{"id":9,"date":"2016-05-15T14:33:20","date_gmt":"2016-05-15T14:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/messiahunitedmethodist.com\/new\/meet-the-pastor\/"},"modified":"2025-04-03T15:00:26","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T19:00:26","slug":"meet-the-pastor","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/messiahunitedmethodist.com\/new\/meet-the-pastor\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Pastor"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Rev. Lauren Wright<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-878 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/messiahunitedmethodist.com\/new\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/176140832_4139627162725753_6066915213679297543_n.png\" alt=\"Lauren Wright\" width=\"260\" height=\"260\" srcset=\"https:\/\/messiahunitedmethodist.com\/new\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/176140832_4139627162725753_6066915213679297543_n.png 260w, https:\/\/messiahunitedmethodist.com\/new\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/176140832_4139627162725753_6066915213679297543_n-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 260px) 100vw, 260px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q\">\n<div dir=\"auto\">Hi Friends! I\u2019m Lauren Wright! Previously the associate pastor at Culpeper United Methodist Church (in Culpeper, VA), where I was for three years, I came to Messiah United Methodist church in July 2021. I grew up outside of Richmond, Virginia (where my family still lives), and went to undergrad at Virginia Tech (I studied biology!) before going to Duke for seminary. I heard whispers of a call to ministry in the United Methodist Church that I grew up in, but it wasn\u2019t until my college years and involvement with the United Methodist Campus Ministry, Wesley at Virginia Tech, that I really explored what it meant to follow God\u2019s call on my life.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q\">\n<div dir=\"auto\">Inside the church, I\u2019m passionate about missions, making meaningful connections with others, and building relationships. I strive to help people find their place in the church (what we often refer to as our calling), which, in the words of Frederick Beuchner, &#8220;is the place where your deep gladness and the world\u2019s deep hunger meet.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q\">\n<div dir=\"auto\">When I\u2019m not at the church, I\u2019m often found drinking a good cup of coffee and reading a book at a local coffee shop, walking my miniature dachshund, Myrtle, at a park, or out on the water on a kayak \u2013 I love to be outside, and to explore!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rev. Lauren Wright Hi Friends! I\u2019m Lauren Wright! Previously the associate pastor at Culpeper United Methodist Church (in Culpeper, VA), where I was for three years, I came to Messiah United Methodist church in July 2021. I grew up outside of Richmond, Virginia (where my family still lives), and went to undergrad at Virginia Tech &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/messiahunitedmethodist.com\/new\/meet-the-pastor\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Meet the Pastor&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":50,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-9","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/messiahunitedmethodist.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/messiahunitedmethodist.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/messiahunitedmethodist.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/messiahunitedmethodist.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/messiahunitedmethodist.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/messiahunitedmethodist.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1479,"href":"https:\/\/messiahunitedmethodist.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9\/revisions\/1479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/messiahunitedmethodist.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}