06/23/2026
Summer Milestone
Congratulations to Rev. Melinda McDonald on 11 years of ordained ministry this past Sunday, June 14, 2026. Pictured at right on her ordination day, Rev. Melinda is wearing the stole that was presented to her that day. She wore that same stole this past Sunday as she led worship. We are grateful for Rev. Melinda’s journey in ministry and for the fact that it has led her to Central. She describes her journey with the Disciples of Christ this way:
We never know where and how God will lead us to serve as disciples. I had spent many years of discerning – what is it, Lord, that You would have me be? God’s Spirit led me to join a prayer intercessor ministry that incorporates daily prayer, service, and evangelism; I credit being a “Daughter of the King” as foundational to my spiritual preparation for ministry. I was a language arts teacher in my first career and kept telling God that being a teacher was a fine ministry. I became a lay preacher in 2004 for mid-week Communion. I have long known the power of stories – to inspire, to educate – and have loved to share good things I have actively sought to deepen my own spiritual life and am glad to share anything I have experienced in the hope of being helpful to someone else for their own journey of discipleship.
I come to the Disciples of Christ after most of my life in another Christian ethos. I am so glad I found my “true home” in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). First Christian Church in Greenville, SC is a congregation that is part of the North Carolina Christian Church. The internship congregation affirmed God’s calling on my life and encouraged me to become a minister in the CC (DoC). I went through the vocational call process and met with the Commission on Ministry while the Rev. John Richardson was Regional Minister. I was ordained upon completion of the Master of Divinity degree at Gardner-Webb Divinity School in NC with people from all chapters of my life present from my best friend since elementary school to seminary friends.
The DoC tenets I first saw on a poster hanging in the fellowship hall at my prospective internship church affirmed the theological appropriateness of my serving as a Disciple of Christ. They include: valuing the Bible as a non-literal guide, worship that incorporates full participation of all people; preaching that utilizes recent scholarship and is applicable to everyday life; openness to differing opinions and welcoming to all people; the DNA of Disciples - ecumenism, community that relies upon the person of Christ rather than creeds/dogma; the understanding that all Christians are ministers; the weekly celebration of Communion; and a description framework for Christian living rather than a prescriptive one were consistent with my beliefs.
What began as a practical matter to find a new venue to serve as a ministry intern while in seminary was the beginning of finding my true church home. I was in no hurry to "join" the Disciples immediately. I simply knew I was answering God's call to continue to prepare for whatever God had in store for me regarding service... one step at a time. God created the call within; I was trying to follow Jesus a little farther on The Way.
As I reflect upon ordination, the understanding of God’s ways are not our ways is clear. I would never have imagined leaving my growing up denomination! But it was a natural segway to the next steps to answering fully God’s call. I remain deeply humbled and honored to get to serve as a Disciples of Christ minster – with our tradition of having communion weekly. I have served in other denominations (UMC, PCUSA) and I treasure this aspect of our worship. I deeply appreciate my family and friends who have encouraged and supported this calling from God. Loving God means we surely may step out of our comfort zones “to give and give and give again”– what God has given us… To spend ourselves without counting the cost – to serve right gloriously our Creator God.
