VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 5/9/17)—The Rev. Dr. Marilyn P. Turner-Triplett, founding director of American Baptist Home Mission Societies’ (ABHMS) Rizpah’s Children initiative, has received an honorary doctorate of divinity degree from Alderson Broaddus University, Philippi, W.Va.
The honor was bestowed Saturday at the university’s 146th Commencement, for which Turner-Triplett provided the keynote address.
“I want to talk about being still so that—before you head off to the places in life where you must go—you’ve taken time to tap into the power that is resident in each and every one of you,” she told the graduates. “It is easily dismissed in busyness … unless you know how to listen with your spirit, you run the risk of never experiencing yourself with the sense of joy and satisfaction the Creator experiences with each glimpse of you.”
As former associate executive director of Missional Life and Leadership, Turner-Triplett provided leadership for ABHMS’ missional ministries, including discipleship, community and congregational transformation, intercultural strategies, caring and prophetic justice ministries, efforts associated with Children in Poverty, and youth leadership development.
She is an associate minister at Bethlehem Baptist Church, Springhouse, Pa., where she previously served as executive minister.
Taking its name from Turner-Triplett’s sermon regarding the Bible’s Rizpah (2 Samuel 21:1-10), ABHMS’ Rizpah’s Children initiative seeks to create a network that advocates for and addresses the needs of children affected by poverty.
American Baptist Home Mission Societies partners with American Baptists to promote Christian faith, cultivate Christ-centered leaders and disciples, and bring healing and transformation to communities across the United States and Puerto Rico.
American Baptist Churches USA is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with approximately 5,000 congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.