11.11.04

Terry Roof

Retired Marine serves as Erskine Seminary student body president

Erskine Theological Seminary Student Body President Terry Roof has heard the call of God twice in his life. The second time he heard it, he answered.

A seminary student since September 2002, he is pursuing a master of divinity degree after traveling a long road to wind up in Due West.

Roof, a Pennsylvania native, left college after two years because "it wasn't going well" and decided to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps.

He advanced to the rank of E-7 (gunnery sergeant) and after 13 years among the enlisted ranks, he was promoted to chief warrant officer. Roof retired in 1999 with the rank of chief warrant officer 4 after 27 years of service.

Roof said he first received the call to the ministry as a young man, but rejected it.

"God started working on me again about a year and a half before I retired (from the military)," he said. "I had always gone to church, but I didn’t really accept Christ until 1997. It wasn’t until then that I understood what salvation really meant. I lived a life of righteousness and works."

Once he understood the ramifications of his relationship with Jesus Christ, Roof said, "There was no doubt that (going into the ministry) was what I was supposed to do."

After he retired, he went back to college with the idea of eventually enrolling in seminary. He graduated from the University of South Carolina at Aiken in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology.

Roof is a United Methodist and he said most ordained clergy in that denomination have a master of divinity degree.

There are two types of ordained clergy in the United Methodist Church — elders (ministers) and deacons. Elders move from one church to another every four or five years and can administer the sacraments, while deacons stay in the same church and can assist in administering the sacraments.

"I'm on track to be an ordained deacon," Roof said. "Deacons are more geared toward service and work. I’ll never have my own church."

He said his service in the Marine Corps helped prepare him to become a deacon.

"It's interesting how I thought being in the Marines was just to be in the Marines," Roof said. "God used that experience for training me to do what he wanted me to do."

He said the role of the chief warrant officer is much like that of a deacon.

"They are not commissioned to be commanders," Roof said of the chief warrant officer post. "They're a bridge between enlisted and commissioned officers."

Roof said he chose Erskine Theological Seminary for a number of reasons.

"I knew two or three people who graduated from Erskine and they influenced me to come here," he said.

Proximity to his home in North Augusta was another factor, as was the schedule of classes.

"Another factor was the satellite campus at Augusta, although I’ve never used it," Roof said. "I enjoy the interaction with others and at the satellite campus, you take all your classes on Saturday and that would be laborious to me."

He said he also enjoys interacting with the college students. "There are a number that I can call by first name and a couple of them are very special to me," Roof said. "They make a point to come sit with me if they see me in the dining facility. That makes my day."

Roof said he is fortunate to be able to concentrate on being a full-time student. "Most of my classmates are in the pulpit (and/or) working one or two jobs," he said. "I've been blessed to be able to focus on academics."

Roof is not the only student in his family. He and his wife, Ederlina, have two sons — Kristofer, who is a junior at Wofford, and Kristian, a sophomore at North Augusta High School.

The Roofs met in Scotland when Terry was stationed there. Ederlina, who is Filipino, was  accepted into a nursing program in Scotland. They met in 1976 and married in 1977.

Roof said he never intended to be student body president at Erskine Seminary.

"Nobody runs for office," he said. "Student Body Association officers are nominated from the floor and the voting takes place over a couple of days. I was student body treasurer last year. I take it as an honor."

Kathy Barron is vice president, Kathy McAbee is secretary and Wanda Aull is treasurer.

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