Message from Our Priest,
Rev. Mother Carol Ruthven
As Episcopalians we believe in a loving, liberating, and life-giving God (www.episcopalchurch.org). We are guided by the teachings of Jesus Christ and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We seek and serve Christ in all persons and we love our neighbors as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:39). We strive for justice and peace among all people and we respect the dignity of every human being. We believe that every person is created by God in God’s image (Genesis 1:27) and is worthy of our respect and God’s love.
As a priest, I am passionate about preaching the Good News of the Gospel, teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and caring for people. Jesus said: “35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Matthew 25:35-49
Jesus said, “Come and see” (John 1:39). We invite you to do that same. Let us welcome you.
May you be blessed abundantly by God’s love and comforted by God’s peace.
Mother Carol+, Rector
Rev. Ruthven has served the Episcopal Church of Our Saviour, Madison County, since July 2017. She graduated from the School of Theology at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, and has been ordained as a priest in The Episcopal Diocese of Lexington for 13 years. Prior to coming to Our Saviour, she served as Rector of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Lexington, Kentucky (December 2007–June 2016) and worked part-time as a Chaplain of Hospice of the Bluegrass in Lexington (Nov. 2008–Nov. 2011).
She is the Co-Chair of the Diocesan Commission on the Racial Reconciliation of All God’s Children (January 2016 to present) and has served on several diocesan committees and Executive Council. She is a member of the national cohort of the Public Theology and Racial Justice Collaborative of the Vanderbilt Divinity School (2018 to present). She is also a board member of the Kentucky Council of Churches.
Mother Carol has been active in interfaith ministry for many years. She is a member of the Steering Committee of the Christian-Muslim Dialogue in Lexington (January 2010 to the present) and served as a board member of the Interfaith Alliance of the Bluegrass (October 2013–May 2016). She is an active ally and advocate of the LGBTQ+ community and has served as Co-Chair of the Bluegrass Rainbow Faith Communities (2015 to the present).
She is deeply drawn to Benedictine spirituality and contemplate prayer. She is an Oblate of The Community of The Transfiguration, Episcopal convent, in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is also passionate about sharing the life-giving, transformative love of God and the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ. She is dedicated to radical inclusion in which every person, regardless of their race, ethnicity, birthplace, or sexual orientation is welcomed and treated with respect and dignity.
She emigrated from Canada to the United States in February 1992 and is now a U.S. citizen. She has lived in Lexington, Kentucky for 25 years. She is married to Alan Fryar and has two sons, Michael and Scott, and a daughter-in-law Kate. When she is not busy preparing a sermon, she enjoys time with her family, cooking, yoga, reading murder mystery novels and travel.
