LEGACY OF LOVE

By Sylvia Powers
Texas Metro News

Historymaker, trailblazer, and record-setter, Dr. Sheron C. Patterson will leave a hole in the hearts of Hamilton Park United Methodist Church (HPUMC) and the community as she retires after 35 years of ministry in the United Methodist Church.

Dr. Patterson’s three-and- a-half decades of ministry has spanned seven churches, countless speaking engagements, and numerous community events. As a relationship expert, she has been coined across the country as, “The Love Doctor.”

Her unwavering dedication, profound wisdom, and unyielding commitment to serving her congregation and the community-at-large have led to many questions of what is next and why retirement now.

“My retirement means that God is good, and God is faithful,” said Dr. Patterson, who is 65 years old. “God called me into ministry in 1981 at Spelman College. I didn’t know what would happen. I just walked by faith. And now, after 35 years of ordained ministry in the United Methodist Church, God has said there’s an exit sign on the ramp and you can come on out.”

Dr. Patterson, who was the first African American female ordained in the North Texas region of the United Methodist Church, has shattered the stained-glass ceiling of the Methodist Church and led other female clergy members in their roles as senior pastors.

“I am honored that I have been a vehicle to help more women soar in the role of a senior pastor. I have been a mentor to many,” she said. “When the women approach me, I let them know I only mentor eagles. If you want to be an associate pastor, don’t come to me. If you want to be a children’s director, those are good, but don’t come to me.

“I mentor women who want to be senior pastors of churches. I call it flight school. I teach you how to fly and be the eagle that you are called to be,” she explained.

According to a report done in 2020, full-time United Methodist Church clergy were 32% women and 68% men.

“I think that Dr. Patterson is a powerful woman of God, and I continue to have the deepest admiration for who she is,” said Pastor Lucretia Facen, who is Senior Pastor of St. Paul UMC. “She’s weathered all kinds of storms, dealt with difficult situations, and has come through breast cancer.”

Facen served as an associate pastor for Dr. Patterson at Jubilee United Methodist Church. She attributes her success as a senior pastor to her mentorship under Dr. Patterson.

As a 16-year breast cancer survivor, Dr. Patterson has worked with various organizations to increase early detection of breast cancer.

She founded Breast Cancer Builds, which was a nonprofit ministry that brought together survivors of breast cancer to build Habitat for Humanity homes.

“Sheron very openly shared her journey with me about her breast cancer experience.

She talked about having a double mastectomy, and reconstructive surgery. It was inspirational just to hear somebody very openly discuss it, because I hadn’t experienced that previously,” said Linda Lydia, founder of Pink Diamonds Survivors of Cancer, Inc. and also Dr. Patterson’s neighbor for several years.

For the past 10 years, Dr. Patterson has been an on-air relationships contributor on WFAA-TV’s “Good Morning Texas.” She has also authored 10 books and hosted several radio programs.

Keith Solis, Music Director at Smooth R&B 105.7 KRNB, said when he first met Dr. Patterson in the late 1990s, he was expecting to see a mature-looking woman; like “a Maya Angelou figure.”

He was surprised to see a fashionable pastor sporting braids and using slang terminology. The two clicked and went on to become not just colleagues but friends, co-hosting radio programs and several community events.

“I know that whatever she’s going to do next is going to be huge and fabulous because that’s just who she is. She’s broken so many barriers in preaching and pastoring in DFW and around the country,” said Solis, who hosted her retirement celebration at Hamilton Park UMC.

Many of Dr. Patterson’s accomplishments have been out-side of the pulpit. Along with Gladys Lee, an LPGA Certified Teaching Professional, she founded a Black woman’s golf organization, DFW Fairway Divas.

The Dallas-based organization has enhanced the lives of many women with its variety of programs and instructional clinics.

Beyond the walls of the church, Dr. Patterson has been an advocate for social justice, equality, and relationship empowerment. Her courageous stance on issues such as racial reconciliation, economic jus- tice, and LGBTQ+ rights has made her a source of news articles and magazine stories across the country.

A native of North Carolina, Dr. Patterson is looking forward to traveling and spending time with her husband Robert. She and her husband of 39 years, have two adult children, Robert and Robyn.

“My husband is ecstatic about my retirement. He has gone through everything that I’ve gone through. He’s experienced the joys and he’s experienced the lows. Now, he is like, ‘yeah, you can stop,’” said Dr. Patterson.

Although swimming, golf, and a few book opportunities are in her future, looking back Dr. Patterson admits her years in ministry have not all been easy, “There’s been a lot of haters. A lot of people were just coming for me because I’m a woman. They disrespected me because I’m a woman.

The disrespect hurt, she ad- mitted.

“God is the one who called me, and God is the one who ordained me. God’s the one that put me in those churches and gave me the strength to lead,” she continued. “So, I can’t let a hater pull, or push me out the way. Because I know the Lord is my light and my salvation.”

Undoubtedly, her legacy will endure as a testament to the transformative power of faith, love, and service as a guiding light for generations to come.

Beginning July 2024, Rev. Bryant X. Phelps will be the new senior pastor of HPUMC.

The 33-year-old pastor currently serves as the Senior Pastor of Life Center UMC (formerly Church of the Disciple) in DeSoto.