Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam Codington.
Sam, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am the fourth of five children raised by a Presbyterian pastor and teacher on a small farm in South Carolina. Our house was like a miniature library. If we wanted to enjoy a story, it meant pulling a book off the shelf and reading it.
When I was ten years old, I began traveling with my parents to the island of Hispaniola working with pastors and teachers in remote villages to help with nutrition and education. I will not soon forget, as a ten-year-old, my dad kneeling down next to me in the middle of a Haitian village and saying, “Sam, this is their home, do you understand?”
In retrospect, I realize he wanted me to cultivate empathy. I am so grateful my parents included me early on in their work with those who face enormous and dehumanizing systemic challenges that extend through history and into the present.
When I attended college in South Carolina, I moved all over the map with my area of focus, spending my first year studying law and philosophy. In the end, philosophy of religion provoked a visceral curiosity that I initially had trouble articulating but that I felt compelled to pursue. For several years during and after college, I did not believe in God. This was a serious break from my childhood having been raised in the church. Later, I had something like a religious experience, perhaps like falling in love.
After college, I moved to California, got married, and eventually began seminary to pursue ordination in the Presbyterian Church (USA). My spouse, Esther, is from the central coast of California, and she has introduced me to all things West Coast. After finishing seminary, we decided to move to the East Coast where most of my family lives. In North and South Carolina, I was a hospital chaplain resident and a pastor of several churches.
At the beginning of last year, I accepted the invitation to be the pastor of Faith Presbyterian Church in the College Area of San Diego. The congregation has embraced us, and we are delighted to be here.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There is a road? Good to know. I will try to avoid it. In any case, I have traveled a road unforeseen by me. That I am here in San Diego is not something I anticipated even a few years ago.
After college, as I migrated from agnosticism and back into Christian faith and seminary, I felt as though I was venturing in to a whole new world. Indeed, I was. The Christian faith I was discovering was not that of my childhood. I had changed, and the world around me had changed. My theological coming of age was during a period of heightened awareness around economic disparities in this country while also studying wealth and poverty in the New Testament in seminary. The Christian faith I was discovering drew me into the world deeply. Writers such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer challenged me to ask myself what I was willing to stake my life on.
Perhaps, one of the most formative and trying years of my life was as a hospital chaplain resident in the year following seminary. In the second month, in the middle of the night, I remember standing outside a patient’s room with the patient’s spouse. We watched as a team of medical professionals worked tirelessly to revive her husband. We cried together. Daily, I entered wordless spaces where the only thing left was presence. I was also preaching at several Presbyterian churches and visiting their homebound on weekends.
At the end of hospital chaplain residency, Esther and I found out we were going to have a son, Ezra. Parenthood has opened me in ways I could not have imagined. Most days, I feel like my heart is unarmored and running out in the world on two little feet.
Amidst all the challenges and gifts on this rollicking expedition, I am so grateful for friends, mentors, and spiritual family who have loved me into being.
We’d love to hear more about the organization.
Faith Presbyterian Church resides across the street from the main entrance of San Diego State University on the corner of Montezuma Road and Campanile Drive. Faith desires to embody beloved community by growing in mutuality and holding diversity in relationship. Diversity is beautiful and challenging, and it makes us who we are. Since its inception, Faith has sought to be inclusive and actively engaged in the world.
We celebrated the 25th anniversary of Faith on our final Sunday together in person before the shelter in place order began in March. Faith celebrates a fantastic heritage of music that extends into the present, cherishes education, and cares deeply for matters of justice.
Faith really is a spiritual family. Since the pandemic began impacting San Diego, it has been inspiring for me to see people support each other and the community. It may feel sometimes like life is on hold, but so much of life continues only in more complicated ways. The Faith family has adapted to this complicated and unsettling season of life. From the outset, the leaders of the church mobilized to provide support for some of our most vulnerable and potentially isolated members, while also ensuring that we support a local food pantry for those facing food insecurity. We are truly living and growing in community together. I love this church.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
When I think of my childhood, I think of campouts and bonfires and hiking and books, lot of books. I was in Boy Scouts, and on one camping trip, it was at or below freezing for most of the trip. We were pretty miserable, but it was a fun challenge. Our troop competed against other troops in a talent show, and we won by doing a totally wonky puppet show. Looking back, our unabashed jubilation when they made the announcement is hilarious to me. We were jumping up and down with a group hug. You would’ve thought we had just won the World Cup. I don’t know if this is my favorite memory, but it is a good one.
Contact Info:
- Address: 5075 Campanile Drive San Diego CA 92115
- Website: https://faithchurchsandiego.org
- Phone: 619-582-8480
- Email: scodington@fpsd.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/faithchurchsd
Suggest a story: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
