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No path will ever take you where you think it’s going to, and Betsy Rumer is a good example of that.

 

As she stood and observed everyone who came to celebrate her retirement in early January, there were many thoughts running through her head.

 

If you were to go back in time and ask Betsy where she would be now when she was 21, her answer would likely be very different than where she is today. It almost certainly wouldn’t have been, “I’m going to be a pastor.” Her journey didn’t start that way, and it didn’t seem as if she was destined to find her way to Western Pennsylvania.

 

“There was nothing in me that wanted to become a pastor, so in some ways I’m as surprised as everyone else,” Betsy said. “But there was a path.”

 

It wasn’t a clear one, however. The road was rocky and had plenty of hurdles. Three of those hurdles included drugs, alcohol, and an eating disorder. Each one as hard to overcome as the last.

 

Betsy decided that she didn’t want to let these things control her life so leaving her two-year-old daughter, she sought help in a treatment center.

 

“I was gone for a month, and when I came home, I was terrified to go back to that lifestyle,” She said. “When I was in treatment, I was told that I was going to need to find a higher power in order to live a life of recovery.”

 

From there, Betsy began a journey to know Jesus. She explained that she did not grow up in a Christian home. That her family only went to church of Christmas and Easter. But even though she didn’t grow up in the faith, she knew that Jesus was real and knew her.

 

“I’ve been clean and sober for 34 years, so I’ve had a lot of time to look back and I can see very clearly that even though I didn’t know who Jesus was, he knew me,” Betsy said.

 

As she continued in recovery, she wanted to learn more about the person who she knew had saved her. So, she started to go to church. She found that the more time she spent there, the hungrier she was for a deeper connection.

 

Her hunger just couldn’t be quelled. No matter how many groups or studies she went to, her desire to learn more grew to the point where she asked if there was somewhere she could go to learn more. At that point, it was suggested she go to seminary.

 

“At that time, we were allowed to take up to six classes without having to matriculate into one of the master’s programs and I figured I’d be out of there way before that,” Betsy joked.

 

But the more classes she took, the more she found herself wanting. By the end of those six classes, instead of being satisfied, she found herself looking to go further.

 

“The Lord has a funny sense of humor, because when I finished those six courses, I was hungrier than when I started,” Betsy said.

 

Then one day while she was driving to class, she had an experience that would change her life forever.

 

“I had a pretty shocking experience with the Lord. I was driving to school when I heard a voice, it was as clear as clear can be,” Betsy said. “The voice said, ‘I want you to switch into the Master of Divinity program and become a pastor for me,’ and I knew it was Jesus.”

 

Her conversation with Jesus lasted all the way to school. She tried every reason she could think of as to why she wasn’t good enough to become a pastor. And he replied to each of her reasons with his own.

 

“With every argument I put out there, he had a counter,” Betsy said. “And he told me he’d be with me every step of the way.”

 

When she got to school, she finally gave in. She said she would do it. When she got to school, she went into the registrar’s office to fill out the paperwork in order to switch programs. It required her to get ten signatures from professors and the Dean before she could make the change. To her, that was a relief, because it bought her some time, and she didn’t have to do it right away. But God had other plans.

 

“I turned around to leave the registers office and all ten of them walked in together. They had been in a staff meeting. I walked up to them and told them my story,” Betsy said. “Within ten minutes of submitting to Jesus in my car, I was switched into the MDiv program.”

 

That conversation changed her life. From there on, she followed the path that had been set for her. She had little problem learning the languages that she had been so scared she wouldn’t be able to learn. She credits it all to that life changing experience in the car that turned out to be the most important and miraculous drive of her life.

 

It took Betsy eight years to go through seminary and become a pastor at Memorial Park Church. The journey wasn’t an easy one. From being abused as a child by a neighbor, to partying in school to becoming an addict, there were many things that happened to Betsy that changed her.

 

But her family was 100 percent behind her, supporting her through long hour of study, papers and the ordiantions exams.

 

After Betsy graduated, she accepted a position at MPC where she couldn’t be more thankful.

 

In addition, Betsy, with the help of MPC, has been able to help reshape the EPC. Historically, the EPC had had few women pastors but Betsy helped pave the way and today, 16 years later, there are many more women in the position of pastor.

 

“Some of the blessings I received were meant to help other people and some of them were personal, but it’s incredibly humbling that God would choose to use me for that purpose,” Betsy said.

 

Originally, Roger and Betsy started to come to MPC before they ever knew how involved they would be one day. MPC has been key in a lot of moments since then. While on staff, she was able to accomplish a lot, but not only that, she was able to reach people in the community and make the difference that she was destined to make.

 

“This place was/is home, and it just seemed natural to be on staff here,” Betsy said.

 

Now let’s go back to her day of retirement. It was, and is, clear to see that Memorial Park has always been the place where Betsy was going to find herself. That isn’t because of location, but rather because of the people she served. It may have taken a while to get used to being a pastor, but now it’s clear that this has always been her path.

 

Jump back to the day of retirement, and it was clear to see that Memorial Park was always the place where she was going to be able to find herself. That isn’t because of location, but rather because of the people she was able to serve. It may have taken a while to get used to being a pastor, but now it’s clear that this was always her path.

 

“It took me a long time to feel like a pastor was what I supposed to be, but now being on this side, I can’t imagine being anything else,” Rumer said.