Alumni Stories: Rev. Heather Rodriguez ’91

We celebrate alumni stories to hear each others’ journeys since high school and to be inspired  through lives of service, professional contributions, embodiment of the love of Jesus, and community engagement. Nominations are accepted in the spring of each year and reviewed by the selection committee of the EMS Alumni Board. The EMS learning community and alumni celebrate the stories over fall Homecoming. Learn more. 

Abigail Cook, Communications Specialist recently sat down with Rev. Heather Rodriguez ’91 for an interview in view of the celebration of her journey since high school. Look for a longer version of this article in the fall issue of TODAY magazine. 

Q: Did you feel a call to ministry as a young person at EMS?

A: When I graduated my senior year, we had written predictions for each other. At our ten-year reunion, I opened mine, and many of my classmates had predicted that I would work for the church as a youth minister—that was the only role they could imagine for a woman at the time. After graduation, I didn’t know what I wanted to do and majored in elementary education. I like to joke that I’m a little hard of hearing; God was saying “preacher,” and I heard “teacher.” The system itself blocked me from hearing my call clearly, but my classmates saw it in me and named it, which was part of my eventual affirmation to become a pastor.

Q: As a student sitting in chapel and receiving theology from sixth through twelfth grade, how did that shape or challenge your faith formation?

A: Chapel both stunted and stretched my spiritual growth. It helped me know who I wanted to be and who I did not want to be. I intentionally went away to college, to Elizabethtown College, to step outside the Mennonite bubble and see what faith looked like in the larger world. Most of my college friends were Catholic, and that allowed me to discern my own call. Ultimately, I found the Methodist Church because they were ordaining women and I received affirmation from my pastor in that context.

Q: What were some of your favorite activities or communities at EMHS?

A: I loved volleyball; that’s where I found community. Overall, the school’s strength of being a small and supportive community was formative.

Q: Which teachers were mentors or trusted adults for you?

A: Art teacher Barb Gautcher and Gloria Diener come to mind. Mrs. Beachy pushed me academically, she had high standards and made me a better writer, a skill I use every week.  It’s interesting that the women teachers were the ones who stood out most to me as mentors.

Q: What was difficult about your time at EMHS?

A: While I am grateful for the education, spiritual support and community I gained through EMS, I continue to reckon with the lack of socio-economic, differently-abled and racial diversity in my high school experience. It was a privilege to attend, a privilege I hope EMS works to extend to all of God’s Children.

Q: What does being “Mennonite” mean to you, then and now?

A: EMHS gave me space to define what being Mennonite meant—especially in contrast to the conservative theological stance of my grandparents. After college, I even did a year with the Mennonite Board of Missions in Barcelona. Over time, I have embraced a blended identity; I used to joke that I’m a “Methodist Mennonite,” or “Methonite.” My peacemaking and justice work comes from my Mennonite roots.

Q: Can you describe your journey into ministry after EMHS?

A: Post-EMHS, I explored who I was outside the Mennonite community. I graduated from college, spent a year in missions in Spain, and met my husband. We found the Methodist Church because it met us theologically in the middle, and the senior pastor there, Rev. Richard Stone, was the one who named my call to ministry when I was about 29. I entered Duke Divinity School with a three-year-old, graduated at 35, and eventually became the lead pastor at Duke Memorial in 2012—the second female lead pastor in its 135-year history.

Q: How did your experiences shape your work in justice and peacemaking?

A: In Raleigh, I began ministry with the unsheltered, forming a close relationship with a man named Dana. His voice shaped my ministry profoundly. Later, at Duke Memorial, I led a multi-year discernment process toward LGBTQ+ inclusion, culminating in officiating the church’s first gay wedding in 2020. As Jesus shows us, justice work involves comes at a cost – which meant the loss of income and members, even as it also meant safer space for a more diverse body of Christ.

Q: How do you navigate the tension between being pastor and prophet?

A: I learned that if you are too prophetic, you risk losing your pulpit. Discernment is about listening—to God, to your community, and to those on the margins. As I navigate when to step on the gas and when to apply the brakes. It is an ongoing process of Holy Spirit listening and holding tension.

Q: What does the horizon look like for you now?

A: I’m beginning again at a church in Raleigh so will need to spend time leading through listening versus taking action. I’m also learning how to live life as a single,  divorced, empty-nest pastor in midlife.

Q: Our vision statement is “Eastern Mennonite School aspires to embody the love of Jesus as a learning community where every student belongs, thrives, and joins God’s work in the world.” Where have you found belonging, thriving, and the ability to live God’s work?

A: I find belonging with people across the spectrum—in the church, on its edges, and outside it. Thriving comes in creating braver spaces for authentic spiritual conversation, even as I continue to deconstruct and reconstruct my own theology. I believe God’s call for me now is to hold space for mystery and grace.

Q: What words of hope or wisdom do you have for EMS today?

A: My hope is that EMS continues to create spaces of belonging where questions are welcomed, not just answers given. There is a deep gift in allowing students to encounter the mystery of God and become who God has called them, a gift only possible in safer, braver spaces.

Thank you, Heather!

We look forward to hosting her this fall during Homecoming!

Register now for Homecoming 2026: October 16 and 17.