Two new acting chaplains have been appointed to serve at Boston College and Northeastern University.
Effective Oct. 1, the Rev. Grant Barber has been appointed acting chaplain at Boston College, and the Rev. Megan Holding has been appointed acting chaplain at Northeastern University. Both are part-time positions.
They succeed the Rev. Judith Stuart, who has taken leave after serving as Episcopal chaplain at both schools--13 years at Boston College and 11 years at Northeastern. She is planning an extended sabbatical for family needs and personal discernment of future ministry.
"Ministering with young adults on university campuses is one of the most significant things we can do for the church and the world. I am deeply grateful to Judith for her many years of creative and devoted service, and to Megan and Grant for stepping up to continue our presence at these two schools," Bishop Alan M. Gates said.
Courtesy Photos
The Rev. Grant Barber and The Rev. Megan Holding
The Rev. Grant Barber is recently retired as the rector of St. Luke's Church in Scituate, where he served since 2005. He joined the Episcopal Church through a college chaplaincy while a student at Baylor University in Waco, Tex. He completed his seminary studies at Berkeley Divinity School at Yale and was ordained a priest in 1988 in Connecticut. He served as curate of St. Paul's Church in Willimantic, Conn., before returning to Yale as a full-time chaplain for eight years. He then went on to serve as rector of Holy Trinity Church in Oxford, Ohio, located near the Miami University campus and attended by students, faculty and staff. He served there until his call to Scituate. He and his wife, Denise Fox-Barber, have one adult daughter.
"Students in college are in formation, open to exploration, asking profound questions," Barber said of his enthusiasm for returning to campus ministry, adding, "Support of college ministries means substantive support of the present and future of the church."
Barber can be reached at revgrant@comcast.net. He said he would especially like to hear from Episcopalians who are Boston College alumni and want to receive a regular newsletter.
The Rev. Megan Holding has served for the past five years at St. Paul's Church in Brookline as seminarian, assistant rector and priest affiliate, the latter a role in which she continues to serve. She graduated from Yale Divinity School with a Master of Divinity degree, and received a Certificate in Anglican Studies from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale. Before entering seminary, she practiced law, specializing in health care issues, and was involved with a wide variety of ministries at her sponsoring parish, Trinity Church in Boston. She grew up in Ohio, graduated from Amherst College and Georgetown University Law Center, and worked for a federal judge in Kentucky before moving to New England. She and her husband, Chris, have two teen-aged daughters.
"I am delighted to begin my ministry at Northeastern," Holding said. "I look forward to participating in the pastoral, sacramental and liturgical work of the school's Lutheran-Episcopal Ministry, joining the interfaith work of the university's Center for Spirituality, Dialogue and Service, and exploring the vibrant, interesting and engaging community that is Northeastern."
She can be reached at m.holding@northeastern.edu.