Alex Barrientos

Before graduating in 2011, Pastor Barrientos transferred to WAU after feeling unsatisfied with his previous schools. At first, he wasn’t sure what to expect but soon realized that it was the best decision he had ever made. “WAU’s Department of Religion is not afraid to [ask] real questions about life, about God, its text, sources, and how they speak about God,” Pastor Barrientos explained. “What you found here was diversity, educationally and culturally…while also making sure that pastoral vocation was harnessed for ministry in the real world.” He values the genuine connections he made in the religion department and its policy in preparing its students to anticipate ministry from different perspectives. At the recommendation of one of his professors, Pastor Barrientos began work as a part-time pastor in the Potomac Conference his junior year; as soon as he graduated, he began working there as a fulltime pastor. After serving over 15 years in ministry, in 2021, he was appointed to serve as the Senior Pastor of Sligo Church.

Pastor Pranitha Fielder set a precedent for ordained ministers as the first ordained female Adventist pastor of Indian descent. From the young age of 14, she knew that she wanted to be in ministry. Although her family and community were against her decision, Pastor Fielder felt called to help others through pastoral ministry. When she attended what was then Columbia Union College (CUC), she considered doing a double major in Biology and Theology to open prospects of continuing her ministry through medicine. However, it did not feel like what God had intended for her to do. She then understood that full-time ministry was the only path that made sense for her, and she was determined to fulfill that reality despite the challenges she faced. Sligo Church was always a strong supporter of her ministry, from when she worked as a leader in youth ministries at 17 to after she graduated from CUC in 2007 and became a working pastor, later being asked to return to Sligo as the Pastor for Youth & Young Adult Ministries. In 2014,

Pastor Fielder was ordained by the Potomac Conference at Sligo and later transitioned to the role of Pastor of Discipleship and Congregational Care. Currently, she serves as Sligo’s Pastor for Administration.