Reverend Averill hails from Winsted, CT, and her journey includes an upbringing in Northwestern CT, Wales, Scotland, and the Orkney Islands.
Coming by her profession honestly, Reverend Averill was born into a family of ministers. Her parents are both ordained and serve two separate churches here in Connecticut. Her late grandfather went to seminary on the GI Bill and did not retire from ministerial life until his late 80s.
The central thesis Reverend Averill feels the Bible gives us is that God is Love. We know it. We hear it. But what does it mean? How does it affect our day-to-day lives in 21st Century America?
To address this question, Reverend Averill begins her sermons with deconstruction of the Biblical text, looking at the worldview of Jesus and his followers through the specific language used in order to understand God’s message as it applied to them during that time period.
Two millennia later the Bible continues to speak to us. Once we have translated it, piece by piece, we can begin to understand how we can interpret it for the world we know today.
Reverend Averill is particularly passionate about music for worship services. She is a natural soprano, and will be joining the Center Church choir. She appreciates a combination of traditional hymns in tribute to the church’s rich history as well more contemporary music addressing today’s culture.
She is also the proud aunt of two adorable (but opinionated) boys and a sweet baby girl, all of whom are under the age of five. On her “secular days” the Reverend is known as “Auntie A” or simply “Auntie.”
Reverend Averill is also the rescue mother of The Archdeacon, a lame cat who often has a great deal to say whenever Rev. Averill is in a zoom meeting. The Archdeacon was named after Archdeacon Grantly (or Dr. Theophilus Grantly) in Anthony Trollope’s the Barsetshire Chronicles. He, of course, lives up to his name and his position in the church completely.
Contact Reverend Averill at reverendAEB@gmail.com or on facebook.
