The ‘New’ Church in Little Compton Turns 100

Celebrating 100 years of worship

A visit to Little Compton’s Commons is like stepping back into history. From the white-steepled church founded by the Pilgrims’ offspring to the Civil War-era General Store to the ancient slate gravestones in the picturesque burial ground, time seems to have stood still.

Set against this venerable background, the “new” church in Little Compton – St. Andrew’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Church – is turning 100 this year, and the parish is gearing up to celebrate its centennial in grand style. A newly-renovated parish hall will be dedicated by Bishop Knisely, and a 21st century stylized logo has just been unveiled that symbolizes the parish’s focus on the future while hearkening back to its historical roots as “the fisherman’s church.”

St. Andrew's by-the-Sea (1914)

It was August of 1914 when Laura Lloyd Wainwright drove her “touring automobile” to nearby Tiverton to persuade the Rev. John A. Gardner of Holy Trinity Church to hold a service for the summer visitors. The pair quickly organized an evening prayer service for 125 worshipers at the “Casino” or Clam House at Sakonnet Point where, just hours earlier, day-trippers enjoyed a bountiful shore dinner before returning back to Providence via steamship.
In the following weeks, Mrs. Wainwright convinced her husband to donate an oceanfront garage that was soon transformed into a summer chapel. In 1918, the chapel was moved to a 4-acre pasture near the Sakonnet Golf Club. From this idyllic setting, St. Andrew’s by-the-Sea served residents and summer guests alike as an unorganized mission of the Diocese of Rhode Island for the next eight decades.

In 1998, a new building for St. Andrew’s by-the-Sea was created from the bones of the historic Guild Hall on the north end of the Little Compton Commons. This central location could better serve the townspeople, as well as worshippers from South Tiverton and nearby Westport, Mass. In 2001, the now year-round St. Andrew’s by-the-Sea achieved parish status in the Diocese.
On Saturday, August 23rd, St. Andrew’s will host a centennial gala on the church grounds to commemorate its first 100 years. Bishop Knisely will celebrate Holy Eucharist the following morning to ask God’s blessings on the parish, and on its ministry for the next century, in what will undoubtedly be a joyous commemoration.

In a town where institutions are measured in centuries, not years, St. Andrew’s by-the-Sea has now joined the revered “Century Club.” Its best years are still to come!

The Rev. Greta Getlein: A New Vicar for St. Paul's, Pawtucket

The Wardens and Vestry of St. Paul's Church in Pawtucket RI are pleased to announce the call of a new Vicar, The Reverend Greta Getlein. The Rev. Getlein is to Join St. Paul's on May 1st, 2014.  She is currently serving as the Associate Dean and Director of Anglican Studies and Formation at Berkeley Divinity School, an Episcopal Seminary at Yale University.  She concurrently serves as Pastoral Associate at Christ Church, New Haven, CT.  In 2009 she earned her Master of Divinity Degree from Yale Divinity School and Diploma in Anglican Studies from Berkeley Divinity School. Upon graduation she was ordained to the Diaconate and in January, 2010 to the Priesthood.

Prior to entering seminary, she served for over ten years as Nurse Manager/Administrator in hospice and home healthcare. She was also a professional chamber singer specializing in early music and sacred music. Throughout this time she was an active lay leader in the Episcopal Church.

Since ordination she has been involved with Chapel-on-the-Green, an ecumenical service held outdoors each week for those who are uncomfortable inside a church. She is also involved with a local food pantry and Community Soup Kitchen, and a twice weekly clothing and food distribution program to folks living in poverty, called the "Midnight Run."

In describing herself she writes, "I believe in the goodness and inherent worthiness of all people and that God's love is stronger and deeper than we can ever imagine. Through the rhythm of daily prayer, corporate worship, sacrament and service we are transfigured to serve God in the world." She believes the most effective pastoral care begins with careful, attentive listening--being present for another. She is very joyful and hope filled about the "Church of the future." She believes we are in a time of transition and transformation and that what we know as church must be opened up, explored, tested, and expanded to open us to the Holy Spirit in new and exciting ways.

She is married to Wanda Strickland, B.S. Nursing and has three grown step-children and a grandson. Her family includes a special needs dog that she and Wanda recently adopted.

Get your Ashes to Go Tomorrow, Ash Wednesday

Deacon Janice Grinnell on URI's  campus for Ashes to Go 2013

Tomorrow for the third year in a row, Clergy and Laity from Episcopal churches across RI are taking ashes outside of their church buildings and into their neighborhoods, to offer the imposition of ashes and prayers to people on the streets for Ash Wednesday.

As chief organizer, The Rev. Edmund Harris says “Of all the days in the Church’s year, we thought, Ash Wednesday is a day when God’s love and mercy meets people wherever they might be, whatever their connection to church or God has been."

The Rev. Edmund Harris is Priest in Charge of Epiphany in East Providence, and the founder of Church beyond Walls (CBW). CBW is a congregation that feeds the hungry physically and spiritually by holding worship and distributing food in the park at Kennedy Plaza. CBW aims to equip parishes to better reach outside of their doors and meet the needs of their communities.

“Ashes to Go.” Was inspired by a similar program in the Diocese of Chicago founded by The Rev. Emily Mellott, and in past years this has been a powerful event which has made a huge impact on both those who offered and received ashes. We hope to see you outside tomorrow! 

Ashes to Go 2014 Participants & Locations

• Stephens, Providence: Outside church after noon mass (12:30-12:45ish)
• Ascension, Cranston: outside church 7-8am during commuter hours and 2:15-3pm as school lets out.
• Holy Trinity, Tiverton: Drive up Coffee and Ashes in Church parking lot 6:30-9:00am
• St. Marks in Warwick and St. Thomas in Greenville will be at TF Green Time TBA
• Epiphany, East Providence: and Church Beyond the Walls: Kennedy plaza from 7-11am
• Transfiguration, Cranston: Washington Park Square starting at noon
• Redeemer, Providence: Hope Street at Fourth Street in Providence, 7am to 9am 401-331-0678
• St. Augustine's at URI: Kingston Train station 5:45am to 7:30am or so, URI Campus (in front of Memorial Union on upper end of lower college road) 9am-11am
• St. Martin's, Providence: Providence Train Station, Time TBA
• St. Matthew's Jamestown: Outside in front of church during morning commute

Watch online as it unfolds by following these lists of our churches:

49 on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lists/682849971770

15 on twitter: https://twitter.com/EpiscopalRI/lists/ri-episcopal-churches

ECC's "New Church" Attracts 70 to First Service

I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19

Last Sunday night, 70 people came to the very first service of “New Church” in Pascoag, an Episcopal Church plant associated with our Camp and Conference center. For the first time in many years, the church that was formerly Calvary Church, at 158 Broad Street in Pascoag, was full of people who had come to worship.

It was over five years ago that Calvary made the decision to merge with St. Thomas’ in Greenville, and that merger led to a healthy and thriving parish that is living fully into God’s call to care for one another and the world. The merger allowed for new life, new beginnings, and new ministry at St. Thomas’. The merger also left a building behind nestled in the Northwestern most corner of the state, and only two miles from the Episcopal Conference Center.

When the Bishop and ECC Director Meaghan Kelly started talking about forming a new worshipping congregation that was associated with the summer camp program and ministry at ECC, the empty church seemed like a natural place to start holding worship services.  The idea was to start something new and just a little bit different from the other options that we have for churchgoers in the Diocese.  The primary weekly service would be held in the evening instead of the morning and the music would be accompanied by guitar and drum, incorporating some of the songs used at camp.

The Rev. Meaghan Kelly admits she was hoping for 20 people at the first gathering – a Celebration of the Holy Eucharist and a potluck at her house (the former rectory) next door afterward. She was surprised and overwhelmed when 70 people arrived, with many children in attendance.  Some folks came just to check it out and support this effort, but many came and were excited about being part of this ministry, including several people from the neighborhood.

New Church will meet again next week for worship (at 5pm) and a potluck dinner (at 6pm). At the start of Lent, as New Church pays close attention to the experience of being in the wilderness, The Rev. Meaghan Kelly says they will begin to pray and discern in earnest.“We will listen for God and explore who we are going to be, where God is calling us into ministry, and how we can share the light of Christ in Pascoag and in the world.  Please pray for us and with us as God makes something new!”

St. Martin's Youth to be featured on PBS

St. Martin’s Youth at TAP-IN with Director Lynn Moran

St. Martin's Youth Group was filmed by RI PBS filmmaker Jim Hummel last Sunday for a documentary on TAP-IN, the East Bay food pantry in Barrington.  The young people will be featured in The Hummel Report in 2-3 months.  The story will air on local news, RI PBS and on-line.

They delivered about 15 cases of food, met the Director Lynn Moran, organized and stocked the shelves and had a tour.  Not only was it a service mission for the Youth, it was an educational experience as well.  They learned that TAP-IN has an ongoing need for toothpaste, shampoo, soap, coffee and toilet paper.

The event was part of our spring program for the Youth: Come Hungry.  Raquel Ray, the Christian Formation Director at St. Martin's, is leading the group through three learning modules that mirror their church's mission statement "Come as You Are, Grow With Us in Faith, Go Forth in Peace: Come Hungry, Be Fed, Feed Others."

The objective is to raise awareness of global, national and local hunger.  We’re looking at hunger in terms of physical and spiritual and how the church can satiate that longing in both aspects. So far, they have traveled to Heifer International’s Overlook Farm in Rutland MA, collected soup for the Souperbowl of Caring, listened to speakers Rev. Albino Barreira (Professor from Providence College), Professor Sean Mulholland (Stonehill College and St. Martin’s member) and New Urban Farmers.  Through the spring they will meet Michelle Wilcox from Crossroads and Diana Burdett from Pica.  They will be encouraged to participate in 30 Hour Famine, Nightwatch and Happening, and all ECC events.  In the process, Raquel hopes to encourage a group cohesion as they transition from Rite-13 to J2A and guide the youth to find their own mission by the fall.

Each module will conclude with a capstone mural project with artist Heather Annis, who is a Youth Minister and member of St. Martins.  Heather will be working with our young people to create three murals that will enhance St. Martins’ Youth Space. 

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.

St. Augustine's Feeds 80 URI Students and Friends, Monthly

Last night at their monthly "Feed a Friend" dinner St. Augustine's Church in Kingston fed 80 people, at least 40 of whom were current URI students. St. Augustine's is located on the URI campus, and started these "feed a friend dinners" last Shrove Tuesday when parishioners volunteered to cook students their favorite home cooked meal if they brought a friend. The first dinner had 5 students.

For St. Augustine's the jump in numbers is a great success. Over the past year they've made it their mission to better reach out to the college students around the church, to provide for their needs both spiritually and physically.

Early on they recognized that two major issues for the students are hunger during breaks (read how they've tackled hunger here) and homesickness. There's nothing like a home cooked meal to help with homesickness right?

At last night's dinner there was even a prospective URI student or two in attendance. Some of those who were visiting the campus that day had been sent to the dinner by the University's LGBTQ group. According to Deacon Jan Grinnell one student even said that he now really wants to come to URI. Knowing there is a loving, supportive Episcopal community on campus seems to have made a big impression.

It isn't just the students who's spirits are lifted by this ministry though. The whole congregation is feeling the joy of sharing and caring. Carol Miro, the parishioner who coordinated this last dinner, said in an email to Deacon Grinnell:

"So many contributed in so many ways and the energy in the room was palpable. Students and others are telling us how much  they feel unconditional love at St. A's.  We are acting on our mission!" 

This was the last "Feed a Friend" for 2013, since the students are moving toward exams and winter break. St. Augustine's says that the next one will be January 28th, and that the students have voted the meal to be "Soup and Stew".

A Homecoming: The Rev. Patrick Greene to be Priest-in-Charge of Sts. Matthew & Mark Church

The Vestry and Search Committee of Saints Matthew and Mark Church is pleased to announce that the Rev. Patrick Greene will join them as priest-in-charge beginning January 1, 2014. 

This will be a homecoming of sorts for Patrick Greene, who is a native Rhode Islander and grew up in Barrington attending St. John's Episcopal Church. In 2002 he graduated from Barrington High School, and in 2006 he received his BA degree, Summa Cum Laude, in Philosophy and Psychology from the University of Rhode Island. St. John's sponsored him through the ordination process, and he received his Masters in Divinity from the Virginia Theological Seminary in 2010.

Since his graduation the Rev. Greene has been Assistant to the Rector at St. Paul’s Church in Wickford. He describes his ministry in this way: “As a priest in the Episcopal Church I seek to serve Christ through a sacramental life by sharing God’s love for his creation, so that empowered by these signs of God’s love and grace we may join in bringing about the Kingdom of God in the world around us.” 

Saints Matthew and Mark extensively interviewed Patrick and believes that they have found the perfect candidate for their priest. They announced "Patrick is deeply spiritual, knows Rhode Island and the Barrington community well, is gifted in pastoral care, will be a calming presence and a strong leader, and will be an enthusiastic and welcoming presence in our church and the surrounding community." 

Patrick and his wife of one year, Carmen, are eager to join Saints Matthew and Mark, and delighted with the prospect of living in the beautifully restored rectory. 

Saints Matthew and Mark will formally welcome their new Priest-in-Charge at the 8 am and 10 am Communion services on Sunday January 5, with a welcoming reception after the 10 a.m. service. 

Meanwhile, if you would like to write welcoming Patrick and Carmen to their new Ministry, you may write to them at 47 Church Lane, North Kingstown, RI 02852 or by email. 

Church Beyond Walls: It Takes a Village to Proclaim the Gospel

By the Rev. Edmund Harris, Priest & Organizer for CBW

Two remarkable things happened at Church Beyond the Walls last Saturday that serve as a marker for me about people's growing investment in our community.

The first thing that happened was that we started singing! I mean, really singing. Of course, we've been singing at CBW since we first got started. But all along, I've sensed that we had a lot more potential in us. Music, for those of you who've had the experience of singing in a choir might know, has an amazing capacity to bring people together and to build community. Throughout this year, I've wondered, how might music at CBW both give glory to God and also build up our little corner of Christ's Body? How might music make us more authentically the community God is calling us to become?

Thankfully, I found someone who was willing to ask these questions alongside me. Since late summer, our Music Consultant and Animator Waylon Whitely has been hard at work brainstorming with me about how to create a music repertoire at CBW that would invite us to claim our voice. Last Saturday, it was finally time to put everything into action. After a music workshop in the park at which Waylon led us in practicing new songs accompanied by our "shruti box", it was time to worship!

We sang! The shruti box-which makes what I can only describe as an other-worldly, drone-like sound-provided the perfect canvas for our voices. As we sang, I watched as more and more people joined in and offered the gift of their voices. Although we might not be invited to sing at Westminster Abbey based on our first week of singing, more importantly, I could already see glimpses of the leavening effect I'd hoped and prayed that music might have in our community. Thanks be to God.

The second thing that happened took place during the reading of the Gospel. As many of you know, one of our biggest worship challenges comes from the ambient noise in and around the park. Between the car engines, sirens, music emanating from the skating rink, cell phones and chatter, it's can sometimes be darn near impossible to hear the service. Nowhere is the noise more overpowering than during the reading of the Gospel.

On a whim, last week I decided to print the Gospel story in the handout. I hoped that people could at least follow along while Deacon Ricky was proclaiming it even it they couldn't hear it. Lo and behold, as Ricky read the Gospel, people started reading it out loud along with her. Suddenly, because so many of us were proclaiming the Gospel, we could hear it loud and clear! It reminded me of the "mic checks" people used when making announcements during Occupy Providence two years ago. And like that movement, this one emerged quite organically out of the desire among people in our community to hear and proclaim the words of Jesus themselves. So it seems we might just have a new tradition on our hands, proclaiming the Gospel together! Thanks be to God.

Will you come and be part of this tradition on Saturday? Will you claim your voice? Will you join your brothers and sisters in proclaiming the Gospel and preaching it? Will you come give thanks to God? 

The Rev. Jeffery C. Lewis, New Chaplain for St. George's School

The Rev. Jeffrey C. Lewis will join the Diocese of Rhode Island this month, as the new Chaplain and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at St. George's School in Middletown.

  
Many of you may remember St. George's School as the location of Bishop Knisely's Ordination and Consecration last November. What you may not have known then is that St. George's is an Episcopal Affiliated School. Bishop Knisely sits on the board of trustees, their chapel's services follow the order for worship in the Book of Common Prayer, and the school chaplain is an Episcopal priest.

So we welcome The Rev. Jeffrey C. Lewis into our life together as the Diocese of RI.  

Hailing from Camden, Maine, Jeff was ordained in 2006 in the Diocese of Maine, where he served as Associate Clergy at St. John the Baptist in Thomaston and Priest-in-Charge of St. Giles Church in Jefferson.   For the last few years, Jeff has been the Chaplain and Chair of the Philosophy and Religion Department at Salisbury School in Connecticut.

Jeff is a life-long sailor and self-described waterman. He says that his move to St. George's School and the Diocese of Rhode Island feels like coming home.  

As a licensed captain, Jeff worked for many years as a professional mariner.   This included years he taught in the Sea Program at the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School where he was a Senior Instructor and Course Director.  His passion for character education, environmental and energy issues and the spiritual life of young people has infused his work in and out of the Church for many years.

Jeff and his wife Susan, also a teacher, have three sons aged 18, 13 and 10.   They will make their home in Middletown on the campus of St. George's School.

Cathedral Task Force Begins their Work

At our 2012 Diocesan Convention Bishop Knisely called for the creation of a “Cathedral Task Force” to lead Rhode Island Episcopalians through a collaborative process of listening and discerning a future for the Cathedral of St. John at 271 North Main Street.

Since then a group has been gathered including The Bishop and members of the Cathedral Chapter. The Rev. Robert Brooks has been appointed to chair the endeavor, and together the Task Force is ready to begin their work.

This is the beginning of what is likely to be a fairly long process, as you will see from the below timeline, and though Sunday worship services have been suspended at the Cathedral, worship continues during the week and a variety of uses of the building during this interim time are being explored.

The first step for the Cathedral Task Force will be a listening process, to hear the stories and concerns of those who have been members of the Cathedral, and then the wider Rhode Island community and diocese. Our neighbors, the Preservation Society, business community, schools, and the city all have an interest and investment in what happens to the Cathedral. Their voices will be invaluable as the Task Force moves through a season of listening and learning, into a season of exploration and visioning together, then into the much awaited implementation of an exciting new future for St. John’s.

Task Force Timeline

Telling the Story

Phase I – August 2013

Meetings with the former members of and those affiliated with the Cathedral to gather stories, lessons learned and their perspectives for the future

Phase II – Fall

Meetings around the diocese to hear from clergy and laity of the diocese

Phase III – Fall to Winter

Meetings with members of the community, business and civic leaders, schools, the Preservation Society, etc.

Exploring Options

Phase I – Winter 2013-14

One or two charrettes (a collaborative design session) to generate options

Phase II – Spring 2014

Gathering information and analyzing the most feasible options

Phase III

Develop and implement a decision-making process. The Cathedral Chapter is the legal entity; the diocesan convention and other diocesan leadership groups will be involved depending on the scope of the project.

Implementation

TBD depending on the chosen project

The Rev. Nathan Humphrey Accepts Call to St. John's in Newport

On Wednesday, St. John's Episcopal Church in Newport announced that Fr. Nathan Humphrey has accepted a call to serve as their full time Vicar, and that Bishop Knisely has also assigned Deacon Buck Close to join him. This is indeed great news.

Earlier this year St. John's realized "business as usual" would no longer work and began to do a radical restart of their ministry. The parish decided to become a mission, with Bishop Knisely serving as Rector, and that mission status has opened them up to aid and funds that are not available to parishes.

Bishop Knisely has been clear that his office is committed to seeing St. John's thrive, and he worked closely with St. John's to find the right candidate for Vicar. "The Diocese's common life is well served by having a congregation in the southern part of the state that maintains traditional anglo-catholic liturgy, theology, and spiritual practices" he says.

Bishop Knisely also says "It is my hope and prayer that with two talented clergy working together with the lay leadership of the congregation, we will be entering a season of growth that will enrich the full catholic expression of the Episcopal Church in Rhode Island"

To introduce you to Fr. Humphrey, here is a letter he sent to St. John's on Wednesday June 26th:

Dear Members and Friends of St. John’s, 

It is with great joy that I have accepted Bp. Knisely’s call to serve as your full-time Vicar.  I am particularly pleased that he has assigned Deacon Buck Close on a part-time basis to assist me in serving you, and in spearheading the service and outreach efforts we as a congregation will be undertaking as we minister to our community and the world in Jesus’ name. 

A few words of introduction are in order. I am a graduate of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University. I have been ordained since 2001, and have served two Episcopal schools and two parishes. I will turn forty in just under a month. Anne Stone and I married in 2004, and a year later I began a second curacy at St. Paul’s, K Street in Washington, DC, a large urban Anglo-catholic parish with strong local outreach to the homeless and a world-renowned music program. During my tenure at St. Paul’s, I was promoted to Vicar and then Priest-in-Charge during the Rector’s sabbatical and again following his retirement. When I’m not engaged in work in the church, I enjoy story time with my children, playing croquet, card games, ballroom dancing, and going to the occasional movie. My favorite author is Fyodor Dostoevsky, which would not come as a surprise to anyone familiar with my alma mater, St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland, known for its Great Books Program. Though I lived in Annapolis for a total of six years, I have never learned to sail, and hope to remedy that deficiency by taking lessons with the children once we get settled in Newport. 

My wife, Anne, is a Yankee born and bred, having been reared in Newburyport, Massachusetts and educated at Groton before moving further south for college at Bryn Mawr and graduate school at Johns Hopkins, with a year working in France in between. Anne is a communications professional, formerly a senior editor at National Geographic. For the past five years she has served as full-time Director of Communications at St. Columba’s Episcopal Church in Washington, DC, the largest parish in the diocese. Most dioceses do not have communications operations on the scale of St. Columba’s, and I am very proud of her award-winning work. Upon relocation to Newport, she will undertake work as a freelance communications consultant for various clients.

We have two small children, ages 6 ½ and 4, whom we are looking forward to introducing to the church community and to Newport. We are particularly pleased that we will be living only ninety minutes away from Anne’s parents on Cape Cod. We are looking forward to transitioning to life with the people of St. John’s, and covet your prayers as we adjust to our new community. 

In closing, a few words on my immediate priorities are in order. First of all, I want to assure everyone that I remain steadfastly committed to the time-tested liturgical and doctrinal expression of the catholic faith as it has been transmitted to us through the Anglican tradition within the Episcopal Church. This is a great treasure, to be shared with joy and celebrated with solemnity. 

It will be a top priority, therefore, to infuse our liturgical celebrations with what at St. Paul’s I have termed “serious fun”—that is, worship with the purpose of glorifying God and edifying each other, so that we may be reconciled to God and each other in Christ.
It will be a top priority to attend to the ongoing pastoral care of the faithful of this congregation. I am already well aware of your steadfast dedication to St. John’s, your hospitality and your fellowship. I look forward to entering into that common life and accompanying you on your journey, wherever your pilgrimage may take you, in your joys and in your sorrows. 

It will be a top priority to identify resources that will make it possible to sustain an excellent music program, with the goal of recruiting and funding a Director of Music no later than early 2014. We cannot grow a thriving congregation in the Anglo-catholic tradition without such a program. This goal, along with a robust stewardship program, will, I believe, set us on the right track to growth and new life. 

It will be a top priority to develop further the culture of hospitality that is already alive and well at St. John’s through being intentional about welcoming families and children, college students, the military community, and anyone seeking a spiritual home in the Point neighborhood of Newport. 

It will be a top priority to provide current and new members with meaningful Christian formation opportunities for youth and adults, with plans already in the works, for instance, for Lent, 2014. 

Finally, it will be a top priority to discern with you what your own top priorities are! Any of the above-mentioned priorities will only be possible insofar as they are blessed with God’s grace and embraced whole-heartedly by you, the congregation. It is my intention in all of the above to work in partnership with you, as we enter into the future God has in store for us together. 

I look forward to seeing you upon our arrival in Newport, and I hope that if you are in town on Thursday, August 15^th, you will make it a top priority to celebrate the great feast of St. Mary the Virgin at St. John’s. 

Yours in Christ’s service,
Nathan J.A. Humphrey+
Vicar-designate