Amanda's journey to ordained ministry began before she was born with women in her family who likely would have been priests had the tradition allowed for it. God was introduced to her by those same women as great Mystery and even greater Love, able to handle her probing questions and always accompanying her with deep and abiding love. Amanda remembers lying on the floor of the National Cathedral (another story!) as a small child, full of awe and wonder for the beauty of the space and the God who had inspired it. Episcopal summer camp was formative of her understanding of herself as a beloved member of the Body of Christ. She majored in religious studies at the University of Virginia and interned in a few churches before applying to seminary. A graduate of the Episcopal seminary at Yale Divinity School in 2006, Amanda has since served a parish in New York City and then Charlotte.
Amanda's life and commitments have been changed by relationships with those impacted by racial inequity and injustice, addiction and mental health issues and the universal experience of death, loss and grief. She strives to be a gatherer of wisdom and healing, a collector of experiences of joy and boundless delight!
As for what brought her to Good Shepherd? Well that is another story... One full of God and grace.
Amanda, as she prefers to be called, began her role as Rector (head pastor/priest) on October 1, 2020. She is a native of Washington, D.C., who moved to the Carolinas from New York City in 2011. She met her husband, Terry Robertson, at a funeral and he proposed two years later at a local retirement center. Yes, there is a story there! The Robertsons live in Rock Hill with their three sons: T.J., Townsend and Angus.