New pastor: Rev. Laura Ruth Jarrett
Rev. Laura Ruth Jarrett
Hope Central Church welcomes Rev. Laura Ruth Jarrett as our Pastor effective June 1, 2010.
Laura Ruth grew up on the south side of Atlanta, GA and has always had a relationship with God. In her words, she is “a spiritual pilgrim who practices in a Christian way.” She received her Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Georgia in Athens and a Masters of Divinity from the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge. Her field work included serving as a Student Minister at St. Luke’s and St. Margaret’s Parish, an Episcopal Church in Allston-Brighton. She also worked at the Women’s Center in Plainville, MA, a Dominican retreat house, helping with retreat preparation and working on worship music with composer Carolyn McDade. Most recently, Laura Ruth served as the Minister of Outreach and Evangelism at the First Church in Somerville, where she was instrumental in growing church membership.
Laura Ruth and her partner Marian (Meck) Groot have lived in Jamaica Plain for 17 years, so she knows our community well. Moreover, she was a member of Hope Church (one of the two congregations that merged to form Hope Central) from its earliest days until her ordination. Laura Ruth's personal interests include woodworking, music (drumming, guitar, singing), reading, gathering with friends and family, watching football, and spiritual practices.
In her past work, Laura Ruth has developed a reputation as a strong preacher and a creative worship leader. Wise and mature, she possesses a compassionate spirit and a contagious sense of joy. The following comments were made by some of her references:
“Her love of faithful ministry is contagious and real. Her ever deepening spirituality makes
the worship she leads about God and not herself. Her attention to each person's joys and
grief creates a community that is compassionate and trustworthy”
“As a preacher, an artist, a woodworker, a singer, a drummer, and a painter, she is able
to take even the mundane – the details of ministry, the messiness of church life, the
ordinary daily stuff of life – and make it feel more like art.”
“Her ministry is one of the things I am most grateful for in my life’”
“She has a way of sharing her exuberance that makes people say 'yes' to God.”
Laura Ruth lists as some of the goals of her first few months as pastor: leading wonderful worship, sharing meals with people, getting to know people in the church as well as the surrounding community... so when you see her hanging out at J.P. Licks, she'll be eager to talk to you!