Jessicah Krey Duckworth: Roots grounded
in family and faith and a passion for teaching the laity

Jessicah Krey Duckworth

PHILADELPHIA, PA (May 14, 2003) – To say Jessicah Krey Duckworth has a lot going on in life right now is an understatement.

The senior seminarian is about to graduate with honors. She’s been a Fund for Theological Education scholar at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. Soon, it will be off to Princeton Theological Seminary where she has been awarded a President’s Fellowship to pursue a Ph.D. Jessicah has been married since October to another recent LTSP graduate, Chris Duckworth, assistant director for the LTSP Foundation at the seminary. Chris came to work for the seminary January 25, 2002, the same day he and Jessicah asked her parents for their blessing in the future marriage. The parents? The Rev. Dr. Philip D. W. Krey, LTSP’s president, and Rene Diemer, the seminary’s registrar. Did we mention Jessicah is pregnant? She and Chris are expecting their first child in July. Oh, and Chris is pursuing an MBA at Temple University. Their palm pilots must be humming.

Jessicah Duckworth says there’s never been much doubt she would pursue a church vocation. Jessicah talks about the influence of her grandparents. Grandfather Rudolf died just seven days after she was born. He was a devoted pastor known for keeping the family on course. Jessicah knows the date he died, January 9, 1977. Her grandmother, Gertrude, now 95, writes the words, "To God alone the glory" in all of her letters to the family. No wonder three of her uncles are pastors and so many of the children in the extended Krey family are leaders in their congregations. "Faith and the church is a family tradition," Jessicah says. She grew up in a household where Martin Luther’s Morning Prayer was recited every day before the family departed to go their separate ways, and on days before a family member travels, Psalm 91 and the Lord’s Prayer are recited. Jessicah believes she has inherited much skill and knowledge from her parents. She admires her Mom’s penchant for details, and her Dad’s voracious appetite for reading and feeling "you can never know enough" about your field of expertise. "Jessicah reads constantly," Chris says. "I’ve never seen anything like it." In an interview it is truly a challenge to see who is more excited about Jessicah’s future, Chris or Jessicah.

Jessicah Krey Duckworth with husband Chris Duckworth (in Phillies jersey from LTSP Phillies outing)

For Jessicah, that field is Christian education, specifically a concentration and love for teaching lay people about theology. She claims she didn’t really know until two months ago whether she would choose the option of being a parish pastor or go to graduate school. But she knew that whatever the option, teaching lay people about theology is of utmost importance. "If we truly are facing a clergy shortage," she says, "then we need to have a passion for teaching the laity. It’s important for them to know how to run a church without a pastor. If we are to persuade lay people to do ministry of that kind we need to focus on deepening their understanding of theology and the Bible."

Jessicah Duckworth believes the church has primarily focused on educating children and confirmation age youth, and it has done a comparatively poor job of educating adults. "We haven’t done enough to concentrate on working with young adults at the point in their lives when they are changing from just being concrete thinkers to also thinking abstractly," she says. "That’s the point when they are really ready to come to terms with the paradoxes and complexities of their faith."

While at LTSP she has focused on urban ministry too. Pivotal learnings took place during her internship year serving First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia’s Germantown. The church didn’t have much money for advertising, so when Jessicah arrived, she placed an A-frame billboard on the street in front of the church inviting passers-by to a Wednesday afternoon study of the psalms. She passed out leaflets too. And soon, when a dozen or more people kept showing up each Wednesday, she found she didn’t need to advertise anymore. The study questions were simple. "We took the psalms one at a time, line-by-line, and I asked people, "What does this line in the psalm mean for your life today?’" No trouble really getting a strong discussion going, she says.

She hosted another Bible study every Monday night. The audience was remarkably diverse and included two Turkish Muslims who were college students. "It was an amazing experience because of the variety of personalities," she says. The class used commentaries and studied passages in Acts and Corinthians. She laid down several firm ground rules. "We were not to offend each other or highlight our differences." The class was conducted during the turbulent months following September 11, 2001.

"I was impressed by how the Muslims wanted to learn more," she says. "They explained that they come from a society without pluralism or diversity. So they wanted to know who the Other is. They asked unbelievable questions. They weren’t afraid to be in the context of the New Testament. They had a way of saying to the rest of us things out of their own faith that were familiar and comfortable. They said things in terms of faith that anyone in the world might say about the meaning of faith." The group learned to enjoy "Turkish Delight" snacks that some at first hesitated to try. The closing class picnic was at the residence of the Muslims. At the picnic the Muslim pair presented Jessicah with a striking, hand calligraphied writing of the annunciation to Mary about the birth of Jesus from the Koran.

During experiences of this kind, Jessicah Duckworth says she finds herself exhilarated by watching lay people grow in their faith through thoughtful study and contemplation.

And she’s just getting started.