Latest / Called to Serve / Debbie Simmonds

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Debbie Simmonds · Called to Serve

• 0:01
  Hello and welcome. This is called To Serve, a
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  podcast where we share stories from women who have been
• 0:07
  ordained by the Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada.
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  We have spoken with almost 100 pastors, chaplains,
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  missionaries, and community leaders as we learn what it's
• 0:17
  like to be a woman in ministry. If you haven't heard yet, Called
• 0:21
  to Serve, the book is coming out later this year.
• 0:23
  Our book will feature stories from 14 ordained women in
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  ministry, along with some introductory material, an
• 0:29
  appendix, and a foreword written by the current CBAC Executive
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  Minister, Renee Mcvicker. If you'd like to win a free
• 0:37
  copy, e-mail Called to Serve at acadiau.ca by March 31st with
• 0:42
  the subject line free book. That e-mail address is also in
• 0:46
  our episode description. Everyone who emails in will
• 0:49
  receive notification when the book comes out and be entered
• 0:52
  into that draw. So please share this draw with
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  anyone in your circles who would be encouraged and challenged by
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  these stories of women in ministry.
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  Today, you'll be hearing from Debbie Simmons.
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  Debbie was ordained in 2021 at East Preston United Baptist
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  Church in Nova Scotia where she served in many capacities for
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  over 40 years. She works today as the Food Hub
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  Coordinator for the Preston Area Food Network and has a passion
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  for outreach ministry. Debbie shares her powerful
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  experience of connecting with God while she was in hospital
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  and describes the ongoing work she does in the community where
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  she is known as Reverend Debbie. My name is Debbie Audrey
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  Simmons. I was born in Halifax.
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  I grew up in a predominantly black community called E
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  Preston, where the local Baptist Church was the heart of the
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  community. I attended Partridge River
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  School and it was very much connected to the East Preston
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  United Baptist Church. So we prayed, we learned
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  scriptures, we sang hymns such as Sunbeam, This Little light of
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  mine running over. My parents were both Christian,
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  however my father was of the Baptist persuasion and my mother
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  was of the Anglican persuasion. So there was rosary beads and
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  always the Lord's Supper hanging up or a cross of some sort.
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  My mother was very knowledgeable with the Bible and would tell us
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  many stories of the Bible when we were growing up.
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  She told us that there was only one God and and taught us the
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  importance of prayer. I must have as a child had the
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  longest prayer ever because I tried to include every sibling.
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  There was 13 of us in that prayer.
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  My mom also taught us to put our trust in God, but she avoided
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  going to the Baptist Church. Sometimes we'd hold our own
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  little church services at our host.
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  My dad was strict about some things.
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  As children, we weren't allowed to sing or play secular songs on
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  Sundays. I like going to church with my
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  dad. I remember the church being full
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  packed with people. Back in those days, women were
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  required to wear a hat. So no hat, no going to church.
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  When I was around 13 or 14 years old, I was at a church service
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  with one of my friends. And the pastor at the time,
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  Reverend Doctor Donald Skier, did an altar call.
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  And my heart jumped because, you know, he was talking about hell
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  and death. And if you don't, you know, give
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  your life over to Jesus and you're going to hell.
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  That made me, you know, think, OK, so he did the altar call.
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  I went up to the altar and I stood there with the others who
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  had also come to the front, but no one came to us.
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  I believe the pastor prayed over us and then we went back to our
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  seats. I didn't know what I should do
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  with that. When the service was over, I
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  went home not knowing the next steps.
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  This happened two more times when I would go out to the altar
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  after an altar call and then after that go back home again.
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  But then after a while I started to get more involved in the
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  world as I became more into my teen years and what the world
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  had to offer I felt was more enticing than just going back
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  and forth to church and not really getting too much out of
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  it. So I avoided church and like my
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  mom, I used the excuse of no hat, no hat, not going because I
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  have no hat. And there is a group called the
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  Baptist Youth Fellowship and they were a youth that were
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  around my age. And to me they seem more like a
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  clique than anything else. And I had no interest in that.
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  I felt church had really let me down and it was very difficult
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  to be saved by God. So I just stopped trying.
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  I drifted away from the church and I was doing my own my own
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  thing for a few years for sure, but I wasn't happy.
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  I was full of fear and my life was very stressful.
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  I was taking on the world on my own shoulders opposed to giving
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  my needs to God. I was on very shaky ground and
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  even though I managed to get a part time job at a local
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  hospital after I had graduated, I was wound tight and I could
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  never share my heartache with anyone.
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  A former nun took me under her wing.
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  Her name was Elizabeth. She she worked at the hospital.
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  I was 18 at the time and she was in her early 30s.
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  She was much older than I, but she took a real liking to me and
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  I wanted so much to confide in her.
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  One evening after we hung out together, she asked me to, you
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  know, sleep over at her place and I did.
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  And that morning on my bedside table, she left a bookmark, and
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  on it was a poem called I Said a Prayer for You Today.
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  And I still have it to this day. I was 22 years old, and I was
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  promoted in my job to being a supervisor.
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  And then I was to be enrolled in school.
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  But before I was enrolled in school in the spring of 1983, I
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  ended up in the hospital with a mysterious illness and had the
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  hospital staff put a sign up for no visitors.
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  A female who later became a Deacon from the East Preston
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  church came to the hospital and she ignored the no visitor sign.
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  And you know, I'm glad she did. She came in and she prayed with
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  me. And after that Lady left, I call
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  my parents, informing them that I had decided to ask Jesus to
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  forgive my sins. My life was a mess and I needed
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  Jesus, so I found myself in a dream, alone in a dream and I
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  was weak and alone and I was in a dark place.
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  It was a long hallway and then a hand reached down and took my
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  hand, leading me to the end of the hallway towards a light.
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  I knew then that Jesus had forgiven me.
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  When I opened my eyes all I could see was darkness.
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  So I prayed, my eyes were open and slowly the darkness
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  disappeared. A short time later a Christian
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  cousin arrived with a get well card with the words and
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  scripture that I I will never forget.
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  It said I could not see one step ahead.
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  I might as well be blind, I said.
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  But Faith said, walk along with me, I'll lead so you won't have
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  to see. I took Faith's hand.
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  It was no fraud, for Faith was holding the hand of God right
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  there and then I knew confirmation that I had been
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  saved. Things started to turn around.
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  Actually. I was so sick.
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  They didn't know why I had this high fever.
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  They weren't sure what was going on.
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  But after the Lord had accepted me the next day, it was almost
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  like everything came into a line.
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  The lady that had visited me the day before came back to see me
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  again to see how I was doing and they had discharged me from the
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  hospital. We went out of the hospital
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  singing hymns because someone just so happy.
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  Mind you I I was down to probably 89 lbs when I left the
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  hospital, very tiny, but I had a new vision of serving the Lord
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  and a Holy Ghost fire that could not be put out.
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  I was baptized in the fall of 1983 promising God that I would
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  serve him for the rest of my life.
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  That was the time I fell in love with the Lord, so I believe my
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  call to service happened at that same time.
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  It was the Great Commission for me to go and make disciples of
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  all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the
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  Son of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have
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  commanded you. I had the desire to become a
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  missionary and go overseas to share the good news of Jesus's
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  love and acceptance with people on the street.
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  And so I was sharing this with my sister and I was just like in
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  love with the Lord, in love with people and just seeing with new
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  eyes. So my sister and my boyfriend
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  who later proposed marriage to me instead, they told me, you
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  know, you should wait. Like, don't be going out there
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  on the street yet you're not quite your.
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  I went to a Pentecostal church with my sister because she was
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  of the Pentecost persuasion and that was fine, but I still
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  didn't feel like, OK, that's not where I should be.
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  So I went to the Baptist Church and that's where I found I was
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  most comfortable in East Preston United Baptist, my home church.
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  So I joined the prison ministry team of that church and the
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  Bible study. They had a new members class
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  that they had started up and Reverend Dr. Joyce Ross had
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  started it. I just felt like I was content
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  wherever God had me. So if I was in the nursery, I
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  did. I did the best nursery I could
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  do. If I was in Sunday School, I did
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  the best I could. Then I was promoted to a
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  Superintendent of Sunday School, did the best there.
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  I was on the sick committee, I attended Bible study and it the
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  choirs intercessory prayer. It was just such a privilege to
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  serve God in these areas and I didn't miss like I was at church
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  every Sunday. Everything that was going on.
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  I just wanted more and more of God and God's people and the
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  church really embraced me and I could feel the love.
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  At some point I was asked to become the church clerk and I
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  served as a church clerk during a very difficult time in our
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  church life, which resulted in a church split.
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  I felt the call on my life in 2010 when the supply pastor at
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  the time came to the church and he asked me to come into his
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  office and he asked me what I wanted to see happen in the
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  church. There was a lot of upset at that
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  time and the word I used was reconciliation.
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  Reconciliation and that same supply pastor and the Deacon saw
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  a call on my life to become an ordained Deacon.
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  So two years later, while serving as a Deacon, helping on
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  the sound system, the new senior pastor, a female pastor, the
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  first one that was ever at our church since the call to
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  ministry on my life. So she encouraged me to enter
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  into a minister in training program, which she had designed.
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  After two years of in host training with the pastor at the
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  time, Laquita Hopgood Porter, I received a license to preach and
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  the rest is history. I was encouraged by her to
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  enroll in school and I was taken back.
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  I was like, Oh no, like at first really, I felt that Acadia was
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  too far away. But to be honest, I was feeling
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  a bit fearful and unworthy as I had attended Community College
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  in the past but never a university.
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  So that kind of scared me. And thoughts were racing.
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  Would I be accepted? You know, can I afford it?
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  I remember the day that I made that call.
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  I was at work and I was talking to a dear Co worker of mine, my
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  friend Jan, and it was she who encouraged me to make the call.
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  So I did and I spoke to Shawna, the registrar and I call her the
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  star. She was extremely helpful to me
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  and then to the Dean of the school at the time, which was
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  Anna Robbins, and she invited me down to Acadia to meet with her.
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  And that meeting was amazing. We shared, we prayed, we cried
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  together, and all my fears were gone.
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  After that, I would enroll in the No Book Divinity program
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  just to ease in, just to try to see how I would do.
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  And as a mature student, I desire to do a ministerial
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  certificate towards ordination. That was where I felt God was
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  leading me. I enjoyed going to the classes
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  because they all started with prayer.
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  I felt right at home. Look, I was just so happy that I
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  didn't feel like I was even going to school.
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  I felt like I was going to church every day and learning
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  about the Lord and I felt like I was on a spiritual journey to
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  learn more about the lover of my soul.
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  Did my mentored ministry at First Baptist Church in
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  Dartmouth. That was for two years.
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  And I love the team ministry approach that they use.
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  I was introduced to the food bank and the work that they did.
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  I was doing outreach in my community, providing those
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  needing it with high calorie supplements.
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  My background was in food and nutrition, so people became more
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  open. I find when they're not hungry,
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  when they're not lacking something.
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  It would break my heart to see little children who also needed
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  food at that time and come to the church, to the food bank.
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  So in my last year of mentored ministry, they wanted us to
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  write a cover letter as if we're going to apply for a job.
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  And so I wrote one requesting that I'd be considered for
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  outreach ministry. So after I retired from my
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  regular job after 40 years in 2017, I joined the Street Pastor
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  ministry in Halifax with Jerry Leet.
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  We had some great experiences, Holy Spirit LED experiences.
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  We had T-shirts that said St. Pastors and we had backpacks and
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  filled with water, bus tickets and cereal bars.
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  And we would walk the streets of Halifax and Spring Garden Rd.,
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  Scotia Square, and we would greet people on the street and
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  just, you know, ask them how they were doing, if they needed
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  anything. And we developed the
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  relationship with a lot of the people that were homeless or
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  didn't have the place to stay. Gary was very well respected by
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  the mayor. And so I recall different
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  churches were invited to gather at Citadel Hill for a multi
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  denominational prayer vigil and that was amazing to witness.
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  We did ministry where we had signs and said do you need
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  prayer? So that when cars would drive by
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  they could pull over and wherever they were at in their
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  situation asked for prayer. In 2020, I went before the
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  examining board and they interviewed me and at the exit
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  interview and I met all the requirements and was recommended
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  for ordination. I was warned though, before I
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  went there that someone did not believe in women pastors on the
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  examining board. And I was thinking, well, you
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  know, he hasn't met me. I was ordained on November 7th,
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  2021. COVID restrictions still
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  existed, but they were less strict at that time.
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  But we wore masks just the same. And let me tell you, it was a
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  worship service to God. I believe the Holy Spirit was
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  present unbeknownst to my family and those who came.
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  I actually practiced with the praise team, the Alabaster Box,
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  and I did the movements to that in parts of that song.
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  And it was my act of worship and thanks to the lover of my soul.
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  And my friend Jan was there. She said very kind words about
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  my walk as well, because everyone who knew me knew I was
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  on fire for God. My children were very proud of
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  me and my church family. The pastor at the time, the
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  deacons were happy for me. They kind of just saw it as the
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  next step. I served in my home church.
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  The longest were over 40 years. I preached at the AUBA churches,
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  which I still do throughout all of Nova Scotia, and that has
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  been both refreshing and rewarding.
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  It seems as though every time when I think I'm not going to
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  get a call or fill in to preach somewhere, I do like when
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  there's a law, I'll get a call. There was a job opportunity that
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  came up as a Food Hub coordinator.
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  And so the first line read Be the Center of It All.
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  And as I read it, it sounded more and more like me because it
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  was kind of incorporating my past experience with food
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  nutrition into this. And so I applied for the job and
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  it was like starting from the ground up what we were going to
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  do with the funds that we were given.
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  And so we decided to purchase 3 little buildings, little sheds
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  and make them into food banks and place them throughout the
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  Preston Township in the three communities.
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  But more than that, we would ask the church if we could use their
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  property to put them near the church could be an extension of
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  their ministries. And they, they all said yes.
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  And so I find that that's a very satisfying job.
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  And we recruited volunteers that we have 65 volunteers between
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  the three communities that help to run it.
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  I purchased the food for it. And yeah, it's it's been
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  amazing. There was one time that I drove
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  someone home from church and they were very vocal about
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  letting me know that women should not be in ministry.
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  And there's a certain pastor on YouTube that comes on and says
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  women shouldn't be in ministry. And I just, you know, ignored
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  that because I know different. And I hope they would know too,
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  like I, I am, I am woman. And God calls women and he has
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  called, you know, the Deborah's of the world and the Rahab's and
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  everyone Mary and he'll continue to call women.
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  And so I believe that it's not him against her, it's us.
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  And this together. We need the women, we need the
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  men in ministry if we're going to get to the heart.
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  A woman's heart is different. And I find that I do a lot of my
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  ministry behind the scenes, mentoring women, encouraging
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  them and and they're confiding in me different things and we're
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  praying together. I know I never got that from my
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  male counterparts. Reverend Dr. Laquita Hopgood
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  Porter was my greatest mentor and also Reverend Tracy Gross.
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  She was also a very good mentor of mine.
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  I actually before she passed away, she had called us to her
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  home being another female pastor and Tracy being the first
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  ordained pastor under the AUBA. She gave us some of her books
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  that she had studied with. And I still have her book that
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  she used to, you know, do the funerals and do communion and
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  that kind of thing. And her name is still in it.
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  And so I, I treasure that. And she encouraged us and like
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  she was saying, I want you to, you know, you need to preach.
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  You need and I and I know I need to preach, but I'm still on that
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  one day at a time. And so I'm not rushing into, you
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  know, having a church per SE. And if God should call me, he
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  will call me. He will, He will make it known.
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  Right now I'm doing ministry in the job that I'm doing and, and
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  I think that's spilling over into the work that needs to be
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  done in order to encourage people.
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  They call me Reverend Debbie. I still pray with people.
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  I have the freedom to do that. I can still speak to their their
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  needs. So it's not about me, It's about
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  what God wants. Thank you to Debbie for sharing
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  her story with us. Remember, you can enter our draw
• 19:35
  for a free book by emailing the address in our show notes.
• 19:38
  And please do take a minute to leave a review or a rating of
• 19:41
  this podcast and share the episode with others.
• 19:44
  You can follow Called to Serve on Facebook and Instagram and
• 19:48
  keep up to date with our latest news at Called to serve.ca.
• 19:51
  We'll be back in two weeks with another woman's story of being
• 19:55
  called to serve.