S+H 2010 Apr-May-June.pdf - Trinity School for Ministry

A Trinity Distinctive: Mentored Ministry
Since 2005, Trinity has required its MDiv students to take two semesters of
Mentored Ministry. Martha Giltinan, the program’s designer, structured
Mentored Ministry to focus intentionally on character issues rather than simply
giving the seminarian church experience. Mentored Ministry recognizes the
critical importance of dealing with “the stuff” in the life of the seminarian before
he or she goes into parish or other ministry work.
Each MDiv student is allowed to select a mentor and to choose an area of his or
her character on which to focus. The mentor and mentee both read the book,
The Potter’s Rib: Mentoring for Pastoral Formation by Brian A. Williams. The book
provides theological and historical bases for the vital role of mentoring in shaping
the life of the minister, much like a clay vessel on the potter’s wheel. Unlike
clay, the person being mentored can allow or not allow the mentoring process
to accomplish its intended purpose. The following is the story of one mentoring
relationship in which a deep and good work took place.
Stock photograph
Martha Horn came
to Trinity from
Charleston, South
Carolina. (Martha’s
husband, Robert, has
been an ordained priest
for over 25 years.) She
has been working
on an MDiv degree
and expects to graduate in May 2010. When
choosing a mentor for her Mentored Ministry
courses, she asked the Rev. Scott Homer, a
2005 MDiv graduate from Trinity and Rector
of Trinity Episcopal Church in Beaver, PA. She
had attended Trinity since entering seminary,
and she thought Scott would be a natural
choice. Martha remembered, “Scott’s sermons
spoke to me in deep places in my life, and so
I thought he could be a good mentor. But, the
Holy Spirit was guiding this whole process,”
she remarked.
Scott welcomed the opportunity to mentor
Martha, the first Trinity School for Ministry
student he had mentored. In the fall of 2008,
Martha and Scott began their mentoring
meetings, and Martha fearfully but bravely
chose to ask that they focus on an area she
knew could pose problems in her future
ministry: the need for acceptance by others. “I
am an extreme extrovert,” she offered, “so this
is a danger area for extroverts like me.” As the
program requires, the two made a covenant
agreeing to focus on this area through
regular meetings, reading, and prayer.
And so it began, the experience which
Martha described as “by far the most
valuable part of my time in seminary.”
“Like most Southern women, I think
of myself as a delicate flower – even
though we really are
steel magnolias,” Martha
laughed. “I was really
hoping that Scott would be
soft in his approach, but
instead he was direct. At
first it really bothered and
even angered me, but slowly
I began to realize that this
was the very thing I needed. He consistently
called me on every instance in which I sought
affirmation from him or anyone else. It was
tough – the toughest thing I’ve ever done.”
“It was tough–
the toughest thing
I’ve ever done.”
Scott applauded Martha for her willingness to
tackle such a critical area: “Almost everyone
who goes into ministry struggles with a need
for acceptance at some level,” he said. “It can be
debilitating and makes a minister ineffective,”
he added.
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April – May – June 2010
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