SuperintendentVarrett John Kennedy
“To God Be The Glory For The Things He Has Done.”

Superintendent Varrett John Kennedy was born on August 19, 1964 in Brooklyn New York to the late John Henry Kennedy (a successful entrepreneur), and the late Mother Joann Moore Kennedy, (a retired Guidance Counselor and Director of Programs for a Community Social Service Agency).  Superintendent Kennedy is the oldest of four children. Potential qualities of leadership were evident in the early years of a young aspiring leader. As both parents worked diligently to provide for the family a young Master Kennedy was entrusted with the responsibility of keeping a spirited and adventurous three siblings on track.  He as the elder recognized the need and in many instances sacrificed his “good pleasure” for the necessities of the family.  His siblings, were the recipients of a nurturing manner and a considerate disposition that consistently exhibited compassion yet simultaneously challenged them to “do right by God”. Today each of his siblings have excelled because of the parenting of both John and Joann Kennedy however in addition, the mentoring and self-less acts of a young visionary who saw “the big picture” contributed greatly towards solidifying a foundation which produced three successful educators working as leaders within the New York City Department of Education.

Superintendent Kennedy completed his elementary education at the St. John’s Preparatory School in Brooklyn. He received the Lord at the young age of eight years old.  Later in his teenage years, he received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. He graduated with honors (Pro Deo Et Scholar) from Martin Luther Lutheran High School in Maspeth, New York.  There he served in numerous capacities; class vice-president, gospel choir director and ministerial assistant. He was reared, nurtured and trained in the ways of the Lord at Mt. Sinai Cathedral under the late Bishop Clarence Sexton, Sr. As a young man he went on to major in Religious Studies and minor in Drama at The University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

On December 14, 1984 at the age of twenty, under Bishop Sexton, he began his formal ministry, and later in September of 1993, he was ordained an elder in the Churches of God in Christ. Between the years of 1991 and 1993, at the express permission of Bishop Sexton, Superintendent Kennedy served as youth minister for Christ Seeks You Ministry, under the leadership of Pastor Raymond Jones. For approximately ten years, Superintendent Kennedy taught and counseled young people within the church but exhibited a huge passion to work with young people beyond the confines of the church walls.  The New York Department of Education provided an initial opportunity for him to do just that. Pastor Kennedy counseled hundreds of students throughout Samuel J. Tilden, Paul Robeson and Canarsie High Schools.  At Canarsie High School, he was blessed by God to coordinate the schools first Latin American Caribbean Student Society, and a school-wide gospel choir; THE VOICES OF REDEMPTION.  In 1991 the choir received Honorable Mention as they received recognition by The Black Music Caucus, for being identified as third best high school choir in America.


Superintendent Kennedy wholeheartedly believes in the significance of Life-Long Learning. He has always seen scholarship as an important tool to be used towards understanding God’s word as we navigate our way through life.  He achieved Clinical Pastoral Education credits at the Department of Veterans Affairs; New York Harbor Healthcare System this summer, which has positioned him for National Certification with the Association for Clinical Chaplains. Prior to receiving the aforementioned honor he received training in Chaplaincy for the community and prisons from All Saints Chaplaincy Academy in Hempstead New York, there he received certificates in Professional and Supervisory Chaplaincy.

Superintendent Kennedy has served on several professional committees that include the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce Business and Education Committee, the New York City Board of Education Collaborative Initiative with Community Based Organizations.  He has also served as one of the  Vice presidents of the East Brooklyn’s Revitalization Project, Commissioner of Education for the Second Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of Eastern New York of the Churches of God in Christ Incorporated and Pastor of Redemption Ministries in Brooklyn New York from 1995 to 1998.  It was during that time that he became deathly ill.  This was an extremely trying time for he and his family.  Later in 2001, he experienced blindness for approximately one and a half years.  He says that his love for God and relationship with him offered a new and profound meaning.  His most beloved scripture is found in Romans 8:28 Amplified Version, “We are assured and know that [God being a partner in our labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to His design and purpose.”

Superintendent Kennedy is currently serving in numerous capacities as Pastor of Beth-Rapha Ministries in Saint Albans New York, Clinical Chaplain at Cabrini Hospice; he is also Superintendent of the Cross County District of the Second Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of Eastern York, Churches of God in Christ Incorporated. He is the Associate Professor at All Saints Community Chaplaincy Academy and Chief Executive Officer of Parties by Design Caterers.  As Superintendent, he continues on the path towards his God given purpose, he remains affixed to the apostle Paul’s message found in Philippians 4, which exclaims “Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own.  I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]; forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.  I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling me upward.” Philippians 4:12-14 Amplified Version.

BACK TO THE SITE