Writing her faith, living her calling

At 72, Rolanda Gilliard, M.Div. ’28, is engaged in a new chapter: seminary and ministry. A lifelong resident of the South Carolina Lowcountry, Gilliard grew up in Charleston and now lives in Beaufort, where she balances her studies at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (LTSS) with service as an associate pastor at Lady’s Island Baptist Church.

Even as a child, Gilliard loved writing stories for family and friends, but her mother encouraged her to pursue a more stable career. That led to 21 years in social work and 19 as a second-grade teacher — roles in which she often supported people facing crises or struggling to meet basic needs. 

“I don’t believe I would have survived emotionally or physically without my faith,” she said. “The long hours, the emotional drains — the circumstances of working with people struggling to meet basic needs, experiencing crises, facing challenges that may seem insurmountable — brought me closer to God. I prayed for deliverance for myself and for the people I was working with.”

After retiring in 2015, Gilliard answered the call to ministry. She became a licensed Baptist minister in 2020. “I knew God had been calling me since my 40th birthday,” she said. “I put it off because my husband was active duty military, I had young children, and I was working on a master’s degree. I didn’t feel qualified or capable. Maybe God made a mistake. Then, when I was 68, God asked, ‘Do you have any more excuses?’ I surrendered.”

Now, Gilliard sees her love of writing as a way to connect with God and her congregants.

“Finally, I am a writer. And I love sitting before God, waiting,” she said. “It’s not like I have that lectionary, like when I’m over at the Lutheran Church. I have to pray, and I have to wait, and I have to ask God, what is it that you want for your lamb and your sheep? And then I have to discipline myself and wait. Sometimes I even have to fast, so that I can drown out the distractions and hear God's voice, telling me where to go and what to write. That is fascinating to me, too, just knowing that God connects to me in this way.”

Gilliard now serves her congregation by assisting with communion and baptisms, preaching when needed, and supporting members in times of grief and celebration. As part of her seminary formation, she is completing fieldwork at St. John’s Lutheran Church, also on Lady’s Island, where she has shadowed the pastor and is now facilitating classes. The experience has expanded her appreciation for Lutheran traditions and deepened her understanding of ministry across denominations.

Her studies at LTSS have been both rewarding and challenging. She appreciates the seminary’s balance of online learning with opportunities to gather in person during First Week. 

“I like that First Week brings us all to campus,” she said. “It’s like the first day of school as a teacher. I love hearing the stories — it feels like a reunion.”

Though she is often the oldest student in her classes, she finds encouragement in her peers.

“I love the fact that I’m challenging my mind and being part of this,” she said. “I have two grandsons, one seven and one seventeen. I want them to see that if their 72-year-old grandmother can do this — they can too! My 17-year-old is going off to college next year, and he’ll think about how I dug in and faced these challenges.”

Looking back on everything from building a home with her husband to beginning seminary later in life, Gilliard said two qualities have sustained her: “I have two God-given gifts. I have the gift of encouragement, and I have the gift of faith. Whatever I've faced, I've known 'I can do this. I can figure it out' because God is with me.”