APCE honors three longtime church educators

On Friday, the Association of Partners in Christian Education honored three educators for faithful work in their local setting. The three longtime church educators were celebrated during a dinner held at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, during the final night of the organization’s Annual Event.

Miatta Wilson — Enrich Educator of the Year

Wilson has dedicated her life to inclusive Christian formation that connects individuals, links disciples to resources, and empowers all ages for leadership and service. Since 2021, she has worked for the Office of Christian Formation in the Interim Unified Agency of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). She is instrumental in resourcing, connecting, and equipping leaders to foster Christian formation in their faith communities.

Image

Before joining the Office of Christian Formation, Wilson served as the Director of Children’s Ministries at the First Presbyterian Church of Dallas, Texas, for 13 years. Her journey in Dallas began in 1991 when she took on the role of Educator at Eastminster Presbyterian Church, a position she held for 16 years.

Wilson is deeply committed to camp, mission and intergenerational experiences that enrich Christian formation. She has directed multiple intergenerational mission trips and pioneered an elementary day camp at a Presbyterian Continuing Care Community. For more than 25 years, she has been a cornerstone in organizing the Grace Presbytery Kidquake Elementary Camp weekends, and she supports Camp Gilmont’s ministries in various ways.

Wilson earned a bachelor’s degree in Theatre with a minor in Religion from the College of Wooster in Ohio in 1988. After graduation, she served as a VIM (a precursor to Young Adult Volunteers) on the Oregon Coast. She holds a Master’s degree from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Virginia, now Union Presbyterian Seminary, and she is a Certified Christian Educator.

Wilson has been an active participant in the APCE annual events since the early 1990s, fostering enduring and new friendships. She loved being co-leader of the 2020 Little Rock event.

The Rev. Roberta Dodds-Ingersoll – Sustain Lifetime Achievement Award

When leading church-related workshops, the Rev. Roberta Dodds-Ingersoll introduces herself by saying, “I am a Presbyterian’s Presbyterian. I am a Presbyterian preacher’s kid; was baptized, confirmed, and married in Presbyterian churches; graduated from, and worked at Presbyterian College (1974) and the Presbyterian School of Christian Education (1979); was on staff in three Presbyterian churches, am married to a Presbyterian pastor and am the mother of two Presbyterian double preachers’ kids.”

Image

Though thoroughly Presbyterian, Dodds-Ingersoll also has an ecumenical heart. She received her M.Div. from Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University (1996), where though she won the homiletics award, her first love remained Christian education. She has embraced the recent name change of APCE, reflecting its more ecumenical and connectional nature. She began her educational ministry as the DCE at Broadmoor Presbyterian Church in Shreveport, Louisiana (1979-1983), during which time she received her certification as a Christian Educator. In 1983, learning she would be confined to bed during pregnancy, she resigned her position. During this season, she was an active volunteer at church and in Presbyterian Women, serving as Grace Presbytery’s Horizon’s Bible Interpreter and chairing several women’s conferences. In January 1992, she began work on her M.Div. Upon completion, she was ordained and installed as associate pastor (2001-2008) at the First Presbyterian Church of Kilgore. She then ministered as associate pastor for Christian Formation at First Presbyterian Church of Libertyville, Illinois (2008-2017).

Over the years, she has been active in APCE. She served on the Annual Events Ministry Team for six years, including two years as secretary and two years as moderator. She co-directed APCE’s 2016 Chicago annual event. She has also led numerous workshops at Annual Events. Currently she serves on the APCE Endowment Ministry Team.

The Rev. Zeta Touchton Lamberson – Sustain Lifetime Achievement Award 

Raised by a Presbyterian Christian educator and a faithful adult Sunday School teacher, the Rev. Zeta Touchton Lamberson was nurtured from an early age in the Reformed faith.  While attending Presbyterian College, she heard a call to ministry. She graduated from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education in 1977.  She served churches in Virginia, South Carolina, West Virginia and Georgia before graduating with an MDiv from Columbia Theological Seminary in 1991.  After ordination, she served three churches in the Atlanta area: Peachtree Presbyterian Church, Macland Presbyterian Church, and Covenant Presbyterian Church in Marietta.

Image

While serving as associate pastor at Peachtree Presbyterian Church, she reached out to other educators in large churches in the PC(USA) and to APCE to begin the Large Church Educator Gatherings, which continued for 15 years prior to the APCE events.

She has been active in the South Atlantic & Puerto Rico region of APCE, servings as President and Regional Representative for the APCE Cabinet. She was President of APCE (2015) and chaired the APCE 50th Anniversary Team. She served as Co-Director of the Christian Education Conference in Montreat, North Carolina in 1988, as a Montreat Youth Conference small group leader, and as chaplain for a Montreat Youth Conference.  She served on presbytery council in several presbyteries and moderator of Cherokee Presbytery.  She was on the writing team for Foundations of Faith: Education for New Church Members and coordinated the publication of Stepping Stones on the Journey of Faith.

She has returned to teaching the Bible to adults at First Presbyterian Church Marietta. She has two adult children and three beautiful granddaughters.