The Rev. Mary Anona Stoops

Denomination: Presbyterian Church (USA) (PCUSA)
Organization: North Decatur Presbyterian Church

The Rev. Mary Anona Stoops is ordained in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and has served congregations in Melbourne, Australia; Rochester, New York; Nashville, Tennessee; and Hastings, Nebraska, and is delighted to be currently serving at North Decatur Presbyterian Church in Decatur, GA. Her ministry focuses on congregational care, congregational fellowship, and adult formation, with a particular eye toward the care and spiritual nurture of older adults. Mary Anona was part of the team that founded Columbia Theological Seminary's Certificate in Spiritual Direction Program, and she currently teaches Spiritual Formation and Older Adulthood for the Certificate in Older Adult Ministry at the seminary.

Mary Anona believes that Ralph Waldo Emerson said it well: What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. This conviction inspires Mary Anona’s work as a pastor, spiritual director, and end-of-life doula. And so, even as she joins with individuals and congregations to follow Jesus out into the world, she also invites them to seek the Holy within themselves; to wander into the inner landscape of the heart and behold how the light and shadows fall there, trusting that the Spirit that creates and sustains the world around us is also present and active deep within. She lives in Decatur with her husband. Meals with family, tea with friends, yoga, hiking, advocating for disability rights, knitting, and reading poetry are some of the practices that keep her grounded and open to the adventure of life.