The Rev. Mary Carson is a southwestern Ohio native who returned “home” in December 2016 when she was appointed as Priest-in-Charge of St. James. In 2019 she was chosen to serve as Rector (Pastor). Mary was ordained deacon and priest in 1992. Between 1992 and 1999, she was assistant at Trinity Church, Newport, RI; St. Christopher’s Church, Gladwyne, PA; and Grace Church, Sandusky, OH. She then worked for almost 8 years on the staff of the Bishop of the Diocese of Ohio as Assistant to the Bishop for Ministry Development overseeing the ordination process and transition ministry.
Having grown up as a “priest’s kid” and being on the inside of the Church forever, she decided to try something different and became Associate Executive Director and then Interim Executive Director of Lutheran Chaplaincy Service (now Chaplain Partnership) in Cleveland. A growing desire to assist church communities to grow spiritually while also connecting more with the people in their surrounding neighborhoods led her back to parish ministry in 2010 with the people of the Church of the Redeemer in Lorain where she served until her move to Cincinnati.
Mary is a graduate of Kenyon College where she earned a Bachelor of Arts with an interdisciplinary major in religion and music. She holds both a Master of Arts in Theology with an emphasis on liturgy and a Master of Divinity from Bexley Hall (now Bexley Seabury Seminary).
When she’s not at St. James, you might find Mary swimming or working out at the Gamble-Nippert Y across from St. James. Walking, yoga, and cycling are other favorite forms of stress relief. Someday she hopes to become a proficient kayaker and finally learn to knit. Her love for music continues to feed her through choral singing, playing piano and very occasionally organ, and enjoying the variety of musical offerings in greater Cincinn