Canterbury Chaplain
Hello! I'm Lauren Kuratko, our current chaplain. With bittersweet feelings, I have to tell you all that I've accepted a job in Richmond, VA. I will be the Assistant to the Rector for Youth, Young Adults, and Pastoral Care at Grace and Holy Trinity Episcopal Church. I hate to leave you all, and yet, I'm excited about the new possibilities in Richmond.
I will be leaving at the end of June. Ryan will stay in Lubbock until the end of July, and then will join me in Richmond. He's applied for several jobs in Richmond, and we hope to hear back about employment for him in the next few months.
I have loved working with all of you! We have gone through a major building renovation, we have changed and grown together, we have great and active students, and a newly re-constituted Board. All these things have been a wonderful gift!
I've spoken with the Bishop, and he hopes to hire a new chaplain to take my place before the fall semester begins.
As you know, I am a Southerner, born in Montgomery, Alabama. I have a big family, and most are still in Alabama, with the exception of my Mom and Step-Dad who are living in Sewanee, Tennessee while my Mom is in seminary.
I went to Rhodes College, a small liberal arts college in Memphis, Tennessee. There, I really grew into my own spending a lot of time doing service work in the Memphis Area. I think my love for college ministry comes out of my time in college, where I learned about myself, and my place in our world.
At Rhodes, I was a double major in Psychology and Religious Studies. While in college I felt that God was calling me to ministry as a priest in the Episcopal Church, so I went through the discernment process in my home Diocese, the Diocese of Alabama. Alabama sent me straight to seminary after college.
I went to Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), which was an amazing experience for me! VTS was a place where I could study, deepen my relationship with God, and make some life-long friends (in addition to my great college friends!). At VTS I spent two years working for St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in College Park, MD. I am deeply grateful to the people and staff of St. Andrew's for all they taught me, and for letting me be myself with them.
I have come to Canterbury from Alabama, where I was previously working as a Curate for St. John's Episcopal Church in Decatur.
I have a dog named Hannah, who is a standard poodle. She's never met a stranger, and you might see her from time to time at Canterbury with me. Also, I have a great big family back in Alabama who are quite supportive of me, and I love them all very much.
So, there's a little about me. I will be in the office over the next couple of weeks. Please come by and say good-bye if you get a chance. If you miss me, call my cell. My new email is lauren.kuratko@gmail.com
