New Hope United Methodist pastor, Kelly Figueroa-Ray began serving the congregation on Sept. 1.

Her road to becoming a pastor may have not been a conventional one, but pastor Kelly Figueroa-Ray is excited to now be serving Hope United Methodist Church in Blue Earth.

“I grew up outside the church,” Figueroa-Ray says. “I found faith when my mother signed me up for a UMC (United Methodist Church) youth group. I felt I could just be a human when I was at church.”

Figueroa-Ray was born in Maryland but she says she grew up in San Diego.

“My dad was a neurosurgeon in the Navy at Bethesda when I was born and my mom was a lawyer,” Figueroa-Ray comments. “They were very success driven.”

She got a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1999.

“It was while I was at Berkeley that I first began to feel called to the ministry,” Figueroa-Ray shares. “I went to New Orleans where I did some ministry and then I applied to Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington D.C. and graduated with a Master of Divinity degree.

Figueroa-Ray got involved at the seminary by working as a student assistant pastor, coordinating confirmation and helping out with sermons.

“At some point I changed gears and decided to go back to school to get my PhD in religious studies at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia,” Figueroa-Ray says. “My daughter, Penelope was six weeks old when I went back to class.”

It took her 10 years to get her PhD and she graduated in 2018.

“I also met my current husband, Christopher Hoffman, while I was at the University of Virginia,” Figueroa-Ray shares. “My dissertation was on multiculturalism in the UMC and specifically on one pastor’s approach. That pastor was Miguel Balderas, who I had worked with since seminary. One of the things I was interested in was what people believed about scripture and what they actually did.”

The next stop in her journey brought her to Minnesota where she got a visiting assistant professor job at St. Olaf University in Northfield.

“I was there from the summer of 2018 through 2021,” Figueroa-Ray notes. “While I was there I had breast cancer. I am thankful to report I am now 100 percent cancer free.”

As it turns out, her best friend, Rachel, was the pastor at Northfield United Methodist Church.

“I also learned that the religion job market is tough,” Figueroa-Ray says. “So after 2021 I was able to get a job as the University Chaplain and the Director of the Wesley Center at Hamline University in St. Paul,” Figueroa-Ray says. “A fun little fact is that Hamline is about the size of Blue Earth.”

But she still felt the call to preach, to be a minister.

So she began the process of becoming an ordained elder, and was ordained on June 12, 2025.

And now she is serving as the pastor of Hope United Methodist Church.

“I knew nothing about Blue Earth before coming here,” Figueroa-Ray comments. “I was full-time at Hamline until Aug. 28 and Sept. 1 was my first official day in Blue Earth. My sister-in-law had packed all of my clothes so I had to spend three days in the same clothes.”

She and her husband are now busy getting settled in the parsonage owned by the church while also working on becoming familiar with Blue Earth and the surrounding area.

“I am very excited about being rooted in one place, getting to know people and seeing the people I am in ministry with on a different level,” Figueroa-Ray says.

She laughs and adds, “I don’t know why I waited this long to be a preacher. I love to preach.”

Figueroa-Ray acknowledges she is already appreciating having some time to read about bringing God’s word to people, spending time with her husband or just being able to go sit with a patient who is in the hospital.

Figueroa-Ray also says that since coming to Blue Earth she has already experienced a number of “firsts.”

“Sept. 6 was my first-ever solo communion service in a Sunday setting,” she comments. “Sept. 8 was my first funeral and Sept. 20 was my first baptism.”

Figueroa-Ray is also hoping for a few “firsts” away from her pastoral duties.

“I want to learn how to fish,” she reveals excitedly. “I already got lessons on how to can from the Daryl Murray family.”

According to Figueroa-Ray, she already likes being here a lot.

“I am looking forward and think it will be nice to be a part of a community and a town where we can walk and talk and get to know people,” she concludes. “Then we can discern what God’s will is for our community of faith and walk with them.”