MEF: Seminary ‘is still shaping me,’ says UTS grad - Oct. '09

Pastor of Englewood United Methodist Church, Dayton, Ohio, since August, the Rev. Kimberly Armentrout says, “I see my major role as helping to restructure and revitalize the church.” She formerly served at Sulphur Grove United Methodist Church, Huber Heights, Ohio, where she launched a satellite campus.

A 1997 graduate of United Theological Seminary (UTS), Dayton, she recalls her “favorite memories 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. 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.”

She also remembers “late-night discussions 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.

“Last, but definitely not least, I met the man who would, a few years later, become my husband!”

Armentrout credits UTS with providing “a sound theological framework” on which to build a variety of ministries. Seminary “didn’t just shape where I am today; it is still shaping me. I consider my pastoral identity still 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.”

She advises seminary students “to absorb all the information you can. Engage in discussions with faculty and students. Wrestle with your assumptions. Allow God to shape and form you.”

United Methodist support of the Ministerial Education Fund shapes and forms clergy leaders for the present and the future. Thank you for your gifts!

--Adapted from the United Theological Seminary Web page www.united.edu