The voice behind the curtain
Roberta Dodds Ingersoll and Jewel McRae . Photo by Emily Odom.

Face to Face events bring seekers together toward discerning God’s call to serve

Libertyville, Illinois, March 19, 2009 – Deeply fulfilled and committed to her ministry at First Presbyterian Church, Kilgore, Texas, since 2003, the Rev. Roberta Dodds Ingersoll nevertheless had the inexorable sense last year that God was calling her to a new beginning. 

Only — like so many of her Biblical forebears — she was determined that it not be outside of her comfort zone.

A graduate of the Presbyterian School of Christian Education and Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Theology, the native Southerner deliberately chose to limit her geographic preferences when first registering her interest with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Church Leadership Connection (CLC).

CLC — a joint ministry of the General Assembly Mission Council and the Office of the General Assembly — connects congregations, presbyteries, synods, educational institutions and other Presbyterian entities seeking leaders for ministry positions with pastors, Christian educators, administrators, executives and other church professionals seeking a call to service within the PC(USA). 

“When I activated my Personal Information Form,” Ingersoll said, referencing the official dossier — or PIF — required of all church professionals seeking calls through CLC, “I only checked off the southern states.”

Ingersoll’s mindset and heart were changed last winter by a providential “face to face” encounter at the 2008 conference of the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators (APCE).  Face to Face, a regular feature at the APCE annual event, General Assembly and other national gatherings, is an opportunity for churches and church entities seeking a church professional — and church professionals seeking a call — to meet and attend to the leading of the Holy Spirit, as everyone considers whether there is a potential for a call to minister together.  It is an opportunity for connections to be made between Pastor Nominating Committees, Search Committees, Presbytery and Synod leaders, and ministers of Word and Sacrament, candidates and Christian educators. 

Ingersoll vividly recalled being welcomed at APCE by Face to Face on-site coordinator, Jewel McRae, associate for CLC Administration and Racial Ethnic Referral, who offered to set her up with personal interviews.  Still uncertain as to where God might be leading her, Ingersoll declined and prepared to leave.  “But if you have something in adult education,” she told McRae, “I’d be interested.”

Just then, a voice from behind the booth’s curtain answered, “Then we need to talk.”

Although not the voice of God, Ingersoll remains convinced that God was indeed speaking at that moment through the Rev. Brian Paulson, pastor and head of staff at First Presbyterian Church, Libertyville, Ill., who had arrived with armloads of material ready to talk with ministry candidates.

“We’re looking for a director of Christian education or an associate pastor,” Paulson told Ingersoll.  “We need to talk.”

Following their initial conversation over a cup of coffee, Ingersoll somewhat reluctantly consented to submit her name to the church’s search committee.  “I’m going to have to see a burning bush if I’m coming to be wherever it snows,” she said.

As Ingersoll continued to move through the search process, all of her objections melted away as it became clear to her that the church’s needs and gifts matched her own.  Later when her husband, the Rev. Bill Ingersoll, visited the church with her, he also saw no reason to say no, expressing his willingness to follow her to the “icy north.”

When Ingersoll was installed in November 2008, the search committee’s chairperson, Gary Holland, took care to pin a burning bush on each member of the commission.  “When hands were being laid on me, it confirmed my sense of call,” said Ingersoll.  “You can say you’re not going to the land of ice and snow, but if God wants you there, you’re going to go.”

Since that time, Ingersoll says that she has been confirmed in her call every day, embracing the newness of the place, the people and the church’s culture.  Her husband, having served for 18 years as pastor and head of staff at First Presbyterian Church in Kilgore, Texas, completed his tenure there on December 31, 2008, and joined her in Illinois.

“Rarely do I hear ‘I feel called’ associated with uncomfortable places or harsh challenges,” said the Rev. Marcia Clark Myers, director of the PC(USA)’s Office of Vocation.  “Yet scriptural call narratives — and Roberta’s own experience — prove exactly that to be true. God most often calls people who are slow to hear and reluctant to respond to places they don’t want to go. Face to Face intentionally brings people together to explore God’s call to serve where there is need.”

The next Face to Face will be held from Thursday, June 11, through Saturday, June 13, at the Big Tent, a first-of-its-kind national gathering in Atlanta, Ga.  While it is not necessary to register for Big Tent in order to participate in Face to Face, registration for Face to Face is required. 

“The Big Tent ‘Presbyterian family reunion’ will provide a wonderful backdrop for forming new relationships through Face to Face,” said the Rev. Joyce Lieberman, associate for CLC.  “We are delighted to host this event at which we are privileged to witness the work of the Holy Spirit as God finds a way to bring seekers like Roberta and Brian together in following Christ’s call.”