Hood Theological Seminary held its Fall 2024 Opening Convocation on Friday, September 13, 2024. Rev. Dr. Laticia Hill Godette, Esq., Hood alum MDiv’14, was the speaker at this event. Dr. Laticia Hill Godette is the Presiding Elder of the Wadesboro-Monroe District of the Piedmont Episcopal Area of The A.M.E. Zion Church. Rev. Dr. Laticia Hill Godette was the Valedictorian of her 2014 HTS class. She is a law school graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill and an HTS Adjunct Faculty in Church History. She is the owner of Godette Health, and she previously served as the Presiding Elder of the Camden District of the New Jersey Annual Conference of The A.M.E. Zion Church. Finally, she has an impressive record as a national philanthropist.
During the event, the first point Dr. Laticia Hill Godette discussed was that many people were just “checking off the boxes” to get by in life and recommended that students and the Hood community “throw away the checklist.” She stated that students should “allow the Holy Spirit to lead you, that we would submit ourselves to God.” She reminded students to “seek the Kingdom, and then all these things will be added to you.” The second point she discussed was to “team up with power” and to “take off the cape.” In relation to this point, she told students to be more transparent and that Hood Theological Seminary is a community and a family. She explained that while she was in seminary, she also had several other duties, and her “professors wrapped their arms around me; they helped me, they nurtured me.” Dr. Laticia Hill Godette encouraged new and returning students and told them they were going to make it, but they needed to “take off the cape…you are not alone.” The third point she stated was, “Talk to yourself…encourage yourself in the Lord.” At the end of her speech, Dr. Laticia Hill Godette said she “prays that this [her sermon] has encouraged someone tonight.” Her speech encouraged students, both new and returning, as well as the Hood community.
Hood Theological Seminary, located at 1810 Lutheran Synod Drive in Salisbury, NC, is a graduate and professional school sponsored by the A.M.E. Zion Church and approved by the University Senate of The United Methodist Church. Its student body, faculty and staff currently comprise persons from many different denominations. Hood’s mission is to prepare women and men for bold and creative leadership for the Christian church for a diverse world.
