Rev DONNA SPENCER COLLINS MDIV/SC
After a dramatic encounter with God in 1981, Donna’s musical talents, gift for gab and desire to help others, eventually led her to ministry. Beginning in 1985 she began working in day care and served in religious education. She was a worship leader in a praise band, she volunteered as a prison minister and was a speaker traveling throughout New England. She was ordained as an evangelist in her local church and was on two New Church start teams from The Lord’s Gathering Church: in Malden and in Salem. In 1989, she moved to Oklahoma to attend bible school and helped start a new church in Claremore, Oklahoma with her former husband.
After bible school, in 1993, she suffered a fall. She and her ex-husband moved back to Massachusetts for treatment. Woven throughout the 90’s, she said, “There were situations and circumstances that pulled me away from the Church and God. My understanding of faith was crippled by an abusive spouse, divorce, disability, cancer and seizures.” She suffered disenchantment and the profound sense of failing God. She states, “At one point, I felt desperately lost and beyond God’s reach. It was a difficult and frightening time. She says she realized that Faith is a verb, a language by which God communicates agape love which transcends religious institutions. It was the intimacy of her inner world, and God’s still speaking voice that lifted her up and out of the miry clay and set her feet on a firm foundation, where she began to sing
a new Song! As she recuperated she realized that she gained a deep sense of empathy for others because of the circumstances of her life and she felt God drawing her back to ministry.
In pursuit of her call, Donna went back to school earning a Certificate in Gerontology and an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts from North Shore Community College. She spent one year at Bradford College the year it closed. Her take-away from Bradford was the opportunity to study Renaissance Art in Florence, Italy. She finished College at Regis College with a Bachelor’s of Art’s degree: Web and Graphic Design and Marketing. She started two businesses: Paradigital Graphics and DJ/KJ MamaD. She attended Andover Theology School and earned her Masters of Divinity in 2009. She interned at Brimfield Congregational Church and Wollaston Congregational Church. She served at both St. Elizabeth’s Hospital and Beverly Hospital as a chaplain, earning two CPE units. From 2010-2014 she served as a Resident Outreach Pastor of Tewksbury Congregational Church. She was called in 2014 to start a new church: Phoenix Rising UCC. It was a wonderful, exciting time with many stories and friendships made. In August 2019, she was hired as a Chaplain for Care Dimensions Hospice. She has written articles for Care Dimensions. One was republished with The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, “The Power of Forgiveness at End of Life.” Over the years, Donna has preached in Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire as pulpit supply. She is also on the alumni board of North Shore Community College.
Donna is married to her wife Audrey. They have been together for 23 years. They married October 8, 2010. They share adult twins: Donna is married to Marcey they have three teenage children: Austin 19, Madalyn and Bryson 14. Donna’s twin sister Lisa is married to Chaffey. Donna and Audrey raised Donna’s niece Anna 25 and nephew Adrien 29. They are also very close to Donna’s nephew Ian and his wife Nichole who have a son Collin 11 ½.
https://caredimensions.medium.com/the-power-of-forgiveness-at-end-of-life-b4ac0e9168d0
https://www.northshore.edu/alumni/newsletter/summer_2022/alumna_gives_inauguration_invocation.html