Canterbury Chaplain
Hello! I'm Lauren Kuratko, our current chaplain. I have come to Canterbury from Alabama, where I was previously working as a Curate for St. John's Episcopal Church in Decatur.
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.
After working in Alabama at St. Johns I've come to you all here! I have enjoyed my time here so far, and look forward to getting to know you more as our time together progresses.
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 look forward to meeting you, and getting to hear some about your life! Come visit me in my office anytime!
