Religion professor Jackie Wyse-Rhodes is stepping down from the campus pastor position to take up full-time teaching again. She was offered the position on an interim basis last year after former pastor, Stephen Intagliata, retired.
Jackie Wyse-Rhodes. Photo from Zoom meeting, taken by Olivia Westcott.
Wyse-Rhodes went to seminary in the past and had debated about either becoming a pastor or a teacher due to her faith connection. She ultimately decided to become a professor but knew a lot of things about pastoring really appealed to her.
“When I had the opportunity to include that in my job and do some pastoring of some students who I already love and appreciate so much in my teaching, I knew right away that I wanted to give it a try and say yes,” said Wyse-Rhodes. “I think it was a wonderful decision for me and it enriched my own professional life in really deep ways.”
Wyse-Rhodes has had a very positive experience from being a part of the ministry and working with the wide range of students. She was able to learn behind-the-scenes what it takes to plan chapel and other ministry team events.
The ministry team is a group of 12 to 15 plus the pastor, so making decisions was sometimes complicated due to the many voices and opinions involved. Wyse-Rhodes was grateful to be a part of it though since it really made everyone involved listen to one another truly until the group reached a consensus on something fair.
The ministry always tried to do new things in the year of COVID-19 to continue to have a strong community on campus. One of these new events meant to build community is the “What’s your why?” where different people share their faith stories.
As time drew on, Wyse-Rhodes learned through these experiences on top of teaching it was more beneficial to focus on one thing at a time.
“It became clear to me that it was very difficult for me to do both [pastoring and teaching] at the same time and that it was a better fit for me to have a focus on one job or the other,” said Wyse-Rhodes. “For me personally, I do better when I can invest all my energy into one type of work rather than trying to keep several balls in the air.”
Although she is stepping down, Wyse-Rhodes still has full intention to be involved in any way possible and support the ministry team. She is willing to volunteer for anything if an event requires faculty volunteers and will gladly accept being a faith mentor if asked.
One of the things Wyse-Rhodes is really appreciative of is the relationships she was able to build with students from all over campus. She has had some students in class before, but others she hasn’t. Because of this experience, she was able to strengthen past bonds and even create new ones which she thinks will benefit her for the better as a professor for the next years to come.
“I hope as a full-time faculty member that I can be a real ally to the spiritual life program and be really involved as a faculty member,” said Wyse-Rhodes.
In her experience through the past year, Wyse-Rhodes was able to see and draw energy from the wide range of the student body here on Bluffton’s campus. She hopes the next pastor is able to see the same energy, draw from it and continue to make the spiritual life here on campus welcoming and non-judgmental.
Phill Talavinia is on the search committee for the next campus pastor.
“The position is posted and we are currently receiving materials,” said Talavinia. “The search committee has not yet met to begin reviewing said materials.”
