People often wonder why women seek a theological education if they do not plan to be pastors. I appreciate the question and love to engage it as someone who holds a seminary degree and who works at Covenant Theological Seminary.
As the Presbyterian Church in America celebrates its 50th birthday, Covenant Seminary, the official seminary of the PCA, has trained pastors, teachers, counselors, and lay people for decades. Covenant students live all around the world, while our main campus is situated in a suburb of St. Louis, MO. Our student body is made of men and women seeking to know Jesus more fully and their role in His Kingdom.
My work as Associate Dean of Women is utterly delightful, weighty, stretching, and a true honor. Primarily, I spend my time meeting with women (online and in person) who are students and spouses of students. Markers of our meetings are curiosity, grief, laughter, and wonder. We straddle history and future as we grapple with suffering, woundedness, formation, and hope. We discuss anything: being a woman in leadership, the glories and pain of motherhood, grieving loss in this broken world, enduring hard-fought battles against habitual sin, singleness, or how doctrine comes to bear on her particular season of life. We wonder what might be a different and better way through adversity. My prayer for our time together is that our women will know God more intimately and more effectively relate to their corner of God’s Kingdom.
Our female students make up a beautiful, vibrant tapestry: a missionary in Tunisia, a new mom sitting in the NICU with her baby born at 24 weeks, a 70-year-old training to become a hospital chaplain, a campus ministry staff member seeking her Masters of Divinity to better serve the college students, a wife moving from Hungary for her husband to learn in person who and (surprisingly) finds herself taking classes as well, a widow embarking on a courageous new chapter.
Women at Covenant are motivated to seek a master’s degree for a variety of reasons. Many of our students seek a deeper understanding of Scripture to minister more effectively in their home church. Some counseling degrees lead to pursuing licensure post-graduation. Other women are non-degree seeking and audit classes or graduate with certificates for lay pastoral counseling in their church or community. Many women concurrently attend school with vocational ministry to enhance teaching and shepherding. Because spouses of students can attend at a reduced rate, wives often take classes for personal enrichment to later find themselves obtaining a master’s degree. The host of reasons women attend seminary is united by one through-line: a love of Jesus and knowing Him more deeply. And that brings me tears.
I recently met a student named Laura, who is a perfect example of the kind of women who come to Covenant to be theologically trained. In a conversation recently, Laura recounted her life as a young mother of four, immigrating to the US, becoming a nurse, and later earning her PhD to be a nurse educator. The stories of her nursing career rival Call the Midwife for drama. As she spoke, I was impressed by her gumption, determination, generosity, grit, and the Lord’s kindness. For many, a story like hers could be told with one main character: herself. I was moved, however, as she punctuated the chapters of her life with comments of joy and wonder at the Lord’s provision.
Laura has known for decades that she wanted a seminary degree to further integrate theology with her perspective on medicine and health education. In retirement, Laura embarked on her seminary education in the Fall of 2023. As a mature woman, she has navigated obstacles of distance learning, new beginnings, and realistic challenges that come with age. She is gracious, steadfast, and practices endurance. She inspires me to consider how growth and change are a practice of acknowledging the beautiful eternity that lies ahead and to reflect on the fact that the Lord makes no mistakes when it comes to his timing.
I admire every woman who chooses to attend Covenant or support her husband in his seminary training. They bring their brilliance, curiosity, suffering, gifts, and grit and lay them at the feet of Jesus, saying “Not my will, but yours be done.”
Pray with me for the women of Covenant as they study, stretch and grow. Pray that the Lord’s nearness will be evident in time of need and celebration. Pray for protection from Satan’s evil schemes. He is threatened by their Kingdom work and seeks to destroy it. Pray for robust health (body, mind, and spirit) and to know Jesus more deeply in the broken and weak places. Pray with us for sustainable jobs that pay well. Pray for their marriages, their children, and their children’s children. Pray that the Lord’s strength will embolden them to know their need for Him more deeply and His kindness each day of their lives. Pray as women work through their stories at Covenant: to more intimately know the Lord’s provision through their stories so they can effectively and sustainably participate in His work. Pray that Covenant’s women, whether 22 or 80 years old, would know a fraction of her Heavenly Father’s love, delight, and grace for his daughters. Pray that unity in Christ with brothers and sisters will whet palates for Glory. Pray for endurance and steadfastness while they wait for Jesus’ return. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
A 2011 graduate of Covenant’s Master of Arts in Counseling (MAC) program, Megan has been practicing therapy for the past 13 years. Before coming to Covenant as a student, she served as an intern with Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. With her previous knowledge of the Seminary and her extensive professional experience, she brings a wealth of relational expertise to her role in caring for Covenant’s students. Megan is married to Jason, who serves as a ruling elder at South City Church (PCA) in St. Louis. They have three children.
Megan has a love for people and desire to see Christ formed in them more deeply. As the Associate Dean of Women at Covenant Seminary she will seek to come alongside to nurture female students, as well as spouses, both residentially and online.