Pastor Alex (she/her) has been humbled to serve as Olivet UMC's pastor since July 2021. Alex grew up in Columbia, MD as an avid youth group and mission trip participant at Glen Mar UMC. After attending a youth theology program at Duke Divinity School, she was shocked to find herself discerning a calling to ministry. When her friends and family told her they always knew she would serve in the Church, she realized God might just be leading her into something! Alex earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Comparative Religion from Seattle University in 2016. While a student, she studied abroad in Ireland and Ghana, led many spiritual retreats, and became friends with a few Jesuit priests.
Alex completed a year of service with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC), an organization committed to the values of spirituality, simple living, community, and social justice. She lived in an intentional community in Los Angeles and worked with people experiencing homelessness. Alex was blessed to end up back at Duke Divinity School for seminary, and she earned her Masters of Divinity in 2020. During an internship at a Methodist church in Pretoria, South Africa, she was shepherded into the pulpit. Alex also worked as a short-term hospital chaplain for Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) and had the joy of serving with A Christian Ministry in the National Parks (ACMNP) at Mt. Rainier National Park.
Alex loves to hike, swim, bike, ski, read, travel, play board games, and laugh with her friends and family. A cinephile since a young age, Alex logs, rates, and reviews every movie she watches. A few of her 5-star favorites include Jaws, Amadeus, Do the Right Thing, Kiki's Delivery Service, and Lady Bird. Above all, Alex tries to find God in all things. Alex sees the face of Christ in everyone she meets, including all the saints of the Olivet family. Some of the Church's saints who have most influenced her working theology include Julian of Norwich, Ignatius of Loyola, John and Charles Wesley, Howard Thurman, and Oscar Romero. Alex also often finds God in creation, especially as she watches sunsets over the Chesapeake Bay here in charming Lusby!
