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Inspirational Reverend Edwina Burton Retires By Laura Whildin
"Certain people reach a point where they can no longer justify not becoming a minister. For me it was a feeling that it was something I was supposed to do. I could no longer find any excuses." Reverend Edwina Ward Burton is retiring this month after ten years of service at the Niwot United Methodist Church in Gunbarrel. Rev. Burton came to the church on July 1, 1989. Before that she worked for the National Park Service and a variety of civil service jobs. Her message is simple: get to know everyone despite their differences. As a minister, Rev. Burton says her favorite thing is preaching. "It’s very challenging to say something meaningful." The hardest thing is having to turn down people who call for money. She knows that sometimes when money is given with no additional support, good intentions can fail. "We try to give [money] to agencies that specialize in helping people." Rev. Burton says the church has changed dramatically in the last 25 years. "When I was a child the church was the center of activity. Now there are school activities on Sundays and the stores are open. In the early years, the church looked after the sick and troubled, now secular organizations have started doing that. The church has started to compete for time and for responsibility." Locally she says there has been growth and change because many of the congregation have jobs with IBM, Ball Aerospace and other large companies that frequently move their employees. When Rev. Burton entered the church 10 years ago it was difficult for a minority woman. "As a black person I was the last person in my class at the seminary to get an appointment. It wasn’t racism, but they were trying to find a community where I would be accepted. I think that speaks poorly of us as Christians. Across the church, women are not given the same opportunity as the men." For her, the Gunbarrel/ Niwot community was "a good match" and she has never felt any discrimination. Furthermore, she said, "I don’t think of myself as a woman. I don’t think of myself as a black person. I think of myself as Edwina." She knows her own biggest challenge. "The biggest obstacle I had to overcome to get into the ministry was Edwina [and Edwina’s] stubbornness." Her view of religion today centers around the bible story where Jesus was asked, "What is the greatest commandment?" Jesus answered, "Love the Lord your God above all things and love thy neighbor as thyself. Nothing is greater than these two commandments." According to Rev. Burton, "Loving our neighbors demands that we get to know our neighbors.... That is the way I think we, as a society, will move forward to where we need to be, by thinking of others instead of putting ourselves first." She hopes she has left her congregation with the knowledge that "what is important is the things we have in common. You should also know people as individuals, as God knows us as individuals." Rev. Burton tells of the day that most inspired her. Her husband had been in a coma for two months at Fitzimmons Army Hospital. While waiting for an appointment, a woman sat next to her and told her that her own husband had been in a coma for a year and a half. "Talking to that woman gave me hope. I just felt that if she could do it, I could do it." She will be moving to Littleton and has a lot of plans for her retirement. She wants to take computer classes at a community college, buy a piano and take lessons, belong to a writers group, join a spa and become involved in her Littleton community. She especially wants to spend time with her granddaughter. "I want to teach my granddaughter that you can make cookies with flour and eggs and sugar and butter." She wanted to retire while she is physically and mentally able. Rev. Edwina Burton sends a big thank you out to the Niwot community.
She has instructed her daughter, that if she is ever sick to bring her
back to Niwot and drive her through the area. "The love of this place will
bring a smile to my face."
She has loved her career. |
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Posted July 1999