Last year, the Rev. Ashley Brock Guthas didn’t see herself as the senior pastor of a church, much less a historic one that counted among its members a former president and first lady of the United States.
Six months ago, though, Guthas gave her first sermon as pastor of Maranatha Baptist Church.
Today, she considers it home.
“Maranatha is unique in how it has welcomed people from all over the world,” she said. “Hindus, Muslims, atheists, Jews, Buddhist and many more have been seated on the red pews together.“
She plans to build on the foundation “to see that our church remains open to all and that we will be eager to embrace what unites us.”
Though small, with about 30 members who attend weekly services, the church became a frequent stop for visitors from around the world who journeyed to the town in southwest-central Georgia to hear President Jimmy Carter teach Sunday School and pose for pictures with them.
Carter, who recently turned 100, stopped in 2019 due to his age and health. Carter’s niece, Kim Fuller, continues to teach Sunday school lessons.
Fuller, executive director of the Friends of Jimmy Carter National Historic Site, said Guthas brings a fresh outlook to the congregation.
“She preaches from the heart and I have no doubt that what’s she’s saying behind that pulpit is what she believes God has led her to say,” Fuller said.
Their last full-time pastor, the Rev. Tony Lowden, left Maranatha in 2021. Since then, the church has not had a full-time senior pastor and has relied on a series of visiting preachers. Lowden still serves as the former president’s personal pastor.
When they first approached Guthas, she was happy in Atlanta though recently divorced. She was worried how custody would work with her ex-husband and how her two young daughters would adjust to small-town life.
Members first approached her in 2023. She turned them down. Then a second time. One of the church leaders said they were so sure Guthas was the right person for the job that they were willing to wait a year.
She struggled with whether to stay at Northside Drive Baptist Church to be the associate minister there or to be the senior pastor of Maranatha Baptist Church.
A Maranatha member once posed the question to her: “Why would you want to stay in Atlanta when you could make a name for yourself here in Plains?”
She didn’t want to lead a church and “I didn’t care to make a name for myself. Just the famousness of the church made me shy away from it, ultimately.”
She had to untangle various theological views she had experienced at different points in her life that held that women could not serve as pastors.
While not yet part of the church, Guthas continued to visit Plains on a regular basis. She attended the famous Peanut Festival, citywide birthday celebrations for Carter and other events.
“I felt a sense of belonging here,” she said. “People just really began to feel like family and their persistence — they just didn’t give up … I really do feel that I have just stepped into a place that, even if maybe, some of the members are struggling and wrestling through ‘what do I really believe’ and ‘what do I really feel about her being here,’” she said.
Roughly six months later, Guthas has no regrets.
“The reception has been incredibly warm,” said Guthas, who grew up in Carrollton.
Maranatha is a small church with a weekly Sunday attendance of about 30 people, she said. Most of the congregants are older and white. Visitors have fallen off, but they still come. Just a few weeks ago, there were visitors from China.
“I was told we got this woman preacher and she’s really good, you should check out her out,” said longtime member Ron Haynes, 84. “Every one of her sermons are winners. There’s not a clunker among them. I was an advocate for a female pastor. It’s growth for the church to accept women in that role.”
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Fuller, Carter’s niece, said Guthas has won over many members. “We’re an older congregation. I’m 68 and one of the younger ones. Some of the older parishioners are having a hard time with her preaching but she’s making them think, making us all think and, in my case, giving me an opportunity to think about how I feel about certain issues and fresh outlook about what my faith can be.”
Although she’s gotten to know many members of the community and congregation, she hasn’t been served that Southern staple of welcoming — a slice of pound cake — yet, but she was given a reddish-hued pickled egg in a Ziploc bag.
“It’s not something I would try again but I was grateful that someone wanted to share what they loved with me,” she said.
The church was built 1978 and became the spiritual home for the Carters when they left Washington in 1981 to head back to Georgia. Its one of several churches in the surrounding area that includes a Lutheran church, an AME church and several Baptist churches.
Guthas has not met President Carter, but has met several members of the family at different events in the community. She’s been told that Carter has watched some of the church services online.
Guthas, 41, is “already considered one of us,” said Andrew Greer, a songwriter and documentary filmmaker who has lived in Plains about two years.
The fact that Maranatha would welcome a woman as pastor is not necessarily out of step. “We’ve had woman deacons for years,” said Greer. “Mrs. Carter was a deacon. The church believes in the quality of women in positions of leadership.”
Guthas is still adjusting to small-town life and her role in the community.
“It’s definitely been a journey of growth,” she said.
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