Sonia Hinds (1992-1993): The Circle Widens

My story of General Theological Seminary is inextricably linked with a wonderful and wise woman named Margaret Guenther and her visit to Barbados in the late 1980s. She arrived at Codrington College, the oldest theological seminary, with her peers – the late Professor Robert Hood and Professor Deirdre Good – and ten seminarians.  I was considered a theological student rather than a seminarian as I believed that God had called me to be a priest.  As a result of that belief, I began full time studies in the BA programme while employed full time as a social worker at a correctional institution for teenage girls. As the Church in the Province in the West Indies had not yet voted for women to be admitted to the Holy Orders, it turned out that the visit of Professor Margaret Guenther and the entourage of The General Theological Seminary was the opening of a new and exciting phase on my journey to being a priest in the Anglican Church.

One moment that stood out for me during the visit was a meeting between the two student bodies.  Students and staff were asked to sit in a circle. Then I heard a voice.  I believed that it was the voice of Margaret Guenther’s. It   called me to come into the circle.  Apparently, I was sitting just outside the circular gathering.  Later as I reflected on that moment, I cannot recall what was discussed at the meeting but that call from Margaret Guenther to join in the circle was significant. Not even aware that I was sitting outside and apart from the students, my location tells the story of how I was experiencing Codrington College at the time – I was an insider/ outside.  Not treated as one of the seminarians who were all living in residence, I was a student of Theology in a male dominated culture that included both the seminary and the Anglican Church.  I believe that the invitation to ‘come into the circle’ was a call from the Holy Spirit through Margaret that placed me more firmly to continue an often challenging journey at College that culminated on May 31, 1996.

Another important moment during the visit by General Theological Seminary to Codrington College was the invitation of Margaret Guenther to be part of a programme called Summers at General.  As my relatives lived in New York and I loved travelling there, I thought this was a great opportunity to visit them and study in Manhattan for three weeks.  Therefore, I accepted this second invitation from Professor Margaret Guenther and began another phase of the journey.  I attended two semesters during the summer and then took a leap of faith and resigned from my position in the Barbados Government service and travelled to New York to be a full time student and to complete the Masters in Sacred Theology with a Certificate in Christian Spirituality. I am extremely proud to be a graduate of that programme.  Indeed, my thesis The Spiritual Care of the Sexually Abused Young Woman in the Caribbean continues to inform my spiritual journey as I am an advocate, counsellor and activist for women and girls who are survivors of gender-based violence.  I have founded the charity The Women at the Well Centre with the support of friends, and we are in the process of registering this non-profit organisation.

I have also made some valuable friends from being part of the programme and are in contact with some of them.  I thank God for all those at General Theological Seminary who made this possible.  Along with Professor Guenther, Professor Good, Dean James Fenhagen and his wife, Jane Fenhagan. 

As a result of being a student at GTS, I became an Episcopalian and joined the congregation of St. Ambrose in Manhattan. In that parish family, I was warmly welcomed and my leadership gifts in the Church were affirmed. In addition, I was an intern at the Church Centre in the Women and Ministry while at General and was part of the planning team for the Anglican Encounter which was held in Brazil.  In the Episcopal Church, I met more gifted women and men of God who encouraged me on what would have been a very lonely and difficult journey.   My ordination created history and the journey was made less challenging because of the intervention of Margaret Guenther and The General Theological Seminary

Since General and since ordination, I served and studied in the Diocese of Toronto and the Diocese of the Windward Islands but returned to my home Diocese – Barbados – in 2018 where I am now sharing in the Diocesan leadership team as Rural Dean in my home Diocese of Barbados.  The circle widens as more women are ordained across the eight Dioceses that make up the Church in the Province of the West Indies.