On behalf of the Holy Comforter Vestry, and with gratitude to God, I am delighted to announce that The Rev. Amanda J. Barker has accepted our call to serve as our next rector. Mother Amanda possesses a unique combination of pastoral and executive skills that equip her to walk with us into an exciting future. Her ministry with us will begin on January 1, 2026.

She comes to Holy Comforter from St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church in Boulder, where she has served as Curate since July 2024 and previously as their Seminarian Intern. While at St. Aidan’s, she has worked to design and implement creative faith formation projects such as a forthcoming podcast to accompany the choir’s performance of Handel’s Messiah and a Prayground to welcome young worshippers.

Mother Amanda received her Master of Divinity from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP) in May 2024. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in earth and planetary science from Washington University in St. Louis, MO, and a Master of Science degree in environmental policy and planning from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Before ordination, she spent nearly two decades in nonprofit leadership, advocating for land conservation policies and historic preservation education. She worked at the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts for six years and served as executive director there for more than two years. She is also a proud returned Peace Corps Volunteer (Madagascar, 2005-2008).

Mother Amanda and her husband, Aaron, live with her two stepchildren in Boulder. She spends her free time discovering more about this speck of land in the universe. She’s currently learning about the birds across seasons in her backyard and is a beginning student of Tai Chi Chuan. She loves being in the kitchen, reading, traveling to new places, and to her favorite people.

We invite you to read the letter from Mother Amanda printed on the right of this page, and to hold her and her family in your prayers during this time of transition. Additional information regarding Mother Amanda’s arrival at Holy Comforter will appear in editions of the weekly E-News as the time draws nearer.