Letter from the Rector: Looking forward to the months ahead
Dear Friends:
I am grateful for our parish life, as we live into the season of watching and waiting together. I have been so blessed personally in the daily reflections written by parishioners in our Advent devotional. I am also and moved by the generosity of our parish in contributing the Angel Tree gifts and the energy of so many to discover creative ways to celebrate Christmas together safely. Thank you for all the ways you each contribute to our common parish life together.
As we continue to watch and wait for things to come, I want to share some other announcements about our parish life for the next calendar year.
Laura Maternity Leave
As we all know by now, Laura, our Assistant Rector and her husband Luke are expecting their first baby in mid-to-late February.We will have an opportunity to celebrate and support Laura and Luke with a St. Paul’s baby shower for them on Sunday, January 23rd. Please stay tuned for details and registry information about this special event after the New Year. Laura will be on maternity leave from the time of her delivery, until sometime in May.
Rector Sabbatical Spring and Summer 2022
As we have previously mentioned, I will have a scheduled sabbatical starting in May until late August of 2022. This is a standard part of the pattern of the ministry with clergy in the Episcopal Church after five years of service in a parish, and part of my Letter of Agreement with the parish.
Also of great excitement, is that our parish has been awarded a $47,000 grant by the Lilly Endowment to help fund this time. The details of this grant, which we applied for many months ago, is in the announcement below. I am grateful for the team that worked to shape and write this grant, and what it will mean for our shared life and ministry going forward.
The Rev. Catherine Munz to serve as Interim Associate Rector
The Reverend Catherine Munz, one of our retired Priest Associates, has agreed to step o
ut of a retirement for a few months to serve as our Interim Associate Rector from February 15 until the end of June. She will be serving for 30 hours a week. Cat will assume some of Laura’s responsibilities including Pastoral Care along with joining me in preaching and leading the sacramental life of our parish. She will also be covering part of my sabbatical, while the parish clergy and staff will be led by Laura. I am grateful that Cat will be bringing her years of parish ministry experience and wisdom to our staff, and I am confident we will be blessed by her ministry with us.
Please let me know if you have any questions, and I am grateful for the many gifts we share together as a parish community in our shared life and work together.
Peace,
Noah
The Reverend Noah H. Evans, Rector
