Your Isle of Faith Ministry Staff

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Pastor Arlinda was born in Gary, Indiana, in the same neighborhood as the Jackson Five singing group. Arlinda recalls them singing on the streets as many kids did in the sixties. 

To most of her friends, Arlinda was perceived as the nerdy student with her nose in a book most of the time. Arlinda’s Mom raised six children while working long hours as a cook, caterer, and housekeeper. Arlinda’s father died when she was five years old. Her Mother made certain that the children attended services with her at Liberty Baptist Church. Two of Arlinda’s siblings are still living who live in South Haven, and Charlotte, North Carolina.

After high school, Arlinda attended college for a while and then decided to join the Navy. She traveled around the world with the Navy with specific deployments in six countries. She held many positions while in the Navy but never spent time on a Naval ship and instead deployed with aviation squadrons. Arlinda began her military career in the early seventies when many changes were being made in recruitment and opportunities, especially for women. She served in the Navy for 26 years, and for 14 years she was assigned to various Naval bases in the Jacksonville area. While in the Navy, she obtained a B.S. from the University of Southern Illinois as well as a Master’s Degree in Counseling from Webster University.

During an assignment at Patrick Air Force Base in Melbourne, Florida, Arlinda became friends with their Chaplain who was also a United Methodist Church ordained minister. She first began to think about the ministry thanks to Chaplain Frank Holley. After she retired from the Navy, she settled down in Jacksonville and got a job as a Guidance Counselor at Jacksonville Community College. She joined the Isle of Faith United Methodist Church and soon felt the call to go into fulltime ministry. 

She enrolled in the Candler School of Theology at Emory University where she received a Master’s in Divinity. As an ordained minister with the United Methodist Church, she has had appointments at Trinity United Methodist in Palm Beach Gardens, St. Andrews United Methodist Church in Brandon, Mariner United Methodist Church in Spring Hill, Florida. In 2015,she was appointed to Arlington United Methodist Church bringing her back to the Jacksonville area. With the encouragement and support of AUMC, she continued her divinity studies at Candler and received a Doctorate Degree specializing in Church and Community Leadership.

She has one daughter, Rhoda, who teaches high school English in South Florida and two grandchildren, Aaron who is 24 and Chloe who is 21. She has one son, Kenneth, who works in Washington D.C. in the computer industry

Phone: (904) 221-1700 x 222

Email: pastor@iofumc.org

Worship Director

Phone: (904) 221-1700

Email: jude@iofumc.org