The Rev. Dr. Patrice Fowler-Searcy ’13/’24 is the first Black woman to chair Pittsburgh Theological Seminary’s Board of Directors. Prior to assuming this role, Patrice served the Board for 12 years in a number of capacities, including vice chair during Sandy Lamb’s leadership, chair of the governance committee, and member of the Executive and Student Life and Enrollment Management committees. Patrice was confirmed as chair of PTS’s Board in May 2025. She is an ordained minister in both the Baptist tradition and in the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Born Into Faith
Born in Indianapolis, Ind., Patrice was formed in the faith from her earliest years as a part of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, where she dedicated her life to Christ and became involved in ministry from childhood onward. “Our church’s ministry went out into our community,” she says. “I remember helping out on Saturdays, when we would offer free food and clothing. By the time I was a teen, I was answering phones, doing intake at our mobile medical clinic and taking down orders for the Rev. Dr. Sanders’ Thanksgiving dinner ministry.”
While the tradition that nurtured Patrice’s early faith life encouraged her participation in many forms of ministry, it did not affirm that women could be called to preach. “But I didn’t believe it,” Patrice says, “and I served the church in a number of capacities into adulthood.” She was hired as director of outreach at East Liberty Presbyterian Church, where she brought enrichment programs to families living in poverty and, when the needs of the community shifted away from the church’s ministry offerings at that time, partnered with other organizations doing community development in the church’s neighborhood. Patrice thrived in this position and served on boards of the Pittsburgh Clergy Consortium, Pittsburgh Unites, the East End Growth Fund, the Western Pennsylvania Support Association of Oikocredit and Oikocredit USA, the Community Theater Project Corporation Inc. (Kelly-Strayhorn Theater), Open Hand Ministries (as a charter board member at its inception), and East Liberty Development Inc. (where she served as board president until July 2025), in part relaying to those organizations the realities of what was happening on the street. While she held this position at ELPC, Patrice continued to worship and minister in the Baptist tradition.
Called to Preach
While working at ELPC, things began to shift in Patrice’s life. One year after being elected to the board of East Liberty Development Inc., Patrice was chosen as one of 50 individuals nationwide to participate in the Harvard Divinity School Summer Leadership Institute for Church-based Community Development. During this program, Patrice received a word from a fellow participant that God was going to call her to preach, and especially to ministry reaching women. She shared what had happened with a trusted spiritual mentor she had met at ELPC on a retreat at Ghost Ranch, who encouraged her to pray about it. She did, and the word she received was, “Not yet.”
Then, tragedy struck. “I was alone in a bed in a three-story house,” Patrice says, “clutching a Bible to my chest. I asked, ‘God, are you trying to kill me?’ God said ‘It’s time.’” Patrice reflects that life-altering situations are often when God speaks such a word. “It still took me a year,” she says. “I talked with a female pastor friend about stepping into ministry according to the words I had received, and she said, ‘Yes, I see it.’ So I took a ‘ministers in training’ class at the Baptist church where I was active. Eventually, I was licensed and ordained there. ELPC supported me the whole way; the staff came to my licensure and ordination service. They recognized my ordination in the Baptist tradition and extended opportunities for me to teach and preach at ELPC as well.”
It was at this point in her life—ordained and serving in the Baptist tradition and teaching and preaching in the PC(USA)—that Patrice felt a call to seminary. “My pastor did not affirm or support the idea of me going to seminary, as the tradition does not believe in women being called to preach,” she says. “But the church where I was working said, ‘Great, go!’ I had tagged along to an open house at PTS with my son, who was also discerning a call. He discerned a different path, but I enrolled.” After graduation, Patrice pursued ordination with the PC(USA). “I took my time,” she says, “because I was already operating pastorally at ELPC with my Baptist ordination.” Eventually, she became ELPC’s acting pastor and head of staff.
“Leaving my denomination was painful, because that’s where I had been formed and nurtured as a person of faith. But God said, ‘Grow where I’ve planted you,’” Patrice says, “so I made the conscious decision to leave—kicking and screaming. ELPC had wrapped their arms around me in ways I could never have imagined. And now, in retirement, while I retain my Presbyterian ordination, I’ve returned to my Baptist roots in worship, which has been a deep joy.”
Called to Lead
Meanwhile, Patrice was also called upon to represent her class as a member of the Seminary’s Board of Directors. “Walking into the PTS Board for the first time as a representative of the graduating class of 2013, I was intimidated,” she says. “Most people there were executives, white, and male, and there weren’t a lot of people in ministry. I felt like a fish out of water.” But when she was elected for another term, Patrice started to feel more at ease and became increasingly active on the Board. “I convened a couple of groups to talk about race to address the concerns of students of color around acceptance and fair treatment, and I made spaces where students could voice their concerns,” she says. “I also worked on a statement about expectations around behavior in the Seminary that’s still being used today.” She was elected to third and fourth terms, serving on the Board for a total of 12 years, eventually becoming first vice chair, then chair.
“I’ve always seen my life and my call as one, cohesive ministry,” Patrice says. “God is calling us out to be who God created us to be. When I first came to East Liberty in 1996, the neighborhood had so many needs. The church has been out there since the ‘80s, pouring money into housing, investing in small businesses, and developing initiatives like Open Hand Ministries. My call is to continue that involvement, and that includes my call as a preacher—speaking through the preached word what God requires of us as Christians.”
“PTS is my ministry now,” she continues. “For me, being chair is not just about serving the Board, but serving the community. President Lee has this idea that everyone needs a theological education, and I like that idea. I’m excited about opening up our campus and offering more opportunities for people to receive and prepare for the mission God has for them—whether that’s as a preacher or nonprofit leader or starting a new ministry. I’d love for PTS to be seen nationally as a place that prepares people to go out and lead their communities into change. Serving as chair is a tangible opportunity to give back to the Seminary, which has poured into me so much, and I believe God opened up this opportunity for a purpose. I see the Seminary becoming who God would have us to be for such a time as this.”
The Rev. Dr. Patrice Fowler-Searcy ’13/’24 is chair of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary’s Board of Directors. Previously, she served the Seminary’s Board for 12 years in a number of capacities. Patrice has ministered in the East Liberty community for 30 years, serving since 1996 as director of outreach then as acting pastor and head of staff at East Liberty Presbyterian Church and holding membership on the board of East Liberty Development Inc. since 1998, where she also served as board president. She is an ordained minister in both the Baptist tradition and in the PC(USA).
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