On the second snowy day of this winter, I went to meet with the Rev. Susannah Grubbs-Carr. I had heard her speak at the funeral of the late Mr. Raymond Comans, so I already had a good impression of her. After our conversation, that has only grown into a genuine liking of this woman who was called into the footsteps of her father, a Methodist pastor of more than 50 years.
Born in Jackson, on May 11, 1971, Susannah’s home was in the Pickens, area at that time. Susannah’s parents are Dr. Carl and Diane Grubbs, who are now retired and reside in Madison. With both parents being from here, Dr. Grubbs’ ministry had been entirely in the state of Mississippi. She has two younger sisters, Jennifer Heath, who serves as children’s ministry director at St. Matthews Methodist Church in Madison, and Allison Smith, an
elementary school teacher in Madison.
When she was about seven, her father was assigned to a parish in the Delta. They lived there until she went into the 10th grade in Clarksdale, where she graduated from high school. She then attended Millsaps College, majored in English, and earned her B.A. degree in 1993.
Her parents, faithful ministers all her life, were strong influences on her, as she followed the leadership of the Holy Spirit into full-time service; but she also told me of her late maternal grandmother, whom she described as an “amazing woman.” The Rogers operated a dairy farm, where Susannah and her sisters spent many summer weeks. Susannah said Grace Rogers, a housewife and artist, lived up to her name. Every night she would do the Upper Room devotional, a Methodist publication, with the family, and she would often be heard humming a hymn, with her favorite being “Near to the Heart of God.”
I asked about her own salvation experience, which, of course, is different in the Methodist church from what I had always experienced. Susannah called herself a “cradle Methodist,” having been baptized as an infant and confirmed at age 12. As to “that moment,” she said it was most likely when she went to seminary. In response to her calling, from God, she said, “I left everything. You lay everything down, and it was during those years when I began a deeper awareness.”
Rev. Susannah, as she likes her parishioners to call her, stated, “My call to ministry was a struggle because I fought it for a long time. God had to wrestle with me.” She was 26 when she finally surrendered. After graduation from Millsaps, she had worked in several secular positions, which she said she enjoyed; however, she said, “The Holy Spirit just kept working with me.” She had felt a strong call to counseling, and God showed me I could do that in ministry.
Being still single at the time, Susannah left home and the state of Mississippi to attend Duke Divinity School in Durham, N.C., where she earned both a Master’s of Divinity and a Master’s of Theology, with a focus on Pastoral theology and Spirituality. With credentials to do pastoral counseling, she is a member of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors.
While at Duke University, she met Todd Carr, who was the brother of her roommate Allison.
They were married Feb. 23, 2002. She also finished her last degree that year. Their first child, Noah, now 13, was born in 2004, and Caleb was born in 2007. These boys she considers “precious gifts from God,” and she spoke of the birth experience as her most amazing miracle.
Her husband Todd Carr had owned his own business but began teaching as a second career about five years ago. She was very proud of him, as, after earning his B.S. degree in Business and Landscape Design, he went on to earn his Master’s in Education from Mississippi State. He taught in Vicksburg first and is now teaching seventh grade science and health at Newton County Middle School.
After earning her degrees, she went into End-of-Life ministry, doing her residency in this field, as well as trauma care, at Duke Hospital. For four years, working in Jackson, she was Chaplain Director for Hospice Ministries, Inc., a company with in-home and inpatient care over the state of Mississippi. She was hired to lead and revamp their chaplain program.
She oversaw all the chaplains, both those who did in-home ministry care and those whose positions were at the inpatient facility in Ridgeland, the location of the company headquarters where she had her office.
Leaving this field, she entered parish ministry in about 2005 and was ordained to the Order of Elder, with full ordination as a pastor in 2009.
She was associate pastor at Galloway Memorial United Methodist in Jackson for four years and at Madison United Methodist Church for the next three years. Leaving Hawkins United Methodist Church as senior pastor in Vicksburg after five years, Rev. Grubbs-Carr was called to Decatur United Methodist Church in June 2016.
We had conversation about the beliefs of the Methodist denomination, but I don’t have room here except to say that a person’s previous baptism experience is recognized as valid when they join the Methodist church, as they believe, as Rev. Carr said, “We recognize baptism as asacrament … We believe in that grace moment, the Holy Spirit did the work.” They will also immerse upon request.
They believe, as do the Baptists, “Salvation is a gift. There’s not one thing we can do to earn our salvation. But we do have a response to that—to live as faithful disciples. She spoke of discipleship a lot, “living out the life that God calls each one of us to in our salvation.”
When asked about her main goal for this congregation, she replied, “Our job is to pay attention to what God is calling us to do, in sharing the gospel. God equips the called, and we are called. My role is to help us live into our discipleship by watching and listening for when the Spirit is calling and leading us.”
You may contact me at lagnesrussell@gmail.com or 601-635-3282.
