We knew her first
Many Oklahomans, particulary Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) members, are proud that former Bartlesville pastor Sharon Watkins is poised to become the first woman to preach at the National Prayer Service at the National Cathedral come Jan. 21.
The service will be attended by the new president, vice president and a host of other clergy, dignitaries and lay people.
I interviewed Watkins in July 2005, right after she was elected to lead the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada. She was the first woman to lead that 700,000-member group.
Watkins, 54, was still pastor of Disciples Christian Church in Bartlesville when I talked to her.
I learned that she has diverse background.
She is an Indianapolis native (which is where the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) headquarters are located) and daughter of an ordained Disciples pastor. She graduated from college with a degree in French and a degree in economics.
After college she took a volunteer position as a Disciples adult literacy missionary to Zaire (now Congo).
She was ordained as a Disciples pastor in 1984.
Here’s what she had to say about being the first woman to lead her denomination:
“In a church process like this, you want it to be a process of discernment about who God is calling. At each step along the way, I had to reflect harder and pray harder to be sure within myself that I would be ready and willing to move forward.
“At this particular time, given my background, this is who God is calling. It’s a very exciting time for our church. The fact that I’m a woman is just part of the timing.”
(STAFF PHOTO BY DAVID MCDANIEL The Rev. Sharon Watkins, then pastor of Disciples Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), stands in the Bartlesville church’s sanctuary in July 2005.)
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
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