Saturday, June 25, 2011
Rev. Dr. Robin Woodberry represents fourth generation in ministry
By LINDA M. LINONIS
youngstown
A spiritual experience changed the Rev. Dr. Robin Woodberry’s direction from saving bodies in a career as a nurse to saving souls in a calling as a minister.
Some might say it was meant to be, though the Rev. Mrs. Woodberry admitted she pushed away the idea of entering the ministry. A family legacy may have played a part, but in the end, it was Mrs. Woodberry’s promise to God that led her into the ministry.
She represents the fourth generation in her family to serve God and community in this manner.
Mrs. Woodberry explained that she experienced a difficult pregnancy with her daughter, Shana, now 26 with two children of her own. She faced a crisis — her water broke when she was five months pregnant. “I told God I would do what he wanted .. whatever that was ... if he would save my baby,” Mrs. Woodberry recalled. “I knew God had something in store for me but I wasn’t sure what.”
A trip to the Holy Land in 1994 provided what Mrs. Woodberry called her “ta-da” moment. The trip proved to be a powerful motivator and provided confirmation of what was in her heart and soul. “There was just an overwhelming presence,” she said. “I knew I had to act on what I was feeling inside.”
A year later, in March 1995, she was licensed in the ministry and she was ordained in April 2005 by the Rev. Kenneth Simon, pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church in Youngstown.
Mrs. Woodberry said she went to see her mother, the Rev. Gena Thornton, about her decision. “Before I could get the words out of my mouth, she knew,” Mrs. Woodberry recalled.
Mrs. Woodberry said coming to the realization of her calling wasn’t easy. “I had seen the struggles of my mother ... and I had no desire to go through that.”
The Rev. Mrs. Thornton’s path to the ministry was a winding road. On a civil-rights march in Columbus during the 1960s, she had a conversation with the Rev. Lonnie K. Simon, then pastor of New Bethel Baptist.
He asked about her church affiliation, and at the time, she had none. She admitted she just didn’t want to belong. “Rev. Simon told me ‘You must have the support of a church. You have to be connected.’” The family joined New Bethel.
Mrs. Thornton explained her decision to become a minister was born out of a tragedy. “On the day that Dr. Martin Luther King died, the bullet that killed him was something that woke me up,” she said. “That day, April 4, 1968, was my epiphany.”
But, being married with five children (three sons and two daughters), it took a while for Mrs. Thornton to figure out how she would answer the call. In 1976, she was licensed to the ministry by the Rev. Lonnie K. Simon, pastor emeritus of New Bethel, and ordained in 1979.
Though Mrs. Thornton got through those hurdles, she faced another. The Baptist church was not accepting of women ministers but she learned that the African Methodist Episcopal Church was. “I went back to school and was ordained an elder in 1987,” she said.
Mrs. Thornton was named pastor of the Mount Moriah AME Church in Maple Heights, a Cleveland suburb, in 1987, where she served nine years. She then was assigned to St. Paul’s AME Church on Cleveland’s west side and spent 13 years there. She’s been pastor of Grace AME in Warren for 18 months.
By answering her call to the ministry, Mrs. Thornton followed in the footsteps of her parents, Elder George and evangelist Frances J. Scott of Warren, who served the Church of God and Saints of Christ; and her grandparents, Zebedee and Frances Scott, who were in the ministry in Buffalo, N.Y.; and Charles and the Rev. Nannie Kimbro of Warren, who conducted a street ministry near the church where she now serves.
The Rev. Mr. Kenneth Simon, son of Mr. Lonnie Simon, understands what a family legacy means.
He had envisioned himself in the business world and worked in a secular career for a time but he came to a point where he couldn’t ignore the call of God. The Rev. Mr. Kenneth Simon also saw the challenges that his father faced as a civil-rights activist and pastor. But he also saw how his father was a visionary in licensing women in the ministry.
“Back then, it wasn’t widely accepted for women to be in the ministry. I’ve always believed that it’s God who calls people to preach the Gospel,” Mr. Kenneth Simon said.
He noted the Baptist association’s disapproval of women ministers upset him so much he left the convention at one time and didn’t return for years.
Mr. Kenneth Simon said Mrs. Woodberry has attained a distinction at New Bethel and broken new ground. She is the first female assistant pastor. He noted that the pastor appoints associate pastors, but the assistant must be voted on in the church of about 700 members. “It’s been wonderful how the church has accepted her.
“An assistant pastor is more connected to the church,” he continued, adding the assistant plays a key role in “church growth and development.”
“She’s got the gift,” he said of the assistant pastor. He continued that Mrs. Woodberry has demonstrated her “faith, commitment and loyalty” in many ways at the church, where she oversees the youth and children’s program. “She has the dedication, the heart and the passion it takes,” Mr. Kenneth Simon said of his assistant. “You can’t suppress leadership and expect a church to thrive.”
Mrs. Woodberry also has earned another distinction. She recently received a doctor of ministry degree from Southern Bible Institute and Seminary, Augusta, Ga., which has an extension campus in Liberty. She also earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in ministry there. The church funded Mrs. Woodberry’s education. “It’s a wonderful return on the investment ... it’s a blessing,” Mr. Kenneth Simon said.
The pastor added he is impressed by his assistant’s multitasking abilities and involvement in community and family activities.