Reverend Carol Pinkham Oak

Reverend Carol Pinkham Oak

Rector, St. John's Episcopal Church

In September 2006, Carol became the 18th Rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church since its founding in 1822.  In answering the call, she was inspired by the educational mission of both St. John’s Church and St. John’s Parish Day School (SJPDS) and was excited by the lively sense of community in the congregation as well as the academic excellence engendered by SJPDS.  Carol has served urban, suburban, and small town parishes over the course of 23 years of ordained ministry, including 9 years as Rector of St. James Church, Goshen NY and, immediately prior to St. John’s, served for 6 years as Associate Rector at Christ Church, Alexandria VA, where among other things she developed and oversaw a mentoring and leadership formation program for new clergy.  She has chaired the Standing Committee in the Diocese of New York, served on the Search Committee for a Suffragan Bishop in New York, was adjunct faculty at the College of Preachers at the Washington National Cathedral, and served as a program evaluation advisor for the Religion Division of the Lilly Endowment.  Carol believes that teaching and learning in the Christian life requires the engagement of heart, mind, and spirit.  She holds a Bachelor of Science in environmental studies from the University of Colorado, a Master of Divinity from Yale University, and a Doctor of Ministry degree in Congregational and Leadership Development from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary.  Her husband Jeff serves on the executive leadership team for Bon Secours Health System and is a Corporate Fellow with the Ethics Resource Center, an independent think tank founded in 1922 that advances high ethical standards and practices in public and private institutions.  They have two children: Nathaniel, who has completed 2 years at Boston College, and Julia, who is a rising senior at St. George’s School, an Episcopal boarding school in Newport RI.