My name is Jacquelyn (Jacque) Green. I am the pastoral intern for the 2017-18 school year. I am a third year student at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. I am pursuing a dual degree – Masters of Divinity and Masters in Patient Counseling from Virginia Commonwealth University. My course work does not require that I take a supervised ministry internship. However, I felt that I was lacking the type of congregational experience that I needed to balance my divinity studies and prepare me for ministry. Therefore, I was introduced to Tabernacle through our Dean, Dr. Tracy Hartman.
I believed Tabernacle would be an ideal place for me to train. After taking my first unit of Clinical Pastor Education at VCU, I became increasingly interested in ecumenical ministry. Therefore, I returned for my second year at BTSR with a few learning goals in mind. First, I wanted to serve in a culturally diverse congregation. Secondly, I wanted serve in a church that worshipped around the liturgical year. Thirdly, I wanted to gain experience in planning and leading worship, along with general pastoral responsibilities. My husband, Ray and I are members of St. Paul’s Baptist Church. St. Paul’s has a large, predominately African American congregation, with a progressive, contemporary worship style. So, the specific ministry training I desired wasn’t available in my church context.
As of this writing, I am participating in all of the learning goals listed above, especially assisting with planning all aspects of worship. Most recently, I helped with the funeral for Ethel Isaacs, served communion during World Communion Sunday, provided pastoral care to home-bound members, and I am co-facilitating Wednesday night Bible Study with Art Wright.
I am grateful for the generosity of the anonymous donors who made the financial
investment in me through this internship. Equally, I am humbled by the personal investment of Rev. Sterling Severns and Judy Fiske in mentoring me, as well as the prayers and encouragement of the Tabernacle family. I am diligently seeking God’s guidance in how he will continue to use my ministry training in the months and years to come.
Respectfully submitted,
Jacque Green
