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Beverly Kelly, M. Div. 2000 Finds Fulfillment in Retirement |
Contributed by Craig Smith, Senior Director, Public Relations, The Cliffs, Six Mile, S.C.
The Reverend Beverly Kelly may be retired, but you won’t her resident sitting around her house in at The Cliffs at Keowee Vineyards in upstate South Carolina. “I have failed at retirement,” said Kelly. “I got an F in retirement, but I have an A in fulfillment.”
Since moving to The Cliffs at Keowee Springs in Six Mile, S.C., with her husband Burnett in 2007, Beverly arranges for non-denominational services at McKinney Chapel at Keowee Vineyards and even preaches on occasion. She’s also interim director of Christian Education at Pickens Presbyterian Church in Pickens, S.C.
When the Kellys were looking to move from Midland, Mich., they settled in The Cliffs lake region in part because of the chapel. They got involved after attending a Thanksgiving Service in 2007. And early in 2008, the Kellys helped form the McKinney Chapel Committee, which has arranged for once-a-month services ever since.
Sometimes Beverly will preach; other times she will arrange for a visiting pastor. “I only preach when I can’t find someone,” she says with humility.
The 66-year-old Kelly spent 15 years in Christian Education at her local Presbyterian church in Michigan before a church mission trip to South Africa in 1994 tugged her in a different direction. Apartheid was ending and just-freed Nelson Mandela was elected the country’s president.
“I heard a call at that time to go in a different direction,” said Kelly. “I wanted to broaden and deepen my ministry.” She went back to school at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago in her mid-50s and became an ordained minister.
By then her husband was a top executive at Dow Corning, but even he found time to balance his work with service by serving of the Board of the United Wayof Pickens County and as Chairman of the Community Impact Committee.
“I’ve always tried to have a balance in my life,” said Burnett, who convinced his wife to move south after watching the BMW Championship hosted by The Cliffs. “I find that when I’m in balance I do things pretty well. When I get out of balance, I’m not very good at anything.”
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McCormick alumna Mildred B. Grubbs (Class of 1941) In the News |
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The following article about McCormick alumna Mildred B. Grubbs appeared originally in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, 12/29/2008.
LOCAL FOLKS: 91 years of service and still going strong
12/29/2008 5:57:23 AM
Daily Journal
By Galen Holley
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Although the Rev. Mildred Board Grubbs retired 25 years ago, her desire to teach and empower others is as strong as ever.
"It's what I was called to do," she said. "It's my form of service. I always knew that."
Born to a Scotch-Irish farm family in 1917, Grubbs learned the value of hard work at an early age.
"I always enjoyed oming home, putting on my overalls, and helping my father on the farm," she said.
By high school she knew she wanted to be a minister. However, as a woman, that option wasn't yet available to her. "We could be either nurses or teachers," she said.
Grubbs attended the University of Dubuque in Iowa and later McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago. Then she took a job with the National Board of Missions for the Presbyterian Church USA.
In 1941 she arrived in Northeast Mississippi and began serving seven rural churches within the Nettleton Larger Parish. She worked alongside the Rev. Emmet Stidham, the senior pastor.
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Barbara Boyd (M.Div.'91, D.Min.'96) Sends an Update to Classmates and Colleagues |
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Greetings to classmates and colleagues! I thought I'd fill you in on the turn my life has taken due to my degrees from McCormick.
After serving two churches, one in Norman, Oklahoma and a second in Aurora, Colorado, I accepted the position of Director of Outreach for the newly formed Religious Studies Program at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma. The desire to create a Religious Studies Program at OU was formed out of the 9/11 tragedy. I have now spent five years helping to bring this nascent program into being and this work has been some of the most exciting ministry I have ever done.
After 5 ½ years on the job, I have raised the funds for seven fully endowed scholarships, the very first one given by a Presbyterian minister. I have raised funds to take many students abroad: first to the Parliament of the World Religions in Barcelona, Spain, then to Italy, Turkey, Morocco, Greece and soon Ireland.
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