LATROBE, PA – Erin Brody recalls the pastor at her church telling her that Brody would enter the ministry when she grew up.
“I was 6 years old and was only thinking about how I wanted to be a princess,” Brody said with a laugh. “I guess other people kind of saw it before I did.”
Eventually, Brody began to sense that a religious life might be her vocation. During her freshman year at Saint Vincent College, Brody attended a service at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Latrobe. The Gospel reading that Sunday was about Jesus calling the 12 disciples.
“The pastor ended it by saying that whenever God calls you to do something, you ought to go and do it,” Brody said. “I took that as my sign, like, ‘OK, I think there is something to this feeling I have about becoming a pastor.’”
A native of West Homestead, Brody is a senior double majoring in English and theology. She recently was awarded a full-tuition scholarship plus a stipend to pursue a dual master’s degree program at Princeton Theological Seminary.
This fall, Brody will begin working toward a Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts in Christian Education Formation. The opportunity to earn both degrees simultaneously is a big reason she chose Princeton Theological Seminary. Brody also was swayed by the school’s sense of Christian solidarity.
“Compared to other schools I looked at, Princeton has such a huge emphasis on community,” Brody said. “When I asked them what community life was like, they told me about church services with different denominations and so many other things that bring the student body together to help the world. What drew me is that they weren't just talking about community—they enact what they teach.”
Brody has been actively living her faith as a student at Saint Vincent. As a sophomore, she began working in a prison ministry as part of an independent study program guided by Dr. Christopher McMahon, a professor of theology in the School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.
Twice a month during that academic year, Brody ministered to the inmates at the State Correctional Institution – Laurel Highlands, a minimum-security facility in Somerset Township. She initially was hesitant—and a little intimidated—but never considered backing out.
“When I started, people told me I was crazy for doing it,” Brody said. “That only made me more set on doing it. As time went on, it kind of became normal for me to go there.”
Brody still occasionally visits the prison, but most of her time now is spent finishing her studies and projects before graduating from Saint Vincent. She knows the next step is Princeton Theological Seminary and after that the future is wide open. Getting a doctorate to teach theology at the college level is a tempting possibility, but she is considering going straight from the seminary into ministry.
“I have the next four years to see which [path] is better for me,” Brody said. “Or maybe it’s something else. You never you know—doors open all the time.”
Erin Brody
