Kelley Hudlow
I am a theopoet, preacher, teacher, priest, and leadership coach.
I serve as the Canon for Vocations and Community Engagement in the Diocese of Alabama. In this role, I work with leaders (lay and ordained) and with those in discernment and formation for ordained ministry. I have previously served as the Communications Coordinator for the Diocese of Alabama. Before joining the diocese, I practiced law, working as a public defender, in private practice, and as interim director of a legal clinic at the University of Alabama School of Law.
I was ordained as a deacon in October 2011 and served churches in Fayette, Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, and Fairfield. My diaconal ministry included directing the Episcopal Tornado Recovery Cooperative, a collaborative effort of the Episcopal churches in Tuscaloosa to respond to the devasting April 2011 tornados. I was ordained a priest in November 2020 and have served churches across the diocese, including in Birmingham, Heflin, Greensboro, Alabaster, and Roanoke. I serve as a spiritual director for the Diocese of Alabama Vocare Community, which offers an annual retreat for young adults exploring their faith and vocation. I have served on various diocesan committees, including the Standing Committee, the Bishop’s Committee on Generous Pastoral Response, the Department of Campus Ministry, and the Young Adult Ministry Steering Committee. I served as the Lead Documentarian for the Alabama State Committee of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival.
My academic and professional training includes a Bachelor of Arts in History, a Juris Doctorate, the National Criminal Defense College, Education for Ministry through Sewanee, and the Alabama Ministry School. I am a homiletic peer coach, having completed the David G. Buttrick Graduate Certificate Program in Homiletic Peer Coaching through Vanderbilt Divinity School. I have also completed the Teach Leadership program through the Kansas Leadership Center. I am a trained Thriving in Ministry mentor-coach. I am completing Coaching4Clergy‘s Professional Coach Training Program and intend to seek accreditation as an Associate Certified Coach through the International Coaching Federation (ICF). I am completing a Master of Arts in Theopoetics and Writing (expected 2024) through Bethany Theological Seminary.
My spouse, Shanti, is a poet, writer, and professor. We live in Birmingham, Alabama, with the “Ginger Brothers” — an orange cat named Julien and a corgi named Brother Juniper. This website serves as a library of my sermons, writings, art projects, and work as a coach.
Kelley Hudlow 