Marvin Wray, Conference Ministerial Director

Potomac Conference was my employer for seven years of my pastoral ministry. During part of that time Marvin Wray was my ministerial director.

His job was to care for the pastors in his territory and also, provide learning/growth opportunities to help prepare pastors for ordination. Marvin had regular meetings where the discussions included the skills of ministry, how to deal with difficult situations, what to expect in a new church setting, how to navigate the first six months with a new congregation, how to grow in emotional intelligence, staying connected with those who can support you, and how to keep vibrant our own relationship with Jesus.

It was fun to work with Marvin. Because I was the only female in his ordination prep group, he became skilled at using gender inclusive language and I appreciated that so much. One Christmas, Marvin gave a (manly) book to all the pastors; it was written by a Christian football coach. Marvin and I had an interesting conversation about how “Christian” one can be when you coach/promote the violence that appears to be an integral part of football. (This conversation about football violence was years before the movie “Concussion” came out.)

After I’d been in the pre-ordination group for about 18 months and a new set of pastors were joining, Marvin said that I didn’t need to be in the group anymore. A few months later the conference secretary met with me in my office and said that the conference had evaluated the fruit of my work over the years and had decided that I had met the qualifications for ordination and would be paid as an ordained minister.

I was approved for ordination and in June of 1996 was commissioned at campmeeting along with male colleagues who were ordained.