OUR PASTOR

The Reverend Eustacia Moffett Marshall is called for such a time as this. The founding pastor of New River Presbyterian Church, Marshall relocated with her family to Philadelphia from North Carolina in July 2019 with a massive assignment to guide the replanting of three historic congregations in West Philadelphia. Those congregations include First African, Good Shepherd, and Calvin Presbyterian churches. Founded in 1807, First African is the nation’s first black presbyterian church, and one of Philadelphia’s first 5 black congregations. 

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Marshall completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology with a minor in human biology at Stanford University. She earned a Master of Divinity Degree from Princeton Theological Seminary where she merited a record number of academic, ecclesiastical and leadership awards, affirming her gifts for ministry. Those awards include the Presbyterian Leadership Award, Waileys’ Prize for Excellence in the Field of New Testament, David Hugh Jones Prize for Musical Excellence, Edler Garnett Hawkins Award for Scholastic Excellence, David B. Watermulder Prize in Church Leadership, Jagow Preaching Prize, and the John T. Galloway Prize in Expository Preaching. She was also awarded the Forum for Theological Exploration (FTE) fellowship and traveled to Nairobi, Kenya to explore worship and youth ministry in a global context. She is currently a PhD candidate at North Carolina A & T State University in the Samuel Dewitt Proctor Adult Education and Leadership Studies program.

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Prior to her pastoral tenure in Philadelphia, Rev. Marshall served churches in New Jersey and North Carolina and has been serving in full time pastoral ministry for 17 years.  She is a lectionary commentator in the online African American lectionary and  has sermons published in the African American Pulpit (Fall 2009) and in the book, “These Sisters Can Say It” (Volume 2).  Marshall is a woman of many gifts extending to multiple arenas. Prior to pastoral ministry she served in full time music ministry at the Elmwood United Presbyterian Church and spent her summers in college interning at Sony Music. With interest in how faith communities steward their assets, she is a real estate licensee in the state of North Carolina and served as Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Presbyterian Foundation, one of the largest religious foundations in North America. Marshall is the first black woman and one of the youngest (under the age 40) to serve in this distinguished role in the Foundations more than 200-year history. 

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Under her leadership and by God’s grace, New River Presbyterian Church was born during a global pandemic and launched its first onsite and online worship experience on Easter Sunday, April 9, 2023. Under Marshall’s leadership, New River is a growing worshipping community and embarking on an inspiring vision to support, advocate and invest in the flourishing of their neighbors in West Philadelphia. The vision includes a restoration of New River’s historic facilities to serve as a community hub and the development of affordable housing and a commercial corridor to provide an eco-system of services to support the education, health, and economic development of Parkside residents.

 

A native of Oakland, California, Rev. Marshall is married to the Rev. Touré Marshall, and together, their days are filled with adventure as they serve as parents to their greatest teachers: twelve-year old, Jeremiah and nine year-old, Jessica. Rev. Marshall’s desire is to use her gifts for the glory of God and to serve with energy, intelligence, imagination and love.