Jason Leighton
I finished my time at Wesley on a Tuesday morning at 2:30 a.m. as I pulled out of the gravel parking in my 99’ Nissan Frontier, loaded down with all I owned bound for seminary in Ohio. I remember because it took 15 hours to get there with my truck topping out at 45 in the mountains, but she made it, and the ride was worth it. My experience at The Methodist Theological School in Ohio was one of the craziest, most confusing, and enlightening seasons of my life. On the first day of orientation, the Dean told us, “you can kiss your second grade Jesus, goodbye,” and I’ve never looked back.
It’s hard to explain what seminary does to you, but during my time there, I met people and formed relationships that are as close as they ever were at Wesley. MTSO helped to further ground my faith and sharpen my convictions. It challenged me to not only see God’s presence in myself but also and especially in light of others. I interned at Summit on 16th, an inner-city Methodist church, and a reconciling one at that, reconciling meaning the congregation intentionally seeks out and works to restore relationships with the marginalized, particularly the LGBTQIA+ community. Being located in the center of Columbus, the church was also heavily grounded in social justice work partnering with organizations like the Peoples Justice Project. I ate up every opportunity to learn something new and to push myself out of my comfort zone. One way I did this was by serving as a chaplain in a Clinical Pastoral Education program at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, which helped to further and humble such goals.
When I finished seminary in 2016, I returned to North Carolina in record time by comparison to the start of my journey to serve as the pastor at Cherry Point UMC, in Havelock, NC. Cherry Point, being a church inside of a military community, the setting felt a lot like home. As I found my pastoral footing, I helped to strengthen their youth program, build partnerships with an AME Zion church and Camp Don Lee. I don’t know that I could fully articulate the depth of the lessons I learned in my first appointment, some by grace, many through the shortcomings of stubbornness. Though one of the best things to come out of those lessons is my sidekick Hobbes who’s a rescue lab mix that came to me from Tennessee by way of Pittsburgh, PA. He’s three now and full of energy though, I may complain from time to time on social media about his antics; Hobbes has been a good friend.
In 2019 I was appointed to Calvary Memorial UMC in Snow Hill, where I am currently serving and loving life. This year I was approved for commissioning, which has brought me into the last phase of the ordination process, one that is too long and convoluted to cover here, but I am excited to be nearing the end of this season. I can see the light! In the free time that I have when I’m not at church or working on ordination, I enjoy rucking (long walks with a weighted backpack) with friends. I’ve become part of a men’s group called F3, which uses fitness, fellowship, and faith to develop male community leadership. They’re the guys that got me into rucking and helped me to find connections outside of the church. I’ve also found a solid sense of community among some young clergy in my area, Tyler, a fellow Wesley alum being one of them.
Wesley and everyone I knew there was such a blessing to me in my college years and in the seasons that followed. I continue to look for ways to give back and help others to grow in their faith, as Wesley helped me. Since 2017 I have been serving on the Wesley Board of Directors, helping to guide the ministry that had such an immense impact on my own development. It’s not the Wesley I grew to know and love, but it is, I think, the Wesley so many of our current students need. I continue to be excited to see the different ways our students have responded to a ministry and community that has meant so much to me. I’ve enjoyed seeing their journey as I’m sure Scott and the previous board did ours. I look forward to continuing my journey with Wesley and what life holds for me as a whole. Friends, wherever you are, whatever you are doing these days, I hope that God’s grace is abundant in your life and know that I miss you.
I finished my time at Wesley on a Tuesday morning at 2:30 a.m. as I pulled out of the gravel parking in my 99’ Nissan Frontier, loaded down with all I owned bound for seminary in Ohio. I remember because it took 15 hours to get there with my truck topping out at 45 in the mountains, but she made it, and the ride was worth it. My experience at The Methodist Theological School in Ohio was one of the craziest, most confusing, and enlightening seasons of my life. On the first day of orientation, the Dean told us, “you can kiss your second grade Jesus, goodbye,” and I’ve never looked back.
It’s hard to explain what seminary does to you, but during my time there, I met people and formed relationships that are as close as they ever were at Wesley. MTSO helped to further ground my faith and sharpen my convictions. It challenged me to not only see God’s presence in myself but also and especially in light of others. I interned at Summit on 16th, an inner-city Methodist church, and a reconciling one at that, reconciling meaning the congregation intentionally seeks out and works to restore relationships with the marginalized, particularly the LGBTQIA+ community. Being located in the center of Columbus, the church was also heavily grounded in social justice work partnering with organizations like the Peoples Justice Project. I ate up every opportunity to learn something new and to push myself out of my comfort zone. One way I did this was by serving as a chaplain in a Clinical Pastoral Education program at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, which helped to further and humble such goals.
When I finished seminary in 2016, I returned to North Carolina in record time by comparison to the start of my journey to serve as the pastor at Cherry Point UMC, in Havelock, NC. Cherry Point, being a church inside of a military community, the setting felt a lot like home. As I found my pastoral footing, I helped to strengthen their youth program, build partnerships with an AME Zion church and Camp Don Lee. I don’t know that I could fully articulate the depth of the lessons I learned in my first appointment, some by grace, many through the shortcomings of stubbornness. Though one of the best things to come out of those lessons is my sidekick Hobbes who’s a rescue lab mix that came to me from Tennessee by way of Pittsburgh, PA. He’s three now and full of energy though, I may complain from time to time on social media about his antics; Hobbes has been a good friend.
In 2019 I was appointed to Calvary Memorial UMC in Snow Hill, where I am currently serving and loving life. This year I was approved for commissioning, which has brought me into the last phase of the ordination process, one that is too long and convoluted to cover here, but I am excited to be nearing the end of this season. I can see the light! In the free time that I have when I’m not at church or working on ordination, I enjoy rucking (long walks with a weighted backpack) with friends. I’ve become part of a men’s group called F3, which uses fitness, fellowship, and faith to develop male community leadership. They’re the guys that got me into rucking and helped me to find connections outside of the church. I’ve also found a solid sense of community among some young clergy in my area, Tyler, a fellow Wesley alum being one of them.
Wesley and everyone I knew there was such a blessing to me in my college years and in the seasons that followed. I continue to look for ways to give back and help others to grow in their faith, as Wesley helped me. Since 2017 I have been serving on the Wesley Board of Directors, helping to guide the ministry that had such an immense impact on my own development. It’s not the Wesley I grew to know and love, but it is, I think, the Wesley so many of our current students need. I continue to be excited to see the different ways our students have responded to a ministry and community that has meant so much to me. I’ve enjoyed seeing their journey as I’m sure Scott and the previous board did ours. I look forward to continuing my journey with Wesley and what life holds for me as a whole. Friends, wherever you are, whatever you are doing these days, I hope that God’s grace is abundant in your life and know that I miss you.
