After 13 years, Rev. Deborah Dempsey will conduct her final service at First Baptist Church this Sunday.
Rev. Deborah Dempsey may be delivering her final worship at First Baptist Church on Sept. 28, but many members of her congregation say her legacy at one of Centretown’s most prominent churches will be remembered for years to come.
Michael Hatfield, who has been a member of the church’s congregation for 27 years and is the president of its board of deacons, says Dempsey’s legacy extends beyond her pastoral excellence to the outreach programs she started in 1995.
“Having worshipped under a number of ministries, I can say she was truly exceptional in the level of pastoral care she provided to the congregation,” says Hatfield. “She literally had one-on-one contact with every member of the congregation on a consistent basis.”
On top of that, he says Dempsey was the driving force behind the church’s Discovery University outreach program, which helps low-income and homeless individuals experience university education in order to promote personal growth and social change.
Dempsey says she got the idea for Discovery University after reading an article in the New York Times about a similar U.S. program called the Clemente Course in the Humanities in 1999 and presented it to the congregation.
She says the project got off the ground five years later in 2004, after getting a group of community sponsors on board. The program ran for the first time in 2005 and continues today.
Doris Lu, another member of the congregation, says the stability Dempsey provided the church has been invaluable.
“It’s very important to have a stable minister for a congregation and Deborah provided that for 13 years,” she says.
Despite the praise, Dempsey is wary of accepting it all for herself.
“I don’t tell the congregation what to do, it’s us working together,” she says. “Over the years, we’ve been a team and it’s been a worthwhile, enriching and fulfilling ministry because of that.”
Dempsey is also the first female pastor in the 151-year history of First Baptist Church, located on Laurier Avenue and Elgin Street.
She says female pastors are uncommon, but she hasn’t had any problems with her gender in the congregation.
Lu added: “There was never any distinction between her as a man or a woman. She was our pastor and that’s all we saw.”
As for her departure, Dempsey says it’s normal practice for clergy to move around. She will be moving to First Baptist Church in Brantford, Ont. while her husband, Terry, who’s also a minster, will be going to Burlington Baptist Church in Burlington, Ont.
“This is a new challenge for us and the church as well,” she says. “This can be a time of renewal for a congregation and for looking at the direction they wish to go in. There are no hard feelings in this leave at all.”
A farewell luncheon will be held for the Dempseys following the Sept. 28 worship. Hatfield says an interim minister will be in place until the congregation finds a suitable replacement, which could take anywhere from nine months to a year.
Dempsey says she will miss the congregation and hopes she left a good impression.
“I hope they remember me as a caring, faithful minister,” she says. “Someone who cared about the congregation and beyond the congregation as well and tried the best to my ability to minister them.”