This month’s Southwest Five features our MDiv Class of 2012 alum, the Rev. Robert Pace, PhD! Robert serves as Rector at Trinity Episcopal Church in Fort Worth, Texas. He is also the recipient of this year’s Hal Brook Perry Outstanding Alumni Award and will be honored at the Blandy Lecture and Alumni Convocation on November 19th at Southwest.
We’re delighted to hear from Robert about his time at Southwest, his life and ministry since graduation, and the questions, ideas, and sources of hope that are capturing his attention these days.
When you think back on your time at Southwest, what is one moment, person, or place that comes immediately to mind, and why has it stayed with you?
Having come to SSW from a life in academia (twenty years as a History professor), I had also spent a lot of time in formal and informal studying of scripture. I told my SSW academic advisor that first year, “I want to take only the minimal number of Bible classes I can get away with, and focus more on other aspects of the curriculum.” He nodded, and said, “We’ll see.” That first semester, I took Bible classes from Dr. Steve Bishop and the Rev. Dr. Cynthia Kittredge. Before the semester was over, I went back to my advisor and said, “actually, I want to take the MAXIMUM number of Bible classes that I can.” And I did. Learning how to blend the academic with the imaginative and pastoral intention of the Holy Scriptures is a bedrock of my ministry of preaching and teaching. I am forever grateful… (And, I’ll name that the theology, liturgy, history, and practical ministry classes were all pretty awesome too!)
What did Southwest teach you that you did not fully understand until you were out in the world doing the work?
One lesson that has really played out in my ministry is quite practical. During my time at SSW, we changed the pattern of worship in Christ Chapel between my Junior and Middler years. I also became a sacristan my Middler year, so I had a part in rolling out the new pattern. Basically, we went from one chapel a day during the week to three a day. Over the next two years, we had to make a variety of adjustments to specific aspects of this plan (logistics and scheduling and design, etc.). It was a lot of work, but it became “our” way of worship. That lesson has played out in every setting I have been in as an ordained priest. Making changes to “how we have always done it” is inevitable in this vocation. But being intentional and faithful to the mission of the Gospel means that you engage in that practice from time to time. SSW really set me up well to lead through change.
Where has your vocation taken you since graduation, and what is energizing or challenging you most in your life and ministry right now?
Since graduating SSW, I have served churches in Amarillo and in Fort Worth, where I am currently Rector of Trinity Episopal Church. I am energized by many aspects of this vocation. But I have come to realize that I gain the most energy from walking alongside others as they discern God’s call in their lives. I love to teach and preach. And I love to listen deeply to the stories of others as they search for God’s direction. Part of this has manifested in a great joy in helping the process of discernment and formation for ordination in the church. I have worked extensively with SSW’s Iona Collaborative, serving as dean and instructor at the Diocese of Northwest Texas School of Ordained Ministry. Now, in the Diocese of Texas, I enjoy teaching a couple of months a year at the Iona School for Ministry. Over my time as a priest, I have served on the Commission on Ministry in three different dioceses. I also love to have field parish interns from Iona or from seminaries, helping them to find their way of leadership in the church.
How are you different because of your time at Southwest? Was there a particular experience that changed the way you understand yourself, your faith, or your calling?
One of the most important lessons is that I can only do the work of the church if I am not isolated. The experience that made this clear to me was the creation of a clergy support group from among my SSW classmates. I have always been collegial and outgoing. But I spent a lot of my previous academic life seeing the work I did as a solo endeavor (teaching, researching, writing, etc.). But in my Middler year at SSW, I was part of a group of five MDiv students (the other four were James Pevehouse, John Soard, Sean Steele, and Mitch Tollett). We met once a week in the Black Room of the Library to give each other support, pray for each other, and be present for each other. Upon graduation and ordination, we have kept the same pattern, meeting once a week on Zoom (and having an annual retreat together as well). Through nearly 15 years of ordained ministry, this group has supported each other through life and ministry difficulties, and celebrated each other in successes and dreams. Having that connection and support is vital to me in this ministry.
What is capturing your attention these days, whether a question you are wrestling with, something you are reading or listening to, or a source of hope you keep returning to?
A lot of my reading and listening these days focuses on how we remain faithful to the unifying message of the Gospel in the midst of these incredibly divisive times. My reading along these lines is quite varied. This year I have particularly enjoyed and learned from: Rowan Williams, Why Study the Past; John Fugelsang, Separation of Church and Hate; Stephen B. Oates, Let the Trumpet Sound: A Life of Martin Luther King Jr.; Martin Luther King Jr., The Trumpet of Conscience;.and Randall Balmer, America’s Best Idea: The Separation of Church and State. I will also say that I have also greatly enjoyed listening to (and seeing elements of great hope and profound life observations) in Matt Dinniman’s Dungeon Crawler Carl series.
The Rev. Dr. Robert F. Pace is a native Texan, who has been the Rector at Trinity Episcopal Church since December 2019. In many ways, coming to Fort Worth was a “return home,” because Robert earned a Ph.D. in History from Texas Christian University, which sits directly across the street from Trinity. Once he left Fort Worth the first time, Robert first enjoyed a career in academia as a historian, professor, and non-profit officer, working with students at universities in Virginia and Texas. After twenty years in academia, he went to the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin. He then served as Associate Rector and Rector at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Amarillo, Texas, before being called as the Rector of Trinity. Robert loves preaching and teaching, but he particularly enjoys working with groups and individuals in the church to help them discern the different ways God is working in their lives. He is married to the Rev. Dr. Jill Walters, whom he met and married in college. She is also an Episcopal priest—the Senior Chaplain All Saints’ Episcopal School in Fort Worth. They have one grown daughter, Catherine.