St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Portsmouth Calls The Rev. Jennifer Pedrick as New Rector.

The Reverend Jennifer Pedrick has accepted a call to be the next Rector of St. Mary's in Portsmouth RI. Jennifer has been in this Diocese for some time now and many of you may know her as the Rector of Church of the Epiphany in Rumford, RI. She has been at Epiphany since 2002, but prior to that she served as Assistant to the Rector at St. Mary's.

St. Mary’s is very excited to see Jennifer return, but this time as their Rector. Paul Westrom, a vestry member who was convener of the St. Mary’s discernment team says “Jennifer is a visionary, inspirational pastor who excels at Christian Formation and thinking "outside the box." He says that there were many reasons she seemed like the right fit for St. Mary’s but that they were particularly struck by her passion and spirituality.

“Every interaction we have had with her has been pastoral and spiritual. She is a smart, funny, loving, giving, Christ-filled person! She is looking to make disciples of Christ and she makes you want to come along and help. Our Mission statement is "Come Grow with Us" so who better to helps us do that than someone who is obviously committed and driven to deepen not only her beliefs but also her flock.”

 The Rev. Jennifer Pedrick was educated at Harvard Divinity School and Sweetbriar College. Jennifer is a spirit-filled speaker who relates to a multi-generational audience and whose sermons make Jesus relevant to daily life. Jennifer's passions are worship, congregational development and education. In addition to her work at Church of the Epiphany, she serves in a number of capacities for the Diocese of Rhode Island.

In her spare time, Jennifer enjoys gardening, cooking and entertaining friends. She is a two-time marathon finisher and in 2008 she walked the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, an ancient Christian pilgrimage across Spain. Jennifer is married to Michael DeAngelo. They have two daughters, Lydia and Isabella. The Reverend Pedrick begins her ministry at St. Mary’s on April 1.

Looking forward beyond April, Westrom says:

“St. Mary's is blessed in so many ways, but we do have challenges ahead also. We want to grow internally and externally. We want to strengthen existing ministries through education and to move into the future fulfilling God’s potential in traditional and innovative ways. We have work to do… We hope that Jen will help fill us with the Light of Christ so that we can be a Beacon of God's Love to Aquidneck Island and the surrounding area. We are so excited!”

 For more information, please contact St. Mary’s Episcopal Church at 401-846-9700.