Podcasts
Garden of Grace
Rev. Candace Chellew-Hodge,
Associate Pastor:
The last of five children born to a Southern Baptist minister and his wife, Rev. Candace Chellew-Hodge felt God's call on her life from as early as she can remember. The Greensboro, N.C. native always knew that God wanted her to minister to others in some way, but being raised in the Southern Baptist church, her options were limited. Those options were further limited when she came out as a lesbian at age 16.
When she was 17 she began a career in journalism after being offered an opportunity to work at a radio station in Buford, Georgia where she spent much of her childhood. Her journalism career spanned nearly 20 years and included jobs at several Atlanta radio and television stations including WGST radio and CNN.
In 1996, she combined her journalism skills and that persistent call from God to serve and founded Whosoever (http://www.whosoever.org), the first and only exclusively online magazine for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Christians. The bimonthly magazine provides inspiration, guidance and information and explores many topics of faith from the GLBT perspective including grace, spiritual self-defense, loving one's enemies and living a life of integrity. More than 500,000 people visit Whosoever each year.
Whosoever brought up new questions for Chellew-Hodge about her spiritual walk as a lesbian and a Christian - and readers of the magazine challenged her to explain how one can be both gay and Christian. This led her to enter seminary in 1998 to deepen her own understanding of the Christian faith and how it meshed with her sexuality. She received a Master of Theological Studies degree from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in 2002.
Despite the magazine and the degree, God continued to call Chellew-Hodge deeper into ministry. She answered that call and was ordained as a minister of the gospel on December 7, 2003 by Gentle Spirit Christian Church in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2007, she became a licensed UCC minister.
She and her partner Wanda moved to South Carolina in January 2003 and searched for ways to serve God in a new state. The first church they attended was MCC Columbia (now Garden of Grace UCC) and they were so impressed with the warmth and love they received from the congregation, they decided to make it their church home. Chellew-Hodge was made assistant pastor in July 2004 and associate pastor in 2007. She is honored to be both a member and minister at Garden of Grace .
She and Wanda live in Camden with their furry children - the dogs - Loki, Sadie, Shadow and Bandit and the cats - George and Xena.