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The Reverend Laura A. Bryant has accepted the call to serve as the Fourteenth Rector (and historically the first female Rector) of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Johnson City.
A native of the Midwest (St. Louis and Chicago), Reverend Bryant graduated from Duke University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in religion in 1980 and earned a Master of Divinity degree from the Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, Ga., in 1987. Currently she is pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree in Gospel and Culture from Columbia Theological Seminary. She was ordained to the priesthood in 1990 and has served in a variety of positions since that time. Most recently, she served as the Interim Dean of The Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Burlington, Vt. Prior to that, she served three parishes in the Diocese of Atlanta.
Reverend Bryant was the founding director and priest of “The Road” Episcopal Service Corps, an intentional community and formation program for young adults. She also was an associate priest for the Church of the Common Ground, a worshiping community for the homeless who live on the streets of Atlanta. She has been involved in the work of the Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing and was a member of Beloved Community: Commission for Dismantling Racism. She says, “Having served now as priest for 30 years, and in several contexts, I can say that I love the church and the work of ministry even more now than when I first began.”
She and her husband, John Hutton, a structural engineer, have two grown sons, Joseph and Sean. One of her favorite prayers is one said over the newly baptized but applicable to all of us at all times: “Sustain them, O Lord, in your Holy Spirit. Give them an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and love you, and the gift of joy and wonder in all your works.” (Book of Common Prayer 308). For more information about St. John’s Episcopal Church visit www.stjohnstn.org.
St. John’s Episcopal Church is located at 500 N. Roan St., Johnson City.