Introducing our 2024 Distinguished Alumna
10-09-24
For nearly forty years, McCormick’s 2024 Distinguished Alumna Rev. Melody Seaton - or Rev. Mel as her congregation at Grace United Church of Christ calls her - ministered as an elementary school teacher. Her remarkable journey in nurturing and educating children, progressing from an elementary school teacher to a principal, garnered her numerous awards and accolades, truly reflecting her profound impact.
As the founding and senior pastor, at Grace United, Rev. Mel leads her congregation with a powerful voice and clear convictions. Most recently, that has included robust outreach to her community. From coat and school supply drives to a food pantry, and perhaps what has come to symbolize her dedication to her community, the It Takes a Village Community Farm she helped start on the church property. She is a tireless advocate of those without and skilled in doing a lot with a little. In the midst of this robust ministry and deep experience, she has been spurred on to a new accomplishment based on a simple understanding of a profound truth: kids say the darndest things. It was no surprise to her that God chose this insight and the words of a child, to spur her to write her debut book.
Since her youth, Rev. Mel has found comfort in expressing herself through the written word. Feelings flowed to her parents in the form of letters during her teen years, which is also when a diary became her constant companion. During her years as an educator and now as a pastor, Rev. Mel moved readers through her written testimony and life experience, many asking her when she would be writing her first book. For years, Rev. Mel’s gaze was fixed on God’s people around her. She reflects, “I discovered a desire to be among God's people in their best and worst of times.”
Meanwhile, God was also working through her love for her grandchildren. Rev. Mel lights up when talking about them and takes joy in how her daughter is raising them to know and love God. “I'm not sure if you're old enough to remember a show from the late '50s and '60s called, ‘Kids Say the Darndest Things,” she shares, “but my grandchildren could definitely star in that show if it were on today.” It was Elijah, the fourth of six grandchildren, who became the catalyst for the book. He stumped his mother with the question, “What does God look like?” To his mother’s amusement, he beat her to a response, offering that he actually did know because he had seen God on YouTube. Rev. Mel shared a laugh with her daughter when told the story, but the question stuck in her mind and began to nag.
The question eventually became the title of her book, What Does God Look Like?, featured at the 2024 McCormick Days Alumni Book & Arts Fair, with its pages exploring the answer. The book offers children an interactive opportunity to realize the everyday ways across creation that we see what God looks like. Rev. Mel hopes that this book will be a tool for even the youngest readers to demystify God and demonstrate his presence in creation all around us. She says, “I hope it will cause not only children but the adults that guide them in reading this book to look for God throughout their days and lives.”
Rev. Mel exemplifies dedication, passion, and a steadfast commitment to education. A distinguished alumna of the University of Illinois, Governor State University, and McCormick Theological Seminary, we proudly honor her for her unwavering service as our 2024 Alumna of the Year.