Shirley Yoder Brubaker, a 2010 Eastern Mennonite Seminary graduate, has been named the first female moderator of Virginia Mennonite Conference, beginning Sept. 1, 2010.
Shirley and her husband Kenton last year at commencement when Shirley was awarded her Master of Divinity degree at Eastern Mennonite Seminary.
Photo by Jim Bishop
The Salem, Ore., native, a 1966 graduate of Eastern Mennonite University, has been involved in ministry in various settings for at least 20 years. After retiring as associate pastor at Park View Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, Va., in 2001, she went on to interim pastoral assignments in Mississippi, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Harrisonburg. She has also done short-term mission assignments in Israel, Oregon and Lithuania.
“Looking back over my life, I realized have always worked for the church in some way – education, administration and pastoring. I cannot think of any better employer to have worked for,” Yoder Brubaker said.
It took her 26 years to complete her master of divinity degree.
“Life kept interrupting my studies,” she said, “but I was committed to finishing that degree. It was a wonderful way to keep myself immersed in the Word and to maintain awareness of what was going on in the broader church.”
Yoder Brubaker’s vision for Virginia Mennonite Conference centers around her commitment to the unity of the church.
“Some of Jesus’ last words to his disciples in John 17 ask that we followers be one, just as he is one with his Father,” Yoder Brubaker said. “That is a major task for us, because we believe tenaciously and passionately, and rightly so. Consequently, we struggle to feel unity with other believers who believe differently from us.
I am slowly learning to trust the work of God’s Spirit in my fellow believers,” she continued. “God is bigger than what my human mind can grasp and works sometimes in ways I do not understand.”
Yoder Brubaker is succeeding Beryl Jantzi, a 1991 MDiv graduate of EMS, in her three-year term as moderator. She has a part-time interim assignment on the pastoral team at Community Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg. It is her second interim position with the congregation. She is married to Kenton K. Brubaker, professor emeritus of biology at EMU.
Eastern Mennonite seminary prepares men and women to serve and lead in a global context. To learn more about programs at Eastern Mennonite Seminary visit www.emu.edu/seminary or call the office of seminary admissions 540-432-4257.
Abridged by permission from article in October 2010 issue of “Connections,” published by Virginia Mennonite Conference.