03-10-2024 Capital Style - Flipbook - Page 6
3 THINGS
BY MIKE KLINGAMAN Capital Style
Carletta Allen
Asbury United Methodist Church pastor
PHOTO BY KIM HAIRSTON
It took a while, but Carletta Allen found her
calling. The pastor at historic Asbury United
Methodist Church in Annapolis, Allen worked
in the fashion and banking industries before
earning a Doctor of Ministry degree from
Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington,
D.C.
Besides her ministerial role at Asbury, the
oldest African American church in Anne Arundel County, the 67-year-old Allen serves as
president of the board of the Annapolis Opera
Company, a chaplain for the Anne Arundel
County Police and a member of the board
of trustees of Luminis Health Anne Arundel
Medical Center.
Here are three things you may not know
about Allen:
Opera stirs her soul.
“As a young, struggling mom, I hadn’t the
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| CAPITAL STYLE | Spring 2024
money to go out on weekends, so I turned
on PBS. I’d heard that this Pavarotti guy was
a pretty good singer, so I watched [a performance of] ‘La Boheme.’ I couldn’t believe the
human voice could do such things.
“As much as I love the singing in opera, I
also love the drama, staging, costumes and
the bringing of stories to life; it takes the
stress right out of me. My body is wracked
with arthritis, but when I’m at the opera, or
listening at home, in a relaxed state, I don’t
feel the pain. There’s nothing but the music
and the transcendence that happens when one
is immersed in that music.”
Her basement is a veritable boutique.
“I used to model and I still love fashion.
I’m the only woman I know who admits that
she has too many clothes; there are literally
hundreds of outfits downstairs, though I’m
slowly downsizing, with an eye on retirement,
and giving them to consignment shops.
“I’ve had nine jean jackets and 34 handbags,
though I’ve given 14 of [the latter] away. I love
hats — wool, felt and church-lady hats — and
still have 22 of them, after giving away a dozen
more. My excuse is that I wear other people’s
art.”
A second childhood beckons.
“I never learned to dance; growing up,
everything was about school, school, school. I
read a lot, didn’t date much and started work
at [age] 12. I’ve been a workaholic all my life,
but I plan to take a line dancing class this year.
At my age, I’m not worried about looking silly;
I’ll just take my Advil and get out there. It’s
time for me to have the childhood that I didn’t
have, just doing things for fun, like a 3-yearold does.”
