This Sunday, we are privileged to receive the preaching of Rev. Virginia Coakley.
Rev. Virginia Coakley is an ordained Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA). She has served parishes as Installed and Transitional Pastor in upstate New York and Cambridge MA and was a Campus Minister in Worcester, MA for 9 ½ years. Prior to ordained ministry, she joyfully served in various ministerial roles for approximately thirty-years including Coordinator of Missions and Evangelism, Coordinator of Prison Ministry Team, Pastoral Counselor, Youth Minister, Sunday School Teacher, and Nursing Home, Hospital Team Member and most recently as the Prison Team Coordinator at the Roxbury Presbyterian Church, First United Presbyterian Church in Cambridge, MA and the People’s Evangelistic Center in Dorchester, MA. Her passions include preaching, teaching and evangelism. She has participated in Mission & Immersion Trips to El Salvador, South Africa, Brazil, and St. Kitts, West Indies.
Rev. Virginia is also a trained Spiritual Director providing spiritual accompaniment for those looking to explore the movements of God in their lives. Prior to working in ordained ministry Rev. V served as Program Director for several non-profit agencies within MA including an Assisted Living Program working with formerly homeless elders and as a Director for a Healthy Families Program for teen parents and their babies whose mission is to reduce incidences of child abuse and neglect. She has also worked in several Massachusetts Correctional Institutions as Counselor, Caseworker, Substance Abuse and Post Release Coordinator. Currently, she is working as a Case Manager working with families to prevent homelessness by sustaining their tenancy.
Rev. Virginia earned her Bachelor of Science from Lesley College and her Master of Divinity from Boston University School of Theology in 2006. Virginia resides in Brighton, MA. She is engaged to be married to Ethan Gould in November 2025. She is the proud mother of an adult daughter, Jayla and is the pet-parent to Herbie, her love bug rescue cat and equally proud furry grandmother, to Zoe Zoe her daughter’s rescue kitten.
