黑料专区

As the day she would graduate from 黑料专区 neared, Reverend Meg Gaston Peters 鈥�13 revealed to a student friend on campus that she no longer wanted to teach math, having majored in that subject while minoring in secondary education. The friend wasn鈥檛 surprised. She told Peters that 鈥淲e鈥檝e all known that for a while. We just didn鈥檛 think it would take you this long to realize it.鈥�

Fortunately, Peters had other options. She had participated in Pfeiffer鈥檚 Campus Ministries program and in several Pfeiffer-organized mission trips abroad, during spring or summer breaks. She envisioned serving the United Methodist Church (UMC) in various capacities, not only in her native North Carolina but also outside the United States.

鈥淧feiffer created in me the spirit of not just traveling, but also experiencing God and religion in different places,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 became interested in seeing how different people worship and what that means to them.鈥�

Peters鈥� post-Pfeiffer experiences bear this out. Before earning a master鈥檚 degree in Divinity/Ministry from the in Princeton, N.J., she served as a for UMC鈥檚 Global Ministries programs in South Korea and Japan.

And when her current tenure as Associate Minister of Outreach at in Winston-Salem, N.C. ends this summer, she鈥檒l begin a five-year term as a Minister for the British Methodist Church, which has a formal program for appointing into its pastoral ranks. She will be responsible for four churches in the , most in Redcar, a seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast in northeastern England.

The British Methodist Church says it 鈥渂enefits greatly from the gifts and fresh perspectives that are brought into its ministry by those who have come to faith, been ordained, and served in other Conferences and Churches.鈥� Peters鈥� background certainly aligns with this sentiment:

Part of a Pfeiffer Pfamily — Grady Gaston, her brother, became a Pfeiffer graduate in 2012 — she chose to attend Pfeiffer because of its 鈥渟mall-is-beautiful鈥� culture and because Grady鈥檚 unreserved enthusiasm for the University made it feel like a good choice.

During her time at Pfeiffer, she would make three mission trips. The first, just after her freshman year ended, was to Cuba, the others to Guatemala and Kenya. All of these journeys made for eye-opening adventures that would encourage Peters to do something similar after graduating from Pfeiffer.

During the trip to Cuba, for example, Peters and her Pfeiffer classmates dug footings for several water towers and painted an apartment building that housed retired ministers. They also got a taste of how many Cubans worshipped in a Communist state, namely in small churches attached to homes.

Along the way, Peters soaked up an atmosphere that was utterly 鈥渦nlike anything鈥� she had experienced before. This featured everything from armed guards on the roads to the prevalence of vintage Fords and other classic American cars (a result of the U.S. trade embargo after the Cuban Revolution). Workers, lacking parts or wood supplies, often resorted to 鈥渢earing stuff down to build something new.鈥�

Dr. Phil Wingeier-Rayo, a Professor of Religion at Pfeiffer when Peters was a student, was part of the mission trip to Cuba as well. He isn鈥檛 surprised at the international turn her career in ministry has taken.

鈥淢eg is well suited for international travel because she is naturally curious and adventurous,鈥� he said. 鈥淪he enjoys encountering people and new contexts. She has bountiful energy and an electric smile that connects with people.鈥� There鈥檚 no doubt that Peters will continue to utilize her ability to connect with people on this next big ministry adventure.