Like most people, the Rev. Meg Shoeman subscribed to the myth that clergy are superhuman.
“People tend to think if you’re in ministry in some capacity that you’re probably fine and you don’t have any needs,” said Shoeman, “but we’re all human and needs do arise.”
Just as they did for her.
At first, nothing about Stillman College reminded Johnykqua Bevans and Rayondre Roberts of their home on the tropical island of Grand Bahama: not Alabama, not the food, not their classmates and not the as-yet unfamiliar Presbyterian tradition in which the college is steeped.
But then there was the choir.
After her car went flying off the road and rolled over in a stubbled cornfield, first responders believed the accident had taken the life of the Rev. Shelley Wiley.
When Tony and Lilia Acabal were determining where to send their children to school, they both carried deep memories of the struggles they faced years ago as new immigrants.
Dick Liberty wanted to teach voice at the college level. He was working on a master’s degree in vocal performance at Temple University, but he needed a job to pay tuition. An employment agency tested him, found he had an aptitude for math, and sent him to accounts receivable at the Board of Pensions.
The Rev. Dr. Stewart M. Pattison, pastor of the Community Presbyterian Church in Lombard, Ill., has been living — and serving — with multiple sclerosis for more than 20 years.
After Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico last year, Presbyterian pastor Manuel D. Silva bore the dual burden of caring for his family and his congregation.
