Autobiographical Statement

Jo Fullwood MT, MACE, M Div.

To understand my personal and cultural development, I must first engage with my family
background. I am the only girl of 7 children, including 3 step brothers, born into an agrarian
society, African American, born to a civil rights activist Lillie (James) Stembridge and a business
owner, James (Althea) Fullwood Jr., also connected to the social justice movement. My heritage
includes Native American and African American (maternal). My mother’s worldview include
respect for nature, God, and a drive to fight against injustice. She still holds many of the views she
marched for over 50 years ago. Her eyes glaze over with tears when she talks about the past.
Sometimes she has periods of silence when encountered with memories of the struggle. She still
seeks the dream of King. Her acts of piety are well intended, but often prove to be detrimental to
the family, even today. She believes that family is important, but service to others, regardless of
the sacrifices is precedence over all. Often, we suffered as a family unit because of these beliefs.
Her life is my model for developing relationships and the sense of loyalty I give to all regardless
of the individual. This is an area of strength and growth possibilities. My Father’s (Pop) heritage
includes descendants of Nigeria and are Pro-Black. He died a sudden death because of a clot
formed during his hip replacement surgery. My father’s lineage traced back to a plantation in
Georgia. After researching our lineage, we discovered slave logs kept for the required census.
Grief freed my paternal family. After a heavy loss in an election, later death of his wife and other
losses, Robert Tombs freed my family from slavery. My father also believed in helping others as
long as it never interfered with the welfare of the family. He would say to me, “Family is always
first. No matter what!” Around the age of two, they divorced and later remarried. I have step-
parents, James (Dad) and Althea (Mathea). I have six brothers. James, Joshua, Jonathan, and I have
the same father and mother. I also have three stepbrothers, Travis, Terrence, and Carl Jr., which
are my stepmother’s children; however, Pop claimed them as his own. I grew up with three brothers
and would later occasionally see my step brothers. Each parent were business owners and provided
for our family.
As a child, I suffered from the constant reminder that I was special, unique, a blessing from
God. I was the "wanted girl child" for both family groups. The expectation remained high
throughout my life. Failure was not an option in our household. The pressure "to save" or "be
great" is a myth I fight continually. My childhood dream was inspired by the lives of my parents
and the City trash collectors. Watching my help those in need and the process of collecting trash
weekly created an internal desire to clean up the world. I sought peace for all internally and
externally. They created a nurturing space for me to thrive in the area of servitude as well as
allowing me to have spiritual mentors from age 7-18. My mother and stepfather surrounded me
with religious leaders who were spiritual mentors. My childhood consisted of serving the poor,
marching in parades to represent our family, and visiting the sick. I constantly heard stories about
the miracle of my birth, the impact of my family heritage, and their great expectations of my life
achievements. I represented joy and answered prayers for both parents. Wimberly describes the
notion "to feel the conviction that our role in life remains to bring stability and peace to the family"
(27) employing the person to struggle with the internal battle to fix things. I fight against this myth
because it leaves me fatigued and I quickly recognized that I am not a savior. Therefore, self-care

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is essential after practicing pastoral care and engaging in a relationship. Should I become a
potential supervisor this area will be addressed and a part of the covenant.
Self-Care is essential in ministry. I quickly learned what how to care for myself as a child.
During free time, I spent time playing in the pecan orchard across the alley with cousins and
friends. I found solace in nature as well as a connection to God. I would sing praises and talk to
God outside in the alley and nearby fields. I still find peace and respite in nature. I go to nature,
that is, the lake or woods to connect with the Creator. I would like to think that I had a perfect
childhood, but that would be the idealistic views of a child. There were turbulent times that shaped
my worldview, personal development, and path to ministry. I survived the divorce of my parents,
sexual abuse at a young age, the death of my Godmother in 1998, diagnosis of a learning disability,
the death of the 12 within 2 years, and the crippling death of Pop in 2015. I credit my strength to
a resiliency displayed by my parents, faith in God, and the support of family and friends. “It takes
a village to raise a child!” These words rang loud in the household and church.
My Godmother, aunts, uncles, cousins, church, family or mom’s friends would step in to
provide missing essentials. Essentially, a “village” raised me. However, there were times in my
life that shook this core of support that shaped me personally and the way I practice pastoral care.
My father’s substance abuse, addiction wreaked havoc on our family unit and ended in a divorce.
He was abusive in many ways that affected the emotional health of my mother and brothers. I
accredit my mother’s strength to never having felt the wrath of his hands, but I occasionally see
the ramifications of it through my family. Often it was challenging to experience two families,
functional, but dysfunctional units with differing worldviews. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom
X were household names commonly referred to in conversation when discussing injustice. There
is an internal fight of recognizing the struggle for blacks as well as all people. I attribute the internal
battle to support both causes to my paternal family who are pro-black. The clash of my mother, a
woman of strength, and Pop, a strong dominant man who struggled with substance abuse, was the
perfect storm in our household. There was no appreciation of each other’s strength until after they
divorced. They were better friends, than spouses, but never realized it until it was too late. Their
past relationship is a model for interactions in relationships. I never witnessed my parents making
a conscience decision to be amicable towards each other for the sake of the children. However,
they would occasionally verbally state that they were cordial with each other when asked by my
siblings and me. Intentionality is a big factor to them and I credit them to my emotional health in
regards to relationship building. My Godmother, Vivian McCormick also played a role in
maintaining my emotional health. Her death was my first and greatest loss until the transition of
Pop. I believe the loss greatly affected my understanding of death and relationship with God. Psalm
91:4 describes God as “one who will cover you under His wings”, allowing one to pursue refuge
for those seeking to snare you. She was that for me even when her son sexually abused me.
The abuse occurred around the age of seven by my godbrother. It was a challenging time
for my family and god-family as well. Both sets of parents believed me and took my godbrother
to court. He was a teenager and charged with several years of imprisonment. I did not fully
understand the ramification of the event. I even blocked out sections of memories during that
period of my life. I developed unhealthy eating habits (emotional eating) and would later
rediscover the pain while attending college in the year 2002. Through the coaching of my therapist
and friends, I was able to contact my god-brother. I expressed what happened and how it affected

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me. To my surprise, he listened, apologized, and asked for forgiveness. For me, it was not about
receiving an apology, rather that I needed validation and to obtain the stolen power. I walked away
feeling empowered as the healing began. I felt safe again. Afterwards, he was welcomed back to
family functions along with his family. The guilt, shame, and pain that tormented me for years
were now decreasing. I no longer felt the need to hide. I continued therapy and worked through
other areas of my life. Through years of therapy, self-reflection, peer accountability groups, and
reflection in CPE, I have learned how to reframe the effects of that period of my life. I have worked
through this area of my life. My relationship with my Godmother grew stronger. She validated my
pain and stood by me when her family members scoffed and slandered my name. I am grateful for
her sacrifice. I love her and aim for her strength in difficult times.
My cultural development informs the practice of pastoral and spiritual care. As a minority,
I am fully aware of the social constructing of race. This is a part of my story and it undergirds the
pastoral care I provide for people from varying cultural backgrounds. As a child, I became aware
of social concept in America. My city was one of the last to desegregate; I struggled from racial
profiling and suffered from several racially motivated experiences. I was subjected to a racially
divided world where often inequality and injustice was open and sometimes subliminally implied.
Regardless of the conduit, seeing it enforced by the majority was the norm. I now reject this notion
and stand against structural violence. I believe that every person has the right to justice, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness. That one should always treat others equally and never judge an
individual status. “Respect is given freely; however, it is harder to keep”. Those are the words of
my mom. When I enter a patient’s room, I recall this phrase and share it with the residents I
mentored. I understand the sensitivity of different cultures and advocate for equal treatment
physically, morally, ethically, emotionally, and spiritually. This area I am passionate about and
also a strength. However, I am equally aware of educational need around this subject. I served as
one of the representatives for pastoral care on the ethics team. I advocate for engaging and
initiating groups that will be productive and intentional about addressing racial systemic problems.
I also initiated racial conciliation groups within my community after the death of Trayvon Martian.
I am aware of the differing views of social concepts within the African American community.
These social concepts and expectations affect my practice in pastoral care. Surprisingly, I have
found it more challenging when working with my own culture and those of Christian faith. I find
I have to be “ordained” or “blessed” to provide care for their family member. Approval of my
credentials is necessary before I can move forward with pastoral and spiritual care.
I received my Bachelor of Music Therapy from Georgia College and State University. I
specialized in providing music therapy for children and the geriatric population. Here, I learned
human anatomy, studied the cognitive development of an individual, evidence based research and
interacted in the process of emotional, physical, spiritual effects of music on people. Shortly, after
completing the program, my parents both became ill. I then relocated back home to become their
caregivers. I then started a private practice in Music Therapy in South Georgia. During this period,
I co-founded a faith based non-profit organization, mentoring at-risk teenagers between ages 13-
18. We provided tutoring, character building, basic economic education, life skills, and
discipleship. I grew restless and longed for a return to my calling. I celebrate those three years
because I developed my skills as a mentor, educator, and coach for aspiring young adults. Many
of them are successful adults, today. After the last mentee entered into high school, I began my

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postgraduate degree. In my postgraduate education includes a degree in Master of Arts in Christian
Education at Dallas Theological Seminary and a Master of Divinity at Liberty Baptist Theological
Seminary. I had a solid foundation in being disciplined, resilient, and self-motivated to complete
graduate school because of my work in private practice. While completing my degrees, I worked
full time as a Tutor/Counselor/Food Distributor in the AmeriCorps Program from 2009-2010,
Chaplain Intern in my church Pastoral Care Department from 2010-2013. In 2014, I began work
in chaplaincy through the completion of two years of residency and becoming a professional
chaplain at Parkland Health and Hospital System and in 2017 Hope Health Care-Hospice Care. I
am who I am because of the influence of several people and hinge moments that occurred
throughout life. Some of the hardships assisted in directing me towards educating in the service
fields. Although, parents were leaders and in the field of business, they were self-taught. My father
never graduated from high school, but thrived as a businessperson. Like them, my educational and
vocational experience was successful because I am a self-driven. I set goals for each phase of my
life and guidance by those who are experienced. However, I know that without the encouragement,
and support of a mentor, family members, and friends I would not be successful. As a potential
supervisor, I would bring the same attributes into the partnership.
My religion and spiritual development and call to ministry began in the Pentecostal church.
My mother and stepfather’s belief system is very conservative and legalistic. Their rules and belief
systems about grace, mercy, and work-based salvation has changed. I grew up thinking that I had
to earn my salvation and that I could lose it if I disobeyed God’s commandments and or my parents.
As long as I asked for forgiveness before death, I gain access into heaven. I lived in perpetual fear,
guilt, shame, and a sense of caution developed. My study of grace and sharing it with my family
caused the change. From childhood to adulthood, exposure of Pentecostal, Baptist, Methodist, and
the Lutheran denomination occurred. I am currently a member of a Bible Church. I have been open
to the teachings of different faith traditions. I was called to ministry in 2000 and ordained as a
pastor in the Pentecostal denomination. Later in 2014, I was ordained to minister, called to serve
in the field of chaplaincy and Christian ministry by God, and affirmed by the board of elders. I
believe God called me to be a Certified Educator and has equipped me for the start of the process.
I trust that through the process I will learn, grow, and define the gifting I possess. I have been
seeking, praying and preparing for a position to become a potential Certified Educator since 2015.
I completed two years of CPE at Parkland Health and Hospital System under the supervision of
Leo Blanchard and Linda Wilkerson (first year) and Krister White (second year). I was assigned
to the surgery team the first year and the medicine team the second year. The resident group
consisted of five other CPE residents and a second-year resident. Together we covered the Surgery,
Women, and Infant, and Medicine service line on weekends rotating the on-call shifts. I was also
assigned two mentors throughout each year, Judith Crilley and Kyoung Hee Kim, who serves as
the coordinator and mentor for residents. My first year of CPE was difficult. I experienced
competition and disconnect from my peers and supervisor. We worked hard to address the matter
and I felt confident by the end of the year that our relationships evolved. I addressed the matters
in IPR and in my evaluation. I sought to be creative in initiating conversations about the problems.
I believe this was a strength for me and can see how being forthcoming will be beneficial as a
potential supervisor. In my first and second year, some of the challenges faced were identified
gender inequality even among our group. Cultural differences and ageism strained several
relationships. Coming from a small town and the church setting, being a young leader was never

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a hindrance. My voice was valued regardless of my age or gender. In CPE, I discovered respect
was earned, not given. I had to learn buffer with respect so that my voice was appreciated. In doing
so, I earned the respect of the group. I cannot assume immediate leveling ground when there are
varying ages or cultures represented. In some cultures, younger women are not seen as equals. Our
group also consisted of a mixture of conservative men. Here, I recognized the struggle between
my egalitarian views and their theology or perspective of the role of women in ministry. At times
there was tension among the ranks. Tension arose when women lead in the group. Often feelings
of trepidation were voiced. I uplifted this finding in IPR. There were some resolve and apologies,
but the discussion left me yearning to dig deeper in this area of possible future contention. I
identified ageism and sexism as an issue in my evaluation as well as push back. Several of my
peers confronted me and expressed that they felt I should respect them for their age, especially
since I am young and a woman. Culturally, the group was diverse with ethnic groups of Mexican,
European descent. As a potential supervisor, I see this as a potential area of growth. I will need to
learn how to navigate working with older peers as at a collegial level in multicultural background.
Older persons are respected, in my culture by language, i.e. “Yes, ma’am’, No ma’am”. To speak
against elders was a sign of disrespect. I resisted this teaching so that I could engage in a
relationship with my peers. I acknowledge that is an area of growth and can potentially cause
friction. Part of my learning style is by asking questions. I must be forthcoming with my learning
style because of previous complications in working relationships. This area would need to be
addressed in the covenant process of supervision. I also implement positive supposition during
interaction with colleagues, friends, and family. This is the framework undergirds my practice of
pastoral and spiritual care when working in a multicultural setting.

I have several motivating factors for entering into the certified educator program. I seek
to facilitate and create a space where adults can grow personally and professionally. Where
students of theology, whether chaplain, teacher, pastor, or laypersons find their voice,
acknowledge their identity and use their authority to serve others in any ministry setting. I know
unequivocally, that I am a teacher. I find myself mentoring and educating others in different
areas of my life. As a child, I grew up hearing the word, “bossy”. I used to think this was a
negative slander of my personality until I owned my identity and reframed the description of my
character. I am a mentor and look forward into engaging with the residents in didactic,
facilitating skills lab, and IPR. I believe in the concept of adult education and its effectiveness in
chaplaincy. I love to mentor and celebrate the success of others. The leaders in the church
community, staff chaplains, director of pastoral care, medical directors, several Attending, those
I serve, and I recognize my calling as a potential supervisor. I am confident in my ability to serve
in this capacity, but am well aware of the areas of growth and strengths. I look forward to
learning as I lead. What I love most about adult education and CPE is the ability to utilize the
action-reflection-action model: to engage in discussion and mentoring of students in the CPE
process; to coach them as they navigate the waters of theology and pastoral care. I leaned into the
instruction of the Apostle Paul to Timothy throughout the years when mentoring, tutoring,
discipling, coaching others in life, and academia. I recall my mother and grandmother’s faith
during hardships and know that I need only lean into the teachings of my youth. I expect to lean
into my supervisor, follow his guidance, staff chaplains, and other disciplines as we navigate the
process until I become a Certified Educator.

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 Works Cited

Wimberly, Edward P. Recalling our own stories: spiritual renewal for religious caregivers. 1st
ed., San Francisco, CA, Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1997.

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