Beeson Podcast, Episode #596 Reverend Demetrea Williams April 5, 2022 >>Announcer: Welcome to the Beeson podcast, coming to you from Beeson Divinity School on the campus of Samford University. Now your hosts, Doug Sweeney and Kristen Padilla. >>Doug Sweeney: Welcome to the Beeson Podcast. I’m your host, Doug Sweeney, here with my co-host, Kristen Padilla. And we are excited to welcome you back to the second episode in our three week series on chaplaincy. Thanks to the generosity of special friends of the school we have developed an emphasis on preparing men and women here at Beeson to serve as chaplains, in the military and hospitals and corporate settings and elsewhere. This emphasis includes a recommended track of study within the Master of Divinity (MDIV) program. It involves vocational guidance and enrichment, access to chaplain networks, and scholarship funding. Chaplains provide a much needed gospel witness and Christian care and counsel in many of life’s most critical times and places. If you or someone you know feels called to chaplaincy ministry, we hope you will consider doing life with us at Beeson. All right, Kristen, who do we have on the show with us today? >>Kristen Padilla: Thanks, Doug. We have a friend of mine and a Beeson alumna, the Reverend Demetrea Williams. Reverend Williams is a board certified chaplain at Princeton Baptist Medical Center here in Birmingham, Alabama. She’s a licensed and ordained minister of the gospel, serving as an associate minister at Greater Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church. She is also married to a minister, the Reverend Matthew Williams. So, Demetrea, we are so pleased that you would spend time with us today. Welcome to the show. >>Demetrea: Thank you so much for having me. >>Kristen Padilla: Well, we want to begin this conversation by getting to know you and your story a bit better. We’re going to talk to you more about chaplaincy ministry in a few minutes. But why don’t you tell us some things about yourself and your spiritual and faith journey? >>Demetrea: Yes, so I originally was born in Chicago but raised in Houston, Texas. I’m a very proud Texan. If you meet a Texan they’re going to be very proud, like we have our own country, right? (laughs) I accepted Christ when I was five years old. I knew then ... I told my pastor I wanted Jesus to save my soul. I was baptized and ever since then I’ve been active in the church. My parents were children and youth pastors and just continued to be active in the church throughout my life. I became an educator in the midst of all of that. I moved to Mexico, was teaching down there, and when I came back I felt like there was something missing, that there was a call. So, I took a spiritual gifts test and one of the highest gifts on my spiritual gift test was pastor. And so I’ll be honest, when I first saw it I was freaking out, “What? Pastor? What are you talking about?” And talking to my parents about it and stuff and my father shared with me that gift doesn’t automatically say that you’re going to be a pastor of a church but you’re a pastor of people. And just throughout my life I saw how that has been happening, which even now I see how in chaplaincy how I am a pastor to people and I pastor people here at the hospital. So, I’ve been in Birmingham since 2011 when I went to start school at Beeson. I’ve been here ever since. I came into a chaplaincy in 2018. >>Doug Sweeney: Demetrea, it probably won’t come as a surprise to you to hear that at Beeson we get a few students every year who already think that maybe chaplaincy is what the Lord has for them. But we have even more students who kind of discern that maybe that’s their gifting while they’re here. And I think one of the things that means is not enough people have the information necessary to consider whether chaplaincy is for them before they ever go to school. So, with that in mind I just want to ask you – how did you figure out that chaplaincy was for you? And what is your ministry like as a hospital chaplain day by day? >>Demetrea: To be honest, I didn’t know that I was going to be a chaplain. (laughs) I’d been in education for over 12 years and I felt like my time in education was ending. So, after Beeson I was still an educator, teaching bible in Spanish, and when I was feeling like that time was ending I was just kind of searching and praying, trying to see what was the next step. My husband had just started a position as a church pastoral assistant at Greater Shilo. There was a church member there that we had seen around before but hadn’t got a chance to really talk and I found out that she was the director of pastoral care here at Princeton, which is Dr. Cecilia Walker. So, I was just sharing with her where I was, “I’m not sure if chaplaincy is it. I’m trying to see where the Lord is leading me.” And she told me about the internship that they have here and just being able to have that experience to get a more clear understanding of the calling that God had on my life or if he was calling me to chaplaincy. And so I applied and interviewed for that position and was accepted into the program. Through that program, through the summer, that is when it was confirmed. I was like, “Okay, this is it. This is where you’re calling me to, it’s where I felt comfortable as far as, ‘I fit here.’” Through much prayer I quit my job and started the residency program. And then just all through that when I accepted God’s “yes” to chaplaincy I watched how God’s hand has literally been working in all of this. I’ve got a job as a full time chaplain. I’ve been board certified. I’ve been ordained. Just all these things was just falling into place after that. So, before ... people have shared with me, “Oh, I think you would be a good chaplain.” But to be honest, I thought that I was too emotional to be a chaplain. (laughs) I was like, “I can’t be a chaplain. They go through really hard stuff and I’ll be crying with the family,” and all those kinds of things. But what God showed me was that I have an ability, I have a gift, to join people in their suffering. I have an ability to be present with people in their suffering, and that’s not a gift that everybody has. My empathy and my gift of burden bearing is something that not everybody has and God has given me that specifically for chaplaincy, for this ministry. >>Kristen Padilla: That’s a nice segue, Demetrea, into just wanting to ask you about serving in chaplaincy ministry during COVID. You mentioned bearing people’s burdens. And I just can only imagine that there have been a lot of burdens to carry these past couple of years – both, I would imagine, with patients and families and then also those in healthcare, the nurses, the staff, the doctors. What has ministry at the hospital looked like during the pandemic? What ways have you seen God at work? And perhaps even what are ways that we should be praying and practical ways that we can serve chaplains and others in healthcare during this pandemic especially? >>Demetrea: Yeah, COVID has just changed a lot of things and has affected a lot of things. Just even people being able to have their family with them when they’re going through this year. Visitation is limited for non COVID units. Maybe like one person every 24 hours. Or you only have a certain amount of time that you can go for the ICU – you can’t stay there long. But non COVID patients, they can’t have visitors at all. And so of course that lessens the amount of contact and those kinds of things. So, we have our virtual visits, which is basically connecting the family via FaceTime, Zoom, using those kinds of apps has gone up definitely so that they can have some kind of connection with their family. And it’s just amazing to see how the patients light up, how the families light up to just be able to lay eyes on their loved one, to just hear their voice even if they’re alert or they’re intubated, hearing their voice you see tears in the patient’s eyes and things like that because they feel so alone. It’s been really hard to see that. In chaplaincy, in hospital chaplaincy, you see a lot of suffering. But I think COVID has given just a different level of suffering that we’re seeing right now. And even with staff as they continue to provide care for the patience, for themselves, they’re tired and stressed, and so we’re trying to join the staff in that and help and provide for them. Giving them space to release fears and anxieties for their own health as they’re caring for patients. Because you may have a patient that comes in negative and then tests a couple of days positive. So, it’s just all that anxiety. And then you have chaplains that are carrying the anxiety of the patient, the anxiety of the staff, and then our own anxiety because we, too, have to gear up and put on our PPE, and all those kinds of things, and go into those rooms. Sometimes depending on the visit we can be in there for a long period of time. So, I think just encouragement for chaplains ... as far as what can you all do ... just praying for the strength of the chaplains. I think that people didn’t realize how important chaplains were to staff and patients until COVID came about, and they saw how significant and important we are to them. And I think just continuing to give platforms like you all are doing, this is just amazing, I appreciate you all for doing this to give us space to share our side and our experiences. Because we see a lot and there’s a lot of heaviness that can go on in the ministry and being able to talk about it and share gives a sense of release, helps us release that. >>Doug Sweeney: Your work sounds hard, Demetrea. It sounds hard in a lot of ways – emotionally, physically, intellectually, spiritually. And I’m thinking now about people listening to us who are entertaining the possibility that, “Maybe this is something that the Lord has for me, but I’m just not sure I’m up to that. I mean, it just sounds too difficult for me. I’m not sure how I’d go about getting into it.” Could we ask you to speak to that kind of listener? What does that kind of person need to know about chaplaincy ministry and what it requires? And how you assess whether you’ve got what it takes to do that kind of work? >>Demetrea: Mm hmm (Affirmative). I think definitely if there’s an opportunity ... when I was studying at Beeson, there wasn’t a developed chaplaincy track just yet and so I think that it’s amazing that you all have that available to them now so that they can have those conversations with their professors and other people. It’s been really good to have community to be able to share their thoughts and fears, experiences, all those kinds of things. And so I would say definitely to hold onto and take advantage of the opportunities of community that they have right now at Beeson. And even for your listeners that may not be at Beeson, you can get into a network of meeting other chaplains and hearing their experiences. I think chaplaincy is challenging. It really is. But I think what has helped me is constantly reminding myself and being intentional about the fact that I am a vehicle, right? I’m carrying these burdens to Christ, not to hold myself. And that was something that was really hard for me at first because I thought that I was carrying these burdens to Christ and I realized that I was so heavy and weighed down because I was still holding onto these experiences and these things that were happening to these people. And continuing to remind myself that I am not the one that handles this burden, I am just the one that’s carrying this burden to Christ. And it gives me a weight lifted off of me. Because it can be burdensome with meeting people in their suffering. And so I would ask them to find ways to continuously remind themselves about that. Be intentional about your self care, whatever that is. If you’re in therapy ... therapy is great. You get to share what you’re feeling, challenges that you experience in your faith, all those things. And definitely continuing to be in community. That is so, so important because in that you remind yourself that you are not alone and that there’s other people going through the same experiences, having some of these same thoughts, and different perspectives of how to handle these things and these thoughts that you’re thinking about. >>Doug Sweeney: So, Demetrea, with respect to hospital chaplaincy in particular, and again I’m thinking about listeners now who are wondering, “Is this something that’s for me? Is this something I could do?” Is there a particular kind of personality you need to have? Or a particular set of gifts you need to have? What is it that helps somebody to thrive in hospital chaplaincy ministry? >>Demetrea: Yeah, that’s a good question. I think what is so beautiful about the ministry of chaplaincy is that we come from different backgrounds. You have chaplains that have a Muslim background, you have chaplains that have Jewish backgrounds, you have all these different chaplains from different backgrounds, different religious backgrounds and traditions. But we learn how to provide spiritual and emotional support and meet patients where they are no matter their faith tradition. And so I’ve been able to minister to a Hindu patient and a Muslim patient, atheist, and things like that. Because throughout CPE, Clinical Pastoral Education, you learn how to be aware of your own faith and aware of your own self and your own experiences while being present with those patients and meeting them where they are and seeing how can you support them? And so it’s just really cool to see and hear all the different backgrounds of chaplains that I’ve met and their experiences. I do think that a gift that chaplains have is a burden bearer gift. And which to be honest (laughs) I just discovered that as a gift myself within the past month or two, because my mom, to be honest, had been praying to the Lord and she was like, “The Lord is telling me to send you these books.” And all of these books were talking about being a burden bearer. And as I read those books, it just showed how when you are not releasing those burdens over to Christ, how you’re affected by it. You’re heavy sometimes and you don’t know why. You know, constantly things are on your mind about stuff – just all these different things. And so I think that is definitely a gift that chaplains have, is being a burden bearer. As I stated before, we are joining Christ in taking these burdens that these patients, families, and staff have and taking them up in prayer over to him. And so I do think that is one of the gifts that a chaplain will have, but I think that different chaplains have different gifts as well. And because we work together it helps us to provide even more ministry. It helps us to reach even more people. It helps us to go deeper with patients, families, and staff because of the differences that we have. >>Kristen Padilla: Demetrea, I’ve heard in this course of this conversation you emphasized the importance of presence and community. I’m wondering, as it relates to your time at Beeson, we’ve been reminding folks that Beeson is committed to being in person and our emphasis on community. So, I wonder what from your time at Beeson has helped you in the work that you do today as a chaplain? And secondly, another sweet thing about Beeson is its people. You mentioned Dr. Cecelia Walker who is also a Beeson graduate. And I know that she’s been a wonderful mentor to you and so many other graduates. I wonder if you can talk about the role that Beeson and Beeson’s people mentoring has played in your life and ministry you do today? >>Demetrea: Yes. Definitely. Man, like you said, as far as the community, there are people that I talk to, even now, that I met while at Beeson that were in my class. We communicate and talk to now that we share not only just about ministry but just life experiences and have grown into friendships and sisterhood and brotherhood, you know what I’m saying? Just all those different kinds of things because we met at Beeson and was able to grow from that. So, I do appreciate Beeson for the community that I have now, been able to do that. And even just meeting other chaplains because, like you said, Dr. Cecelia Walker absolutely hands down one of the best mentors I’ve ever had. She just continues to encourage, teach, give opportunities to learn, and she’s (we always say) a “Beesonite.” So, it’s funny because here at Princeton we’ve also had interns and residents from Beeson and so it’s funny because some of the staff that’s not from Beeson, they’re like, “Oh, they’re Beesonites.” Or they’ll say, jokingly, “Oh, we couldn’t minister to that patient because we didn’t take Hebrew and Greek,” or something, you know? (laughs) Just those kinds of funny jokes. Even the community here that we have of other chaplains that we have that connection with Beeson. And even not just at Princeton, but at UAB and just other areas of people that have gone to Beeson that I’m able to reach out to and ask about that. I will say that Dr. Patricia Outlaw has been a very positive influence on my chaplaincy. She encouraged and also challenged me about chaplaincy. I’ve heard about it from different people, she was like, “Oh, you’ll be good for this.” But she challenged me in that area. And it’s helped me so much in that, in becoming a chaplain. When I took her Pastoral Counseling class and the other classes that she taught I had a wonderful experience and influence on my ministry now. So, I’m very grateful for the community, not just Cecelia Walker and Dr. Patricia Outlaw and just even now some of the professors I keep in touch with now, I can reach out to and ask questions. So, I’m very appreciative of that as well. >>Doug Sweeney: That’s wonderful. Demetrea, Kristen and I have this tradition of concluding our interviews with guests always by asking them what the Lord’s doing in their lives these days, what he’s teaching you these days, what’s going on spiritually in your life these days, that you might share a little bit about as a way of encouraging our listeners? So, we want to ask you as well. What’s the Lord teaching you these days? >>Demetrea: (laughs) Yes, these days to be honest, the Lord has been teaching me that, number one, suffering doesn’t have qualifications. Anybody can have it. Anybody can go through it. But the beauty in it for us is that we are not alone in that suffering. We have hope. And it makes all the difference. I’ve seen in my own ministry how the ministry of presence, as Kristen said before, how it has changed that atmosphere for people in their suffering. And I didn’t even say anything. I was just there with them. And it reminds me it’s the same thing with Christ, how he has continued to be with me through it all even in the moments where I feel like he may be silent. I know that he is there. And because of that I have hope to continue to move forward. I have hope to continue to push through. I have hope to continue to help others push through. And that has been just an amazing feeling for me, to just understand how the ministry of presence has been ministering to me through this time. So, don’t underestimate the ministry of presence. Christ is with you. And because he is with you, you have hope – and to hold on to that. >>Doug Sweeney: Amen. That is wonderful and a great way to conclude our conversation with the Reverend Demetrea Williams. She is a board certified chaplain at Princeton Baptist Medical Center, which is a major hospital in our area here in Birmingham, and an alumna, I am proud to say, of Beeson Divinity School. Thanks for being with us today. Listeners, thank you for tuning in. We’re always glad that you’re part of the Beeson family and Beeson fellowship. We are praying for you, so we ask you please pray for us. Pray that God will have his will done here at Beeson Divinity School. We love you and say “goodbye” for now. >>Kristen Padilla: You’ve been listening to the Beeson podcast. Our theme music is written and performed by Advent Birmingham of the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Alabama. Our engineer is Rob Willis. Our announcer is Mike Pasquarello. Our co-hosts are Doug Sweeney and, myself, Kristen Padilla. Please subscribe to the Beeson podcast at www.BeesonDivinity.com/podcast or on iTunes.