Rev. Anne joins our parish from the staff of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in St. Petersburg, Florida where she has served as a curate since January 2022. At St. Thomas, she assisted with their youth ministry program, pastoral care, many outreach initiatives, and served at the altar every week.
Anne was baptized at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Denver, Colorado, when she was seven years old with two of her three brothers. She remembers as she stood by the font, seeing the colors from the stained glass window on her white dress. From that moment, she had a sense of being beloved by God and felt called to serve in the church. As she grew older, she recognized Baptism and the Eucharist to be more than beautiful rites performed in churches, but as transformative events in our lives that prepare us to do God's work in the world.
Sensing a quiet call to a church vocation, Anne knocked on doors for years, but they remained closed. Eventually, she accepted what she interpreted to be a call to secular ministry, to care for God’s creation through research and teaching. She has a Ph.D. in biogeochemistry, and was an associate professor in terrestrial ecosystem ecology at Florida Gulf Coast University. She studied climate change impacts on the Swedish subarctic tundra and New Mexican Chihuahuan desert. She taught both environmental science and civic engagement at FGCU. But as a professor, the call to serve God persisted, which put her on the path to ordination. She was sent from her home parish of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Bonita Springs, FL, where she'd introduced Godly Play and served as storyteller, to Nashotah House for two years in a masters distance learning program. She completed the M.Div. in residence at the General Theological Seminary in New York City, where she served as chief sacristan for two years. Anne graduated in May 2022 and was ordained a priest on August 24, 2022.
Anne has lived in Texas, Missouri, Colorado, and Sweden, then from 3rd grade on, her family lived in the Boston area. Her family, including three younger brothers, were active members of the Church of the Holy Spirit in Wayland, MA.
Rev. Anne has one daughter, Madeleine, who graduated in 2023 from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is completing a residency in Massachusetts. Anne and Madeleine are fans of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Harry Potter!
To read Anne's weekly sermons click here!