Being a Pastor daughter is not easy, especially when you are the oldest of six sibling. I had to set an example to all, at home and at church. I was in my preteen, I thought that being the Pastor daughter people were going to like me and give me things, it was all the opposite, I was talked about me, on how I dressed and if I talked to a boy, every moved I made, it was like I couldn’t make any mistakes. I was so excited when I got into high school my first year was horrible, my second year not so bad, when I graduated from High School I went straight to college. I was afraid because I am Hispanic, looked like I am black, but I am not, so the school I went to was all African American. I was taking short hand and wouldn’t speak because I knew that when I did, they were going to know that I was Puerto Rican, so on the last day of my class the teacher said “Ruth in order to get an A you need to read the short hand, you write it perfect and understand so now read it” I read like she said, as soon as I finished reading, this girl said I told you she was black, I was push down a flight of steps and these guys in the bottom of the step help me. …show more content…
I called my dad to come and get me never went back to that college again.
I didn’t want to give up because my sibling were looking at me and if I gave up so were they, so I went to Robert Morris College were I got an Associate Degree in Administrative Assistant. I worked at Hyatt Regency Hotel at the Human Resource, it was great until I got pregnant with twins, and I was let go because the company feared that I would fall or get
hurt. So now that I had my beautiful daughter’s, I went to Northeastern University for three years, I wanted my girls and son that I had later to know that mom was going to make it, and to my sibling also. As the years have gone by, I am still the Pastor’s daughter, but also a Sunday school teacher, co-pastor, counselor for the young in our district of over 500 young, which I told them in convention this year, that they all have to graduate and go to college, because this will benefit them, their family and the church, and not to give up. I am the Director of Association of Men, Women, and Young and children, and I tell them all continue to study, it will benefit them, with God’s help.
I was very surprised at a few facets as I ventured my way through these job descriptions. One of the first things I noticed is how few full time positions there were on this list. I had always figured a church position would be a full time job because that is the kind of church I grew up in. However, to see that a worship pastor’s position was only a 10 hour a week commitment was quite surprising, but that makes sense in a smaller church. Thus, it has caused me to think about new opportunities for other part time work outside of the church. I suppose I’ve never really thought of a back up plan because I was so sure I would be in a full time pastor position.
It has taken me a long time to come to this point but I am now sure of what I want to do, and what I need to do to achieve my goals. Had I not gone through the countless jobs and educational paths, I would have never come to the one that I finally know I will love and it will benefit me as a person, and benefit my family financially.
In the book The New Guidebook for Pastors, James W. Bryant and Mac Brunson do a magnificent job of identifying and explaining the practical nuts and bolts that make a successful pastorate and a fruitful church.
Growing up in a traditional catholic family I attended catholic school and church just like everyone else in my family. Every Sunday and Tuesday growing up I spent time at church. Going to church taught all about religion and forgiveness. I learned from the bible that god knows we are all sinners and that if we ask for forgiveness he forgives us. I was told that to church is a safe place for someone to go if they need help and that everyone has their arms open to people in need. The catholic religion says that god loves all his children even when they sin.
A new year had just arrived. I can still picture January in my mind, the mood was sullen and dark, I could feel the cold reaching my bones, but now I know that was the best feeling I‘d ever had. I had only a few weeks left to start college, which had been my dream since I can remember. My dad had already paid for my tuition, I was so exited I had promised to do my best. Then, I realized there was an obstacle in my way. I knew I needed to make a decision on whether or not keeping my pregnancy, it sounds rough, but it was definitive. I did not want to miss school, so I was definitely not taking this to the last term. I just could not think of myself being prostrated in bed for so long, as an impediment to start school. Never, nothing would make me give up on my dreams, and that was another promise I had made to myself.
Reflecting back on my career, I honestly couldn’t be more proud of myself at this point. I grew up in a lower income community with a blue collar family. Most people graduate from my High School and enter into the workforce, passing on college or trade schools. Most of these jobs are manufacturing or labor intensive positions. I however, had the fortune of attending college right out of High School on an athletic scholarship. Although I found out quickly that I was not ready to take on the responsibility of a student-athlete. Therefore, after just one year of college, I dropped out. Quickly realizing I needed to make money and provide for myself, I began working for a lawn care company. Working in lawn care was draining both physically and mentally. Physical labor 50+ hours a week takes its toll on your body. After work you don’t want to do anything but rest. You don’t have a lot of free time and you find yourself becoming burnt out really fast. Mentally you question yourself every day. Questions like, “why am I doing this” or “there has to be another way”. You feel worthless at times. After a year or so of doing lawn care, I chose to go back to school part-time, taking a class or two at a time. I still had to work in lawn care in order to pay the bills but I had a goal in mind, a goal to finish what I started. I always knew I wanted to work in a professional environment. After 4 years of working and taking courses, I decided I needed to change my environment. I was surrounded by the same people, people that weren’t contributing to my goal of becoming successful. Therefore, with some college education under my belt, I decided to apply for entry-level sales positions in Chicago. After interviews started to pres...
Growing up in a Baptist church, I expressed my emotions through worship. During Sunday service, I started my week by releasing any worries, thoughts, or anxieties gathered throughout the past seven days. Throwing my hands up in praise started to become my outlet, where I could speak to the Lord about anything. However, up until I was in high school, my faith was mainly private. It was not that I was scared or nervous to preach to anyone or share my form of praise; I was confident in my beliefs and was willing to help anyone that was struggling in their faith.
I interned a cardiologist where I got to see the life of a physician as he went about his daily routine. I achieved getting my Certified Nursing Assistant license after assisting patients at a nursing home. I became a camp counselor for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, where I took care of a 10-year-old child during a summer camp. Through these experiences, I gained confidence in my character and purposefulness. Furthermore, I went on a mission trip to Kenya where I experienced life in a third world country. It was here where my eyes were opened to see a world that is in dire need of help. These people are malnourished, living in detrimental conditions without accessible health care. The experiences I had in Kenya reminded me to never take anything for granted. My engagement acting on all these opportunities fueled my perseverance to pursue my career in health
Becoming a single mother, shortly before my son turned two-years-old, was life altering. Moving back in with my family, realizing I had no income, and no longer the team effort from his father, was an indescribable sense of failure as a parent. Obtaining my masters degree in Health Care Leadership from the University of Denver is my way to correct that, and properly fulfill my role and obligations of being a single mother to a remarkable little five-year-old.
The church that I visited for this church visitation paper was Highland Park United Methodist Church in my hometown Florence, South Carolina. The denomination of this church was United Methodist, which is different from the denomination and beliefs I was raised on, which is that of Southern Baptist. A person who is Methodist believes all the same things that a Christian person does, although Methodists have a heritage within the larger Christian family. I chose to attend Highland Park United Methodist Church’s contemporary service, although the church also offered a traditional service. Both the contemporary and the traditional services were held on Sunday morning.
The person I choose to interview was my brother in law who is a pastor and working with the youth of his church since becoming the pastor over five years ago. The interview was very easy because we have a great relationship and when I am in need of help concerning any of ministry classes he is always their to help guide me in the right direction or give me my opinion regarding something I have written about for a class. We stared out the interview by asking him why he became a pastor and man of God? His response was, “I did not choose this life for myself.
Throughout my freshman year I was plagued over and over with the difference between my high school and others. The specific idea that tormented my existence was the creation of a Bible Study in my school. As I continued my day to day school routine, I was asked several times to endeavor into making this vision come to fruition. As I discussed the likelihood of this idea with my principal, he said it was a great idea and commented that it took a lot of initiative to branch out and start this early morning club.
Growing up in a Christian home, I knew what Jesus had done for me by dying on the cross and saving me from my sins. Not putting together that it isn’t just about the knowledge of God, but fully believing what His word says. Up until the beginning of my eighth grade year, that was what I believed. However, I started to see the entirety of it all differently, but couldn’t put it together what it was. That winter four years ago, the church I was attending was planning on going to Hume Lake as they had done in the years before.
I am one of those kids who grew up in the church, whose parents never let them miss a Sunday School class or youth group on Wednesday nights, who enrolled them in a private Christian school for over 11 years. I was also one of those kids who was honestly indifferent about it all. I did not fight them on it often except occasionally when I was just really tired and wanted to skip a Sunday to sleep in. I loved the Lord and understood the gospel. I loved the school they put me in for those 11 years and am very grateful for it even though I hated it while I was there.
The purpose of this paper is to discuss a service that I got to attend that was different from my own religious tradition. I decided to go with my chosen topic because to be honest I had never experienced or thought to experience a different type of church service other than the one I grew up in. I grew up in a Christian home and attended a non-denominational Christian church on a regular basis. I just never felt the need to experience something that was different. So I decided to attend a mass at a Catholic church. I had been to weddings in a Catholic church and even funerals with a Catholic involvement but not an actual mass.