Profiles of Roothbert: Reverend Margret Marie Powell
“Do you prefer if I address you by your first name? Margret?”
“Margret Marie. I’m 76 years old, and I’m not cutting half of myself out anymore.”
“When I became a fellow,” began Margret Marie, “I was a student at Union Seminary after denying a call from God for almost 30 years.” Before enrolling at Union Seminary, Margret Marie had been working as a registered nurse. Following her mother’s miraculous recovery from terminal pneumonia, Margret Marie decided to pursue a career in medicine. “As an RN, I was pursuing psychiatric nursing and seriously considering med school,” shared Margret Marie.
Unfortunately, while on duty, a patient physically assaulted Margret Marie. “I was in the hospital with six dislocated disks in my back and my spinal cord. I was unconscious for two days.” While in recovery, Margret Marie remembered a promise she had made to God while her mother was, according to her doctor, on the verge of death. At the age of 5, Margret Marie had promised that, if God kept her mother alive, Margret Marie would serve Him for the rest of her days. “My husband came to see me in the hospital. We had lunch, and I told him that I would be preaching the gospel. I got a call from God, and I can’t ignore it anymore.”
The transition was not difficult. “As an RN, I found myself discreetly praying for patients, other nurses, and doctors. It got to the point where, even though I was discreet, others would ask me to pray for them. This call from God has never been absent from me. It’s always been a part of me.”
Margret Marie assisted a pastor at her local church for three years before deciding to go to seminary. The pastor insisted that Margret Marie enroll in seminary to further realize her leadership potential. With the support of her husband, Margret Marie thrived at Union Theological Seminary. “I graduated at the top of my class with honors,” Margret Marie shared proudly. “First of all, I did not expect to receive any honors. They never told me prior to graduation. The president took the microphone and called my name during the ceremony, and I thought I was in trouble!”
Despite having always been an excellent student, Margret Marie remembers herself often overlooked or underestimated by her educators during her youth. “In kindergarten, I would cry because I got a 100, and the teacher never put my work on the board. She only put the white kids’ work on the board.” High academic performance did not result in high expectations. “At my career exit interview in junior high, I was asked what my career goals were. I said I’m going to be a writer. The counselor looked at me with a somber face and said ‘There’s no career in writing for colored girls.’”
In 2016, having retired serving as lead pastor, Margret Marie has since written two books. “I’m currently outlining my third and fourth book,” beamed Margret Marie. The term “retired,” however, may have a different definition for Margret Marie. “Two months ago, I started watch.org LLC. My own business is about holistic practical ministry. This means that I am the temple of God where I need to be. I believe many denominations and scripts of Christianity have focused so much on the spirit that they forget that there are two other parts of us, our mind and our body. All three. Why do we talk about God as a holy trinity, but we forget to apply this concept to ourselves?”
“Next month, I’m doing my life story as a dinner theater,” announced Margret Marie. Again, with a loose interpretation of “retired,” Margret Marie’s passions and projects continue to grow. “I want people to hear my story and later tell their own stories. I have issues with people who omit or minimize the stories of people of color. I intend to help persons of color, especially those aged fifty and older, tell and write their stories. I have issues with people who do not write their own story to get at the truth. Tell your own story.”
Writing, nursing, pastoring, performing, managing a business, and entertaining the possibility of opening a soupery, Margret Marie welcomes a sense of dynamism into her life few others are willing to pursue. Margret Marie embraces the power of introspection, holistic practical ministry, and sharing her story with others.
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