Mary Wood Brown was born and raised in St. Petersburg, FL in a home full of laughter and competitive spirit.  She was also born and raised by First UMC St. Pete, where she first felt a call to ministry.  Mary responded to that call by telling God she would do anything that didn’t involve public speaking – and every Sunday she smiles when God proves her wrong, again.  

Mary studied English at Emory University in Atlanta, GA and earned a Master of Divinity from the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, CO (with an unofficial minor in snowboarding).  All that schooling meant a lot of summers where she could work at Wilderness Trail, helping youth experience Christ through week-long backpacking trips.  Mary loved working for Wilderness Trail so much that she went on to work there full-time for 7 years and (best of all) married one of her fellow staff.

Mary has been serving as a pastor in the United Methodist Church since 2010 – in Charlotte, Andrews, Sylva, and (now) Asheville, NC.  She has a Doctor of Ministry from Duke Divinity School.  She loves preaching, studying, listening to people’s stories, and watching for where God shows up.  Mary and her husband, Alan, have two children, Eleanor (13) and Reid (10).