Westminster Foundation celebrates Shelly Barrick Parsons’ 15th year of ministry

Westminster Foundation of WV celebrates Rev. Dr. Shelly Barrick Parsons in her 15^th year of ministry. Shelly and her husband, Chet, came to Morgantown from Richmond, VA in August 2003.  Shelly was ordained that month in the Presbytery of New Hope and started her call at West Virginia University as Presbyterian Campus Pastor on Sept. 1, 2003. 

In her first years as campus pastor, she continued her doctoral work. The journey for The Reverend Dr. Shelly Barrick Parsons began with a call to the Westminster Foundation of West Virginia at WVU, a Ph.D. from Union Presbyterian Seminary, and 15 years of service to the ministry of Jesus Christ.  Shelly is a lecturer in WVU’s Department of Religious Studies, the Executive Director of the Harless Center, and Director of WVU Campus Ministry; she also serves on Presbytery of West Virginia committees and preaches and teaches in area churches.  

Shelly’s primary call is to the Presbyterian campus ministry at WVU. She leads the Presbyterian Student Fellowship (a PCUSA Ukirk ministry).  WVUKirk-PSF meets for dinner, a program, and worship every Wednesday night at the Campus Ministry Center. Students work on projects, including an art installation at the First Presbyterian Church in Morgantown, that reflect their faith and understanding. She has them participating in church services and pancake breakfasts; they volunteer for Habitat for Humanity and go on spring break mission trips.

It was Shelly’s vision that created the Harless Center as a space for WVU students to form a community not often found in off-campus housing. The Harless Center, attached to Central Place apartments, seeks to feed residents minds, bodies, and spirits through programming grounded in the radical hospitality of Jesus. The Harless Center provides Faith and Life speakers, free Sunday dinner, and activities for WVU students and the community at large. Through her work, the Presbyterian Campus Ministry and Harless Center are recipients of grants from the Lilly Endowment specifically for the theological exploration of vocation. These grants have enabled the ministries to have internships, retreats, coaching, and in-depth reflection on the importance of faith in shaping one’s life.

When the Westminster Foundation called Shelly, they considered a connection to campus through teaching critical to a ministry with the campus. Teaching online classes through religious studies, Rev. Barrick Parsons specializes in Reformed and Feminist Theology, Hermeneutics, and Christian Scriptures. 

After 14 years, Shelly took a five-month sabbatical – visiting campus ministries in the Carolinas and Tennessee, studying, attending conferences, taking long solitary hikes, and listening to many podcasts. She capped off the sabbatical with a family pilgrimage on the Camino Portuguese from Valenca, Portugal to Santiago de Compostela, Spain – a trip their pedometers read as about 100 miles. Recharged, Rev. Barrick Parsons has returned to campus ministry with new ideas and new enthusiasm.

On numerous occasions, Shelly preaches at local and not so local churches. On August 12, she spoke at First Presbyterian Church in Charleston on College and Young Adult Sunday. The next week, during her annual “beginning of the semester” sermon at First Presbyterian Church in Morgantown, Westminster Foundation of WV board president Steve Hopta surprised Shelly with a testimonial and a Blenko vase in honor of her 15 years of service. The church sponsored a reception for her afterward.

Congratulations Reverend Dr. Shelly Barrick Parsons! May you walk with the Westminster Foundation for another 15 years!