this redeeming action can be described in several ways and in the many names we use to describe Jesus(Isaiah 9:6). One of the ways I believe that Jesus can be seenasRedeemer is as the Incarnate Word. Jesus came into the world as a physical being and so his redeeming actions occurred as physical actions and still linger in the world. The Incarnate Word expresses itself in things that can be seen, not only just understood, or felt. I experience thismostly as moments of solidarity with others, especially those who are on the margins of society. It also encourages me to struggle for social justice and participate in efforts to build a strong community. I look for Jesus in my daily life and look for opportunities when I can invite him into my actions in the world.
I experience Jesus Christ redeeming the world as a Companion. Jesus is mycompanion in life to share in the joys and sufferings of living on the earth. In this way Jesus is patient and teaches me not only how to have him as my companion, but also how to be a companion to others throughout my life. Jesus’ act of companionship joins us together on our journeys toward wholeness and healing. Jesus understands suffering and wants to participate in our suffering to bring about fullness and unityin our lives.
Through Jesus as the Incarnate Word and Companion, wecan meet God more fully. God is more knowable through Jesus and his actions in the world. We can still find Jesus in the world andhe still invites us to join with himin his actions so that we can love each other more fully.
Jesus is our Redeemer, our savior, because he is the Son of God (Matthew 16:16-17), both fully human and fully divine. Through his life, death, and resurrection, Christproves that God’s love and power cannot be defeated. Jesus’ resurrection overcomes all our earthly struggles and our death. Jesus Christ came and triumphed over death so that we can have life and have life abundant (John 10:10).
Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the third part of the Trinity and is often known as the Sustainer. As the story of Pentecost is recounted in Acts, the Holy Spirit came to be among the people. In this way, the Holy Spirit reveals the nearness of God tome. The Spirit moves throughmy daily lifesustainingme from within.
The Holy Spirit teaches me through the words of Scripture and can help reveal new meanings and perspectives from the text. One way we can hear the Spirit is to read scripture and inquire what the Spirit is telling us or asking us. In this way, the Spirit helps to develop our Christian identity and spiritual formation.[1] The Spirit also strengthens communal bonds within a congregation. Jesus told his disciples, “I have said these things to you while I am still with you, but the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you” (John 14:25-26).The Holy Spirit helps deepen and develop our faith while also connecting and strengthening our relationship with God and Jesus.