09 autumn reporter 1-20 - Franklin College

Minister leads parishioners in
knocking down walls, social barriers
By Samantha Parker ’11
Pulliam Fellow
A weeklong community service project
recently helped repair homes and
relationships in one small Hoosier town.
For the Rev. Rebecca Horstman May ’81
it was a truly moving experience.
“It felt incredible,” said Horstman May.
“Truthfully, I am a preacher without words
when it comes to this. People cared. They
cared enough to give their money and give
their time. That made a huge impact on
the community and on our church family.”
Situated in Elizaville, Ind., a small
pinpoint in the center of the state, EBC
has a congregation of 30 — on a good
Sunday.
“As a church, Elizaville Baptist has a
small membership and a huge heart,”
Horstman May said.
Members of the EBC congregation
extended their hearts and helping hands
this past July to collaborate with Faith,
Hope & Love, an organization that seeks
to break down walls of separation between
churches, races, social classes, government
leaders and educators to unite people.
Throughout the week, FHL volunteers,
the EBC congregation and various
members of 16 other church congregations
worked at five different sites in Elizaville
to restore homes. Community members
donated thousands of hours of work to
the project.
“Every member of Elizaville Baptist
contributed in some way to Faith Hope &
Love Week, and we could not have done it
otherwise,” said Horstman May.
As the community worked together
to make physical reparations to Elizaville,
the community also went through a less
tangible makeover.
“We didn’t just knock down old buildings,”
said Horstman May. “We knocked
down walls that separated people.”
“Before Elizaville’s transformation, it
was a rural community where people had
grown distant and no longer knew their
neighbors. As time had passed it had
become run down,” said Horstman May.
“Now it’s a different place.”
Horstman May never took a Franklin
College class on how to unite a community.
She didn’t take notes on how to initiate
neighborhood-wide change. But, the
college provided her with a foundation
for the faith, leadership and passion that
she has since made a lifelong practice.
During college, Horstman May was
involved in Zeta Tau Alpha, FC Singers,
Campus Christian Fellowship and Kites,
a former women’s ensemble. After
graduating with a degree in psychology
and sociology, Horstman May faced an
economic climate much like today’s —
finding a job in her career field was tough.
So, she worked as a substitute teacher for
a semester while continuing to look for
other work. In December 1981, she
married and moved to Bloomington, Ind.
In the spring of 1985, as her husband
neared graduation from the Indiana
University School of Music, Horstman May
began thinking seriously about seminary,
something she’d hoped to do someday
after graduating from Franklin College.
Then, one day while she was at work,
a familiar Franklin College friend, trying
to find his own way, bumped into
Horstman May.
“At work one day a man came up to
the desk to ask for directions and it was
[Franklin College professor of religion]
David Carlson,” said Horstman May.
Carlson had served as a mentor for
Horstman May during her college years
and had officiated at her wedding.
“After spending a few minutes catching
up on what was going on in our lives,
David asked why I wasn’t considering
Christian Theological Seminary in
Indianapolis,” recalled Horstman May.
“I started at CTS in January and lasted
about one year before I was persuaded to
change my degree to a master of divinity.”
The Rev. Rebecca Horstman May ’81 leads
worship at Elizaville Baptist Church.
Horstman May finished seminary in
1991 and was ordained at Indianapolis
First Baptist Church in 1992. In December
1994, she accepted the call to EBC. While
at the church, she has served as president
of the region board of American Baptist
Churches IN/KY and has served on the
ABC National Ministers Counsel.
Horstman May pushed for her niece
Kara Edens-Magner ’11 to attend Franklin
when she was considering her college
options. Edens-Magner followed her
advice, along with the advice of her cousin
Susannah (Bridges) Hallgarth ’01.
“My relatives who are alums of Franklin
College definitely had an impact on my
decision to attend,” said Edens-Magner, a
religious studies major. “After I made the
decision to attend Franklin, they went to
the bookstore and bought me Franklin
gear for my high school graduation.”
Though family ties may have played into
her decision to come to Franklin, it is the
same caring environment that Horstman
May experienced that tells Edens-Magner
she made the right choice.
“Franklin’s outstanding faculty and
staff have supported my faith as well as
encouraged me to continually question
commonly accepted assumptions about
life and beliefs,” said Edens-Magner.
“Franklin has prepared me for a life
of faith and service by educating me and
equipping me with life skills to deal with
social injustices.”
WWW.FRANKLINCOLLEGE.EDU AUTUMN 2009 57