Rev. Dr. CJ Wood grew up in the Houston area. After graduating from Tomball High School, she lived abroad as an exchange student in Germany. Upon return from Germany, she earned her B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies and Reading/ESL (language acquisition) from Houston Baptist University and became a certified classroom teacher by the State of Texas. From there she moved to Waco, Texas to study at Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University earning her Master of Divinity in Global Christianity and World Religions.
CJ worked in education for around 12 years including adult education (ESL, TOEFL prep, Citizenship, and GED), elementary education, and as an education consultant in India for three and a half years. After returning to the U.S., CJ completed a Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) residency at the Baptist Health System in San Antonio, Texas. Afterwards, she moved to Corpus Christi, Texas to work for CHRISTUS Healthcare System as a staff chaplain. While there she was ordained at St. Paul's United Church of Christ through the Heart of Texas (HOT) Association of the South Central Conference of the United Church of Christ.
Just prior to the pandemic, Rev. CJ moved to Austin to work for Ascension Seton Healthcare System and officially became a board certified chaplain through the Association of Professional Chaplains. Also during the pandemic, Chaplain CJ completed her Doctor of Ministry in Formational Counseling from Ashland Theology Seminary in Ashland, Ohio. Formational Counseling focused on pastoral care and counseling, spiritual formation and direction, and formational healing prayer. Her research looked at how pastoral caregivers can be better spiritual companions to people with bipolar disorder.
Rev. Dr. CJ's interests include the intersectionality of the various forms of liberation theology including Queer Theology, Racism in Healthcare especially in Maternal Health and Perinatal Care, Disability Theology, and Mental Health Theology. CJ serves on the Committee on Ministry for the HOT Association overseeing and caring for ministers. She also is a deacon at her local church, Congregational Church of Austin of the United Church of Christ. CJ enjoys reading, going to the movies and arcades, and streaming shows. She loves snuggling her two cats, Logan and Lucy. Her greatest joy is spending time with her nieces, Emma and Lila.
