Category: Student Spotlight

The Perkins Intern Program is widely recognized for preparing women and men for faithful leadership in Christian ministry. Internships allow students to integrate classroom learning with the real-life demands of serving congregations or agencies in urban, suburban and rural settings. Interns are encouraged to follow three guiding practices: “Be Aware, Think Theologically, and Lead Faithfully.” Interns receive guidance from trained mentors, feedback from on-site committees, and support from their cohort, intern program faculty and consultants through the Internship Seminars. They gain hands-on experience, reflect theologically and explore how God is calling them to serve. In this ongoing series spotlighting interns, we introduce you to Ezri Josue Gomez Montes, an M.Div. student interning at University Park United Methodist Church in the Dallas area.

Gomez grew up in Juarez, Mexico, but his connection to UPUMC goes back more than 10 years. He attended high school at the Lydia Patterson Institute in El Paso, an educational ministry that UPUMC has supported for decades. The church’s Senior Pastor, the Rev. Dr.  Joe Stobaugh (M.S.M., 2003) serves as his mentor. Gomez and Stobaugh reflect on the internship experience here.

Ezri, tell us about your call story and how you came to UPUMC.

Gomez: I believe God has been calling me into ministry since 2016 — I just did not know it. (Laughs.)  In 2016, I started spending my summers at UPUMC, serving in the youth ministry.  I just thought I was going to Dallas to have a good time, spend some time with the youth, and do the cool things that churches in the U.S. do. Most churches in Mexico don’t have those same opportunities. Then I kept coming back every summer after that. While in college, I realized that God had called me into ministry, and in 2023, I joined the church staff full-time as the family ministries assistant.

You chose to complete your internship at the church where you’ve been serving for years. Has the internship expanded your view of the church?

Gomez: Yes! I’ve already had two opportunities to preach during Sunday worship, which I hadn’t done before.  It’s a big privilege to be able to preach before a large congregation like UPUMC. I’ve also sat in on meetings of various committees in the church: worship, stewardship, nominations and others.

The internship has pushed me out of my comfort zone. I’ve learned about the big picture and what it means to do the order of the entire church, beyond ministries for youth and children.

Stobaugh: We designed Ezri’s internship to expose him to many different aspects of pastoral life. As part of the internship, there’s a Learning Covenant drawn up by the student along with their internship advisor, the mentor pastor, and on-site committee. It’s a way of setting goals and being intentional. I wanted to help design something so that, when he starts his first appointment, he’ll know how to lead a funeral, and he’ll understand what the facilities person does — that sort of thing.

 

Has anything stood out as particularly meaningful or surprising about your internship so far?

Gomez: Before my internship, I knew people in the church – we at least said hi to each other. But I didn’t know if they knew me or cared about me. Now they are affirming my ministry nonstop.  It’s been very special to experience that.

Have you learned anything about yourself from the internship?

Gomez: Before, I was kind of afraid of the whole pastoral care thing. I thought you needed to have these “magic” powers when it came to pastoral care. But people have been saying that I’m a very calming presence and that I have gifts of pastoral care. So that’s something that I’ve leaned into.

I’ve also been learning how to be better at administration — like maintaining calendars, responding to emails in a timely way, doing the things that help us all work together. I have also become more aware of my leadership styles. That has helped me to lean into my strengths and to be aware of and work on my weaknesses.

Stobaugh: We basically planned the internship in quarters. August through the end of this September was focused on pastoral care. Ezri attended committee meetings and joined me on hospital visits and other pastoral care work. I’ve also asked him to interview people in the church — staff people as well as laypeople involved in pastoral care and stewardship.  He’s asking them, “What do you wish your pastor knew about your job?” I told the staff that I was not going to check up with them! I wanted these be free conversations, where they could really share what they wish I knew.

In the next three months, Ezri is going to focus on music, and in February, he’s going to be preaching for three weeks in a row. So, he’s really going to get a broad exposure to different areas of the church during the course of his internship.

Ezri, how do the reflection assignments encourage you to go deeper into these experiences?

Gomez: Some are what I would call “small picture.”  I keep a journal, where I record and reflect on any interaction, any conversation, or any event that happened during the day. We also write theological reflection papers, which look at the bigger picture.   Our three main goals are to “Be Aware, Think Theologically and Lead Faithfully.” Those theological reflection papers push us into doing those three things all at once. They help me to be present in the moment, in every conversation, but also to reflect at the same time.

Joe, what’s it like serving as Ezri’s mentor?

Stobaugh: I once heard the musician Questlove say that, if you’re over 40 and you’re not mentoring, you’re not doing it right. That really stuck with me. It’s been a joy to get to know Ezri and to see how God is working in his life. It is also a good opportunity to reflect on my own ministry. And it’s a way of saying thanks for all the people who mentored me and who continue to serve as mentors to me. It feels like being part of a tradition — taking the tradition forward and then helping to pass it on to the next generation.

Ezri, what’s one insight you’ll carry forward from your internship?

Gomez: I’ve learned that the senior pastor is really busy!  I sit in a cubicle outside of Joe’s office. I see all the people coming into his office, asking questions, just saying hi, you name it, all the time. So, it’s been very helpful to tap into Joe’s guidance as well as to observe him and learn from his ministry.

 

The Perkins Intern Program is widely recognized for preparing women and men for faithful leadership in Christian ministry. Internships allow students to integrate classroom learning with the real-life demands of serving congregations or agencies in urban, suburban and rural settings. Interns are encouraged to follow three guiding practices: “Be Aware, Think Theologically, and Lead Faithfully.” Interns receive guidance from trained mentors, feedback from on-site committees, and support from their cohort, intern program faculty and consultants through the Internship Seminars. They gain hands-on experience, reflect theologically and explore how God is calling them to serve. In the second of this ongoing series spotlighting interns, we introduce you to Emmanuel Anning, an M.Div. student who interned in the hospital chaplaincy at Methodist Health System and continues in the residency program.

In choosing to pursue a career as a hospital chaplain, Anning worried that his African accent might hold him back. However, through his internship, he discovered that what seemed like a weakness helps him serve others. Anning, an M.Div. student, completed an internship this summer at Methodist Mansfield Medical Center. In August, he began a yearlong residency at Methodist Charlton Medical Center in Dallas as part of his Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program. The CPE combines hands-on practice, clinical supervision and academic study to prepare for the hospital chaplaincy. Anning reflects on his journey here.

Q. What led you to the CPE program?

I was a Methodist lay preacher back home in Ghana in West Africa. When I came to the U.S., I joined the Army but couldn’t obtain the security clearance for the Army’s chaplain’s assistant program. After retiring from the Army, I wanted to enter the ministry and decided to study at Perkins. CPE was not originally part of my plans. However, Dr. Jeanne Stevenson-Moessner introduced me to the week-long Health Care / Holy Care program at Houston Methodist. We shadowed the chaplains as they visited patients’ rooms.  I felt I could make an impact as a chaplain. That led to an internship at Methodist Mansfield to determine whether this field is right for me.

Q. What is a typical day like in your residency?  

Each morning, we receive a list of patients to visit. I visit and see how they are doing.  Some ask for prayers, some may ask for a Bible, and others may ask for additional support. I don’t go there with the mentality of a pastor. Sometimes I’m there to listen and assess their emotional and spiritual needs. In chaplaincy, we refer to it as being present. I sit down with the person and allow them to pour out their heart. Sometimes listening helps them to release stress.

Q. How has the practice of writing verbatim helped you?

For verbatim, we write about a visit with a patient, including your experience with them, how you were able to support them, and the impact of the visit.  I present verbatim each week to my colleagues as well as my mentor, the Rev. Willacin “Precious” Gholston (M. Div.  ’09), who is Manager of the CPE program at Methodist. A verbatim helps you and your colleagues reflect on what you did well, what you didn’t do well, and how best you can improve. So, it’s really helping us to grow in the chaplaincy.

Q.In what ways have you seen your theological studies come alive?

I hope Dr. Magallanes will read this. (Laughs.) In his class, The Church in its Social Context, we were always going back and forth. Maybe he thought I was a difficult student! But that class changed my perspective when I visit a patient. That class taught me to not only look at the person I’m talking to, but also look for God in that person. Because God created that person. I don’t go to a room to judge. I go to accept that person as a child of God. Before, I had had a mentality where, if a person didn’t think like me, that person was wrong.

Q. So it’s an ability to see God in other people, even when you disagree or don’t have the same beliefs?

Exactly that. Also, I learned from Dr. Ruben Habito’s class on Buddhism.  Recently I had a one-on-one with a Buddhist patient. It didn’t feel like anything different. I could talk to him as a brother. We did not chat in a religious manner, but we impacted each other with the knowledge that God has given each of us.

Q. How has your experience as an international student affected your ability to relate to your patients?

One of my biggest fears was whether patients could understand me, because I have an accent. But people in need don’t necessarily care what you tell them. My accent, which I thought of as a weakness, has helped me to keep quiet. To have a listening ear. Sometimes patients just need someone to listen.

On the other hand, when I see patients who are from Africa, they are happy to see somebody like them as a chaplain.

Recently, a patient left a message saying that he wanted to talk to me before he was discharged, because my visit with him had meant a lot to him. I received the message after he left, but it touched me. This patient was a 65-year-old old white man. I thought, “Who am I? I’m somebody from Africa, but our conversation made an impact in his life.”

Q. How is the CPE stretching you in ways you didn’t expect?

In the Army, it’s important to be strong. In the CPE, I realized that I’m very emotional. Sometimes I cry with the family that has lost a loved one. I never thought I would behave like that. But this CPE has taught me that I am human, and that is so precious to me. I’ve come to love the chaplaincy.

Bridging Church and World: Q&A with Perkins Student Kathleen Spangler

The Perkins Intern Program is widely recognized for preparing women and men for faithful leadership in Christian ministry. Internships allow students to integrate classroom learning with the real-life demands of serving congregations or agencies in urban, suburban and rural settings. Interns are encouraged to follow three guiding practices: “Be aware, think theologically and lead faithfully.” Interns receive guidance from trained mentors and feedback from on-site committees. They are also supported from their cohort, intern program faculty and consultants through the Internship Seminars. They gain hands-on experience, reflect theologically and explore how God is calling them to serve. In the first of this ongoing series spotlighting interns, we introduce you to Kathleen Spangler, an M.Div. student interning at a nonprofit agency, Hope Center Houston.

After nearly three decades as a commercial litigation attorney, Spangler felt a pull toward something more. That eventually led her to Perkins School of Theology, where she will graduate in May. Spangler, a certified candidate for ordination as a deacon in the Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church, is serving her Perkins internship at Hope Center Houston, a faith-based day center for individuals experiencing homelessness. She shares reflections from her internship here.

Q: Tell us about your call story and how that led you to Hope Center Houston as your internship site.
A: Before retiring from my law practice in 2021, I went back to school to earn a Master of Public Health from the University of North Texas Health Science Center. What really interested me were what we call the social determinants of health. Only a little bit of our health and wellness is medical intervention; most depends on things like housing, food, safety, social and community support. I believe God wants humans to flourish, but the conditions for human flourishing are not equally distributed. I believe the church has a role in working against health inequity.

I felt the call to ministry but sort of swatted it away for years, until I attended an ordination service in 2023, where they talked about deacons as a bridge between the church and the world. Deacons interpret the hurts and concerns of the world to the church. They help turn the church’s face toward the world in ministries of compassion and justice. And I thought, “That’s it. That’s what I want to do.”

That realization led me to want to work in nonprofits, and eventually to Hope Center Houston. Here I’ve been able to learn alongside Executive Director Br. Allen White, OSF, about serving people experiencing homelessness. No two days are alike! We serve breakfast and lunch, and offer social services, like helping people obtain their IDs or apply for Social Security or housing, as well as spiritual programs: Bible study, chapel services, addiction recovery meetings.

Q: How has your mentor supported you during this internship?
A: In addition to Br. Allen, I’m working with the Rev. Jennifer Gros (M.Div. ’22), a former member of the Hope Center board and senior pastor at Spring Community Church. Our ultimate goal is to help get her congregation plugged in as volunteers at Hope Center. I’ve even preached at her church while she was away, so I’ve been able to learn a bit of the church side of things as part of this internship.

Q: What has been most meaningful about your time at Hope Center?
A: Working one-on-one with the guests at Hope Center and getting to know them as people has been a real joy.  I’ve gotten to know a few women who also volunteer at the center.  We helped them earn food handler certifications so they could apply for jobs in the food industry, and I was able to celebrate with them when they received their certificates. You get to know guests as complex people with lives, skills, histories and dreams.

Q: How are you connecting what you’re learning in class with your work at Hope Center?
A: This semester I’m taking Pastoral Care, which directly applies. When I do intake with new guests, I ask questions about why they are homeless, about their experiences with addiction or their legal history. The class helps me do that in a grace-filled, nonjudgmental way, making it comfortable for them to feel open to share. I’ve also preached in Hope Center’s Friday chapel. So my theological education applies every day, in knowing how to treat people and to show the love of Christ.

Q: What have you learned about collaboration in ministry?
A: When you’re opening the doors to 60 or 70 people a day, and you never know what’s going to happen, you collaborate naturally.  There’s an esprit de corps where we all say, “Let’s rely on God. Let’s roll up our sleeves, support each other and take things as they come. And have a sense of humor about it.”

We huddle for about 15 minutes before we open the doors, to talk about spiritual things and pray together. That puts it all in perspective.  We’re here to serve the guests and be there for them.

Q: You must see a lot of suffering. How do you sustain yourself?
A: Yes, it can be heavy. There are days when I worry about someone all weekend.  But I draw energy from knowing I’m doing something positive, even if I can’t solve every problem. Brother Allen models this well. The needs are big, but everyone believes in the mission. You get it done. You deal with it, with humor, creativity and prayer. A lot of prayer.

Learn more about Perkins internships here.