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BY HILLARY VIDERS
SPECIAL TO NORTHERN VALLEY PRESS
ENGLEWOOD, NEW JERSEY —— Rev. Sanetta Ponton is the pastor of justice, advocacy and compassion at Metro Church and director of Metro Community Center, both of which are in Englewood.
Prior to coming to Metro, Ponton served as assistant pastor at First Baptist Church of Englewood. She also worked as the managing director of academic programs for Legal Outreach, a law-related college prep and pipeline diversity program in New York City.
Ministry has taken Ponton as far as Uganda, Israel and Kenya. Prior to entering formal ministry, she volunteered with nonprofit organizations in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.
Ponton has worked widely across denominations and ministries. She serves as co-convener of Women Who Minister, supporting women serving all aspects of Christian ministry and as a board member of American Baptist Home Mission Societies.
Ponton holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in African American Studies from Columbia University, a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a Master of Divinity degree (magna cum laude) from Duke Divinity School. She was ordained by the First Baptist Church in Englewood.
Hillary Viders: Did you always know that you had a religious calling, or did it come to you suddenly one day?
Rev. Sanetta Ponton: Christianity was always on my radar. I grew up attending the First Baptist Church in Englewood, where my family was very involved. I always assumed that I would stay connected to my religious affiliation, but I wanted to do civil rights work and be a lawyer. That is why I went to law school. It was in my last year of law school that I realized I wanted to be involved in ministry.
HV: What kind of work did you do in Kenya?
SP: After law school, I was in Kenya in the summer of 2010, working with the Umoja Project. It is sponsored through an American organization, Global Partnership, based in Indiana. The goal of the Umoja Project is to develop a coordinated community-based care system which responds to the multiple needs of vulnerable children in Kenya’s Maseno Division. Particular emphasis is given to educational support, food security, safe housing, and psychosocial development.
During my stay, I helped monitor the social and emotional well being of orphaned children aged 5 to 19 whose mothers had been HIV positive and died of AIDs. Meeting with these children, praying with them and discussing their goals was a really hard and heartfelt experience for me.
HV: What was your mission in Uganda?
SP: I was in Uganda in 2011 for 10 days on a learning mission based on reconciliation. My group met with women whose daughters had been kidnapped and raped by terrorist militia soldiers. A large number of these girls had been taken from a boarding school. The mothers had built an organization to help find their daughters and to formulate a Christian response to what was happening. By the time we were talking to the mothers, many of the girls had been returned, but they were still terribly traumatized. When one of the daughters returned, she already had two children conceived in rape. I learned a lot from these mothers who had created an organization of forgiveness.
HV: Did this influence your ministry work back home?
SP: Yes. It spoke to how in America we can create an ethic of forgiveness when there has been such a history of violence, injustice, and the trauma that occurs when one group of people preys upon another. In the church, we want to move towards this moment of reconciliation, particularly for the people who have been marginalized. In the Lord’s Prayer, it says, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” What better model is there for this than the mothers in Uganda whose daughters were abused by their captors?
HV: Was it awkward discussing Christian values in Israel, where Judaism is the dominant religion?
SP: Not at all. I was participating in a 10-day interfaith dialogue held by the Global Jewish Advocacy, and half the 12 participants were Jewish seminarians and half were Christian clergy. We visited many Jewish as well as holy sites in Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Palestine. We talked about religious and political issues between Israel and Palestine and it was very enlightening.
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HV: To what extent do you use your legal background in your current work as a minister?
SP: I do not handle litigation, but my legal background has been very helpful because it gives me the ability to take legal precedents in biblical text and apply them to contemporary life.
HV: For those of our readers who are not familiar with Metro Church, can you tell us a little about it?
SP: Metro is a contemporary, multi-ethnic church. We welcome people from all backgrounds and religious paths. For church services, we meet every Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. at Dr. John Grieco Elementary School, located at 50 Durie Avenue in Englewood.
Our church administration office, where we host many ministry and church events during the week, is located at 291 South Van Brunt Street in Englewood.
Metro Church, which is 13 years old, is really committed to serving Christ in the community and we embrace all age groups and ethnicities. At Sunday services, we have between 600 to 700 people, 200 of whom are children. Our lead pastor is Peter Ahn, and I am one of several ministers.
HV: You are a strong advocate for justice and equity in education. How do you implement this belief?
SP: I previously worked for a college prep organization, so I was committed to making sure that children had additional education opportunities and that they were college ready. Now, at Metro, I oversee a program called Metro Life. It is a one-on-one mentoring program at Dwight Morrow High school in which our volunteers help students not only with their education but also with life skills.
At Metro Church, I also run the Justice Advocacy and Compassion division, our outreach portion of the church that works in nursing homes and deals with racial reconciliation.
HV: What makes you so passionate about Englewood?
SP: Englewood has amazing people. There are gems throughout Englewood, including the third and fourth wards. Growing up, I was involved in youth programs, such as NAACP and Urban League, where there were role models who mentored me.
Within the Englewood community, there were terrific individuals who helped me become who I am today – Florence Eddings, Glenda Frasier and Gaye Gath, to name a few. I try to pass on the values and vote of confidence that these women gave me to my parishioners and I have high hopes for our young people today.
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