A former mission intern with the United Methodist Church in Chile and Arizona, Merrill served two years as director of the Board of Ministry Program for the Desert Southwest Conference before moving to Atlanta to enroll at Candler. Of her quest to become a United Methodist minister, she said: "I started late because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. But the experience here changed my mind."
At Candler, Merrill said she "discovered a reawakening of my love of liturgy and worship and the possibilities that they hold for the life of the community. A lot of my interests still lie with communities and issues of social justice within the church setting, but I see that liturgy gives us strength for what we have to do."
Merrill is a member of the church's National Committee on Hispanic Ministries, which is the first coordinated effort by the Methodist church to address the needs of the country's fast-growing Hispanic population. The committee is working now to implement that plan and get congregations across the country involved. "We're trying to reach the non-Hispanic churches who have the resources and abilities to respond to these needs," said Merrill. "It's a plan to revive the whole church."
Merrill, a native of Austin, Texas, plans to add more internship and mission experiences before becoming a candidate for ordination in the church's Southwest Texas Conference. The process will take another couple of years, but Merrill said she is inspired for the work ahead. "For me, theological education has done what it was supposed to; I feel really good about that."
--Elaine Justice