The State Botanical Garden will host an evening with ordained minister and comedian Susan Sparks on Sept. 26. Open free to the public, the evening will begin with a jazz reception at 6 p.m.; Sparks will speak at 7 p.m. The event is being presented by Robert Ayers, UGA emeritus professor of religion.
After 10 years as a lawyer moonlighting as a stand-up comedian, Sparks left her practice and spent two years on a solo trip around the world. During this time, she worked with Mother Teresa’s mission in Calcutta, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and drove the Alaska Highway. After returning home, she entered Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where she earned a master of divinity degree and wrote an honors thesis on humor and religion.
Sparks is currently the senior pastor of the historic Madison Avenue Baptist Church in New York City. Sparks is the first woman pastor in the church’s 165-year history.