Melaina Riley, religion senior, was accepted into Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois with a full-tuition scholarship.
Riley will complete the three-year program in pursuit of a Master of Divinity, the next step toward her goal of being ordained as an elder in the United Methodist Church.
Elders are ordained United Methodist clergy who are pledged to a ministry of word, sacrament, order, and service, according to UMC.org. In an itinerancy system, bishops assign elders to locations where they serve in ministry settings.
“After getting my Master of Divinity, I’ll be commissioned as an elder and do a two-year residency program before being ordained,” Riley said. “I’ll move back to Oklahoma because we get to choose the state, but the bishop will assign me an exact location. The average placement lasts about seven years.”
Riley said she found out about the seminary because she knew of several OCU graduates who went there, including Dr. Lisa Wolfe, professor of Hebrew Bible. Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary is one of the 13 seminaries recognized by the United Methodist Church in America.
“I was looking at a couple schools, but when I visited Garrett, it just felt right,” Riley said. “I started applying in September and found out in October. I went to a conference with some religion students in Portland, and they handed me my acceptance letter in person. It was a quick turnaround.”
Before she starts school in September, Riley said she has to go through a candidacy process which involves a lot of paperwork. The work includes a psychological evaluation, personality tests, a three-hour interview with a psychologist, and a hearing with a committee who will determine that she is psychologically sound enough to continue her path toward being ordained.
Taylor Carter, flute performance senior, said Riley’s progress in OCU’s religion program inspired him.“She’s pushing boundaries within the church and in the world with her open-mindedness,” Carter said. “I find her and her work completely admirable, and I believe others should look up to the efforts she’s made and will make during her career.”
When she moves, Riley will live in Chicago and commute to Evanston.
“I’ve never lived anywhere other than Oklahoma City,” she said. “I’ve never even moved houses. I’m excited and terrified, depending on the day.”
Riley said she has known she wanted to go to seminary since she was in the seventh grade.
“That’s always the only thing I’ve ever wanted. It’s always been the next step, something I was waiting for, but now it’s here,” she said. “I want to work to reconcile the church with people who have had bad experiences with religion. It’s been such a good thing for me, but I’ve seen it be bad for other people. I want to be part of fixing that.”
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