A Divine Duet

Brief Description

The “duet” of calls—to follow God and to become a mother—began with Sarah’s story in Genesis and continues in God’s people today. As more women follow God’s call into ministry, many are discovering the power of this duet. These women are gifted for ministry, trained and shaped through excellent educations, and affirmed in their call. They serve as pastors in churches, on campuses, in impoverished areas, prisons, hospitals, hospices, the military, and in academia. And many of them are also called to be mothers: birth mothers, adoptive mothers, mothers to other people’s children, mothers to their students. As they continue to follow God, the call story and the birth story combine, and the duet rings true.

Each essay in this inspiring collection is as different as the mother-minister who wrote it, from theologians to chaplains, inner-city ministers to rural-poverty ministers, youth pastors to preachers, mothers who have adopted, birthed, and done both.

About the Author

An Atlanta native, Alicia Davis Porterfield earned a BSEd from the University of Georgia and an MDiv and ThM from Duke University Divinity School. Alicia and her husband, Eric, also a pastor, are grateful to be learning, growing, reading, and singing with Davis, Luke, and Thomas.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: A Tale of Two Callings
Natalie Nicholas Adams

Chapter 2: Princess Tara
Katrina Stipe Brooks

Chapter 3: A Place Near Your Altar
Stacey Sandifer Buford

Chapter 4: Letting Go
Jenny Frazier Call

Chapter 5: They, She, and Thou Art with Me
Stephanie Little Coyne

Chapter 6: Ministry, Motherhood, and Messes
Griselda Escobar

Chapter 7: A Time for Every Purpose
Nicole Finkelstein-Blair

Chapter 8: Other People’s Children: Salome and Motherhood
Jenny Folmar

Chapter 9: Once Upon a Time: The Tale of a Not-So-Wicked Stepmother
Kerrie Clayton Jordan

Chapter 10: Nurturing Life: A Mother-Theologian Reflects
Nora O. Lozano

Chapter 11: Reverend Doctor Mom
Courtney Lyons

Chapter 12: The Crazy Beautiful: Raising Our Family in the Inner City
Angel Pittman

Chapter 13: A Limp, a Blessing, and a New Name
Alicia Davis Porterfield

Chapter 14: A Journey to Family
Susie C. Reeder

Chapter 15: Summer and Sacraments
Holly Sprink

Chapter 16: Mom or Minister?
Amy R. Stertz

Chapter 17: Pregnant and Remembered Hopes
Meredith J. Stone

Chapter 18: The Photograph
Melanie Kilby Storie

Chapter 19: Grace and Hope
Virginia Ross Taylor

Chapter 20: “That’s Life!”
Kristin Adkins Whitesides