Alums Celebrate Their Sheroes

03-01-2022

Who are the influential women in your life? McCormick alums were ready with names and reasons they honor the women who have both inspired and challenged them to achieve. Check out what they had to say about the courage, challenges and contributions of their sheroes.

When I was taking Dr.  Terrell’s course, Proto-Womanist Thought at Chicago Theological Seminary, I realized that my mother, Lorraine Green Baldwin, was a proto-womanist.

An activist and community organizer, she was involved in civic engagement from Block Club president to president — in the late 1950s — of the PTA and treasurer of my high school in 1965-66. My schools had not long been integrated. She marched with Dr. King in Chicago’s Gage Park and at the March on Washington.

She was a ministry leader and the coordinator of our church’s Vacation Bible School where she introduced us to African American women missionaries. At age 16, I assisted her with her Sunday school class. My mother would become the first women to be the Primary Department’s Superintendent. She mentored the young women in the church and started the first Methodist Women’s Circle for younger women.

A medical laboratory technician, Lorraine Green Baldwin is my shero and mentor. She was an example of higher education for her girls.

Rev. Dr. Lorri E. Baldwin, MATS’96

I have been fortunate to have had strong women as role models and as a support system.  From my earliest days, my mother has nurtured me, disciplined me, encouraged me and been one of my biggest fans. I am who I am in large part because of Edie Graham. It was important to her that my brother and I were raised with a sense of God and the importance of church involvement.  My grandmothers taught me about love (and southern cooking)! These three women gave me a strong foundation growing up. I was fortunate to have teachers, youth workers, and church volunteers who also supported me – especially as my first call to ministry began forming at the age of 15.  When I entered seminary for my M.Div., I would encounter a few other women who would become my classmates, and again as we worked through our D.Min. at McCormick. Melissa is one and I call her when I feel challenged with a church problem, when I need to vent or when I want to brainstorm.  If I could offer any advice to those pursuing ministry, it would be this: cherish and nurture the relationships you make in seminary. This calling is a unique one. Having a support system is crucial! 

Rev. Dr. Carrie Finch, D.Min.’20

I am so grateful to God for my wise woman mentor and friend, Kiyoko Kasai Fujiu. I met Kiyo when I was hired as an administrative assistant for the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women for the United Methodist Church.  Kiyo’s witness is courageous and compassionate, edifying and educating, loving and liberative. At 96 years of age, after being detained in internment camps during World War II, she provided years of executive leadership in the United Methodist Church, serving on the local UMC ordination commission. She raised three children and cared for her elderly mother and later, her spouse. There have been countless times when her witness of courage and compassion, edification and education, love and liberation has been put to the test. Yet, Kiyo has spoken against injustice and passionately worked for Beloved Community with an Esther-like resolve.  Recently, I asked her if she saw herself as courageous.  Her answer was “No.  If I don’t speak who will?  I have to rise to it.” Thank you, Kiyo, my wise woman, friend, and mentor.

Rev. Dr. Joanne Lindstrom, M.Div,’94, D.Min.’05

Eld. Moon-Jah Jahng was born in 1941 in South Korea. She and her husband gave generously so that I could study abroad. Her husband was a person doing justice for the weak in my church where I grew up. When he was diagnosed with cancer, he just gave up his life, throwing his body in the deep sea because he never wanted his wife, Eld. Jahng, to be burdened. Eld. Jahng was a leader doing justice not only for the church but also in the society. One day while riding a bus, she resisted a man who unjustly did violence to the people around him. She was even threatened by him. Eld. Jahng visited incarcerated people for decades; she had many students who were in prisons. She cared about the poor and the weak, providing clothes, food, and traditional Korean therapies. She was a great Sunday school teacher, influencing many seminarians, including me. Recently, she lost her first son to heart disease. But she is still encouraging me to be a good global pastor. She is a mother for my country.   

 Dong Jin Seo, MTS’19, current D.Min. candidate

I honor my wife, Takara, and our daughters, Micaiah and Brianna, for their role in my spiritual formation. They are my village and every day they pour into my life the love, patience and feedback that is transforming me into a spiritually effective husband, father, and minister.

Takara has taught me about love, forgiveness, and reconciliation during our marriage. My wife is patient and strives to be kind even when I am not deserving. Also, she has encouraged me to adopt a healthier lifestyle which enhances my ability to minister to God’s people.

My daughters have blessed me to grow spiritually by challenging my conservative and perhaps outdated view of the world. Through their experiences, I can better relate to the next generation. My daughters are loving, respectful and they have the courage to challenge me.

Rev. Bryant Warren, M.Div.’21

Rev. Dr. Lorri Baldwin with her mother, Lorraine Baldwin

Rev. Dr. Carrie Finch, D.Min.’20, with her mother, Edie Graham

Rev. Dr. Joanne Lindstrom with her mentor, Kiyoko Kasai Fujiu

Dong Jin Seo, MTS’19 with mentor, Moon-Jah Jahng

Rev. Bryant Warren with his wife, Takara, and daughters, Micaiah and Brianna