Emily Sutphin Reflects on Faith, Community, and Working for Social Change

Emily Sutphin, who graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary in June of this year with dual Master of Christian Education and Master of Divinity degrees, first felt called to ministry in her rural, conservative high school in southern Virginia, despite having no women ministers to look up to.

“I felt a deep connection to the faith, which had been there for me after my dad died when I was in elementary school,” she says.

Sutphin studied religion from a sociological perspective in college at Virginia Tech and chose to apply to seminary to focus on social nonprofit work.

“The motivation to do unto others is grounded in my faith, and seminary seemed the logical option” she explains. “In college, I got a bird’s eye view of religion, but I could engage more directly with the material at PTS and examine my faith more critically than in the past.”

A lifelong member of the (PC)USA, she won the Presbyterian Study Grant, which made her study at Princeton Seminary possible.

“Winning the grant was amazing because it meant that I didn’t have to balance working full-time along with the responsibilities of getting my education, so I could focus fully on my studies.”

During her time at Princeton Seminary, she was involved in the Presbyterian Student Fellowship and was a deacon in her final year, “working to reenvision what community in general looks like after the pandemic.” She was also a member of the Princeton Seminary chapel choir, having been part of choirs since the age of five as well as an accomplished tuba player.

“I enjoy working in a group on something beautiful and the creativity that goes with that,” she says of her choir experience. “There’s room in our faith for joy and expressions of praise along with solemn prayer.”

Over the course of her Princeton Seminary studies, Sutphin felt her call shift, based in part on her field education working in a hospital. Instead of going straight into nonprofit work after graduation, she chose to become a pastor which will allow her more one-on-one interactions with community members. In fact, the stewardship experience she gained through fundraising in the Princeton Seminary Alumni Relations Advancement department helped her get the Associate Pastor job at Mechanicsburg Presbyterian Church in Pennsylvania, which she began July 1.

“I want to build new relationships and help them become more involved in the community, working toward social change within the denomination of PC(USA),” she says of the Mechanicsburg church.

As she moves forward into the next phase of her calling, Sutphin recognizes that change is not only possible in the church but essential.

“In the past, the church depended on people seeking it and coming inward, but the trend now is to focus more energy and discernment on how to leave our church buildings, go out into the community and build relationships,” she says. “We need to get youth engaged and spend more time taking care of older people in our church and appreciating their gifts, showing them, they are needed in service.”

Sutphin also plans to continue volunteering part-time for a suicide hotline, which she says helps give her a sense of balance alongside her pastoral work.

“It reminds me after each call that I can’t continue to walk with that person, but God will walk with them to the next step of their journey.”