Jan Kline thinks her late husband, the Rev. Ken Kline, is smiling broadly in heaven this month. Their daughter the Rev. Julie Kline now serves as the first female senior pastor at Kalamazoo First United Methodist Church. And their granddaughter Audra Hudson (G-ETS 2019) became the first female director at the Central Michigan University Wesley Foundation since the organization’s founding female chaplain some 100 years ago.
In his career, Ken served as a local pastor; campus chaplain at Ferris State, Central Michigan, and Western Michigan universities; and chaplain at Clark Retirement Community in Grand Rapids. He died in 1989 before Audra was born.
“My aunt has been a wonderful mentor and friend to help me discern my call,” Hudson said. “So many other members of the family also are encouraging and rooting for me. But it has been so special to have a family member who has been there, who is a woman in ministry, and can be honest about the challenges and the joys of ministry.”
Both Julie and Audra continue to gain inspiration from Ken, who they each describe as a visionary.
Hudson agrees. “I’m carrying on a tradition,” she said. “(My grandfather’s) ministry was focused on justice and creating spaces for students to organize in the civil rights movement. He even received some discipline from folks who didn’t support him.”
Another Methodist root both women acknowledge as a significant contributor to their faith formation is involvement in the United Methodist Church’s Global Mission Fellows program. Commonly referred to as the US-2 program, the General Board of Global Ministries places young adults ages 20-30 for two years in new contexts for mission experience and service. The program has a strong emphasis on faith and justice.
After graduating from Kalamazoo College in 2016, Hudson headed to the far northwest as a US-2 community organizer at the Tacoma (WA) Community House.
“As a community organizer, I was speaking to so many churches – but it was breadth work and not depth work. In campus ministry, I can journey deeper with a group for an extended period of time.”
Upon the conclusion of her US-2 placement, Hudson moved to Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary as a member of the first cohort in a new degree program, master of arts in public ministry.
Garrett-Evantelical Theologtical Seminary is one of the 13 United Methodist seminaries supported by the Ministerial Education Fund apportionment of the United Methodist Church.
While reaching to new positions and creating new spaces for people in Christian settings, both women express how they have been molded by those who came before them.
Hudson also echoes her grandfather’s theme with college students. “When I say I’m called to justice ministries,” she said, “it goes beyond the family tradition and much more deeply a gospel tradition.”
Though Hudson never met her grandfather, her grandparents continue as a vital source of strength for her. Grandmother Jan just sent Audra a card reflecting that her grandfather is smiling for her new position.
“I’m living in the same parsonage where my grandfather lived when he was the pastor at CMU,” Hudson said. “I’m in this home where my mom grew up for part of her life, and my aunts and uncle grew up for part of their lives. I’m part of a legacy. There’s a spirit of my ancestors who have shaped me in my faith formation, and I’m continually reminded of that. I’m stepping into something larger than myself.”
excerpt from a story by Diane Brown, Michigan Conference Communications
One of seven apportioned giving opportunities of The United Methodist Church, the Ministerial Education Fund is at the heart of preparing people for making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. The 13 United Methodist seminaries help students to discover their calling through the challenging curriculum. The fund enables the church to increase financial support for recruiting and educating ordained and diaconal ministers and to equip annual conferences to meet increased demands. Please encourage your leaders and congregations to support the Ministerial Education Fund apportionment at 100 percent.
