Narrative Summary
Interview with Charlene Dart by Sue Dover
Charlene Dart, the Associate Pastor at United Methodist Church in Monet, MO met me in
the chapel of the main church building on November 5, 2012 for our interview. We walked
together down the hall to her office, in the distance I could hear the voices of young children as
they played and laughed in rooms further down the hall. I am thinking to myself, what a
welcome sound. Happy sounds, sounds of life being nurtured. This is a perfect place for these
sounds, within the walls of a house of God. It is very obvious to me that Charlene feels very
comfortable here, I feel like she has welcomed me into her home rather than a church building or
preschool. I sit on the love seat in her office and she sits in the office chair at her desk. Our
conversation begins with the typical greetings and conversation starters. Charlene tells me that
she spent the past weekend in Kansas City with several women that she took with her to a
women’s conference. Her eyes lit up when she talked of what a wonderful experience this was. It
is obvious to me from the very beginning that Charlene loves her life, loves her job, and is very
true and comfortable in her spirituality. Being a woman does not have an obvious influence on
how she feels about her job or her God. In fact I don’t believe it even enters into any part of the
equation for her. In our conversation she will talk of her journey thus far; for it really has just
begun. She will talk of her path in life and how it has lead to the place where she is now, but her
spiritual journey has not been marked by a lot of religiously defining moments. In our
conversation she will talk of only one particular time that she describes as instrumental in her
spirituality. When she speaks of her faith, she glows from within. You can tell she believes with
all of her heart and soul. How she shares this love with the individuals that she comes into
contact with on her life path is the essence of her spirituality.
Charlene talks of her childhood with fond memories. She describes a very humble home,
without many modern features that we have today. Even though the family didn’t have much,
she does remember feeling loved. Her parents weren’t regular church goers, but she did get to go
to church and Sunday school with a neighbor. Even at this young age, she talks of being drawn to
the gatherings. She felt some sense of belonging within the church community. During her first
attempt at college, she didn’t have one particular church that she attended, but she was invited to
attend regularly with many of her peers from the dormitory. Charlene didn’t finish college, but
found Daniel, her partner for life on the Southwest Missouri State University campus. They
married and moved to Monett, Missouri when Daniel accepted his first job out of college. They
were not churchgoers even at this time. She talks of Daniel being raised in the Lutheran church,
which she knew nothing about; she says he wasn’t anti-church, just not one to participate if he
didn’t have to. Charlene’s first encounter with the Methodist church was through the preschool.
She was very impressed with the pastor at the time when her daughter was enrolled in the
preschool. What impressed her most of this pastor was that he took the time to become
acquainted with the mothers of the children in the preschool. Because he took the time to know
the mothers and invite them to Sunday service, she began attending regularly. Life continued on
this path for years, she raised her children and she worked full-time in Springfield. When a parttime position opened at the church she prayed and pondered and weighed the pros and cons and
decided to take the position of Director of Education. Her husband supported her decision
completely. This position eventually led to her current position of associate pastor. The position
of associate pastor in a Methodist church was never the job that she had envisioned for herself at
any time in her life. Charlene describes just two special events that have led her to this position
in her life.
She speaks of those that were strong influences in her spiritual life. I believe the one that
was probably the most significant, was a woman that she didn’t even meet. Charlene talks of
participating in a Bible study group and how it moved her. The curriculum was developed by a
woman by the name of Beth Moore. These studies were a defining moment in Charlene’s life.
She says God flipped a switch in her life. She found something that was very real and something
that she became very passionate about. She says, “I couldn’t get enough. I wanted what she had.”
From that point on, Charlene’s passion for sharing God’s love with everyone she meets has been
her purpose. The other event was when attending training to be a lay minister; she had a
conversation with another woman that was going to get her pastor’s license. Charlene never
thought that you could get a license without a degree. As soon as she learned that there was a
way she did get her license and is now pursuing her bachelor’s degree at Drury University and is
also attending St. Paul’s School of Theology in Kansas City in an accelerated master’s program.
She will someday very soon be assigned a church of her own, and her spiritual journey will
flourish.
Charlene Dart is an extraordinary woman of faith. Her life’s purpose is to share the love
of God. I see Charlene as the perfect shepherd. She will always have followers, so therefore she
will always lead. She will always love, so therefore she will nurture. She will always care for the
entire flock. Her spirituality is her essence. Her life story is nothing extraordinary, but she can
make an extraordinary impact on those she meets.