Introducing Rev. Dr. Celestine Fields
Candidate for Settled Ministry at ACC
By ACC Search Committee
Rev. Dr. Celestine Fields
Summary of Qualifications
Pastor Celeste (as she prefers to be known) is an ordained minister with full standing in the United Church of Christ. She was ordained in 2013. She earned her Master of Divinity degree from Lancaster Theological Seminary, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 2013. She earned her Doctorate in Ministry from the same institution in 2021.
Pastor Celeste participated in the Chatauqua Institute as a clergy participant in a New Clergy training on Anti-Racism in 2015. She earned a six-month certificate in Applied Positive Psychology in March 2017 and completed 16 hours of Appreciative Inquiry in January 2017 and 14 hours in Appreciative Inquiry in Transitional Ministry, January 2017. Pastor Celeste has also served as a co-facilitator in Racial Justice Training several times in 2020 and 2021.
In her career, Pastor Celeste has been an Interim Minister, Pastor, National/International Chaplain, Pulpit and Supply Pastor, volunteer fellow, founding pastor and Outreach Minister.
Conclusions Drawn From On-Line Interview and References
Pastor Celeste’s enthusiasm for ministry and church work in the UCC is palpable. She is not afraid to step out in faith to follow where she feels called. She values the covenantal nature of the UCC, emphasizing that the “bottom up” policy is a good fit for her. (She says one of the areas she likes to study is church polity!) She interprets the command to love God and her neighbor with all her heart, mind, and soul to include reaching out in interfaith dialogue. She calls the church to be relevant to today’s issues and problems and feels that is how churches will grow in a society increasingly unchurched.
Pastor Celeste is very conscious of the challenges facing her in an almost all-white church, and of the challenges facing the congregation in calling a black pastor. She wrote her dissertation on the subject. She included her training in Applied Positive Psychology as a means of meeting that challenge. She says in her profile, “I hear the frustration of my White siblings, ’We can’t ever get it right,’ and ‘We don’t know what to do.’ It’s time to do the work together. No more guilt or shame! Amen.” She feels called to be a black pastor in a mostly white church.
Pastor Celeste is an excellent preacher. She relies on God’s Word and storytelling to create a prophetic message. She has a powerful voice, both in volume and meaning.
We spent some time discussing the role of music in the church. Pastor Celeste agrees that music is vital to the church and appreciates both hymns and more contemporary music. She sounded delighted by existence of the ACC Ensemble.
The search committee found Pastor Celeste to be down to earth and easy to talk to. We have the sense that she will be a good pastoral care provider, and her references bear that out.
Why Celeste Fields would be a good fit for ACC
Pastor Celeste’s dissertation raised some red flags about calling a black pastor to a mostly white church, but Pastor Celeste put these to rest in her on-line interview. Instead, the Committee believes her race will be a particular asset to ACC. ACC has a strong background in social justice work, which thrilled Pastor Celeste. We want to live that commitment in our leadership as well as our outreach. She will be a strong Pastoral Care provider for our aging congregation, and her enthusiasm will buoy those who continue to be active in the ministries of the church.