A Note from our Rector

Dear Parish Family,

For everything there is a season…

With both gratitude and sadness, I write to let you know that I will be concluding my tenure at St. Paul’s in June.

We have experienced so much together over the past nine years: love and loss, heartache and joy. With your inspiration, energy and dedication to this community, we have expanded worship and music offerings, introduced new ministries, sunset waning ministries, offered transformative formation and service, engaged in challenging racial reconciliation programming, welcomed inspiring guest speakers, hosted Evangelism Matters, sustained and improved our buildings and grounds, reimagined parish life through COVID, enjoyed picnics, retreats, lunches and dinners, welcomed new colleagues, said good-bye to beloved colleagues.

As hard as it is for me to say good-bye, I firmly believe now is the right time for new leadership. Having completed a successful Capital Campaign, you are poised to see through new eyes how this faithful community can engage seekers, transform hearts, and serve this broken world. The average Sunday attendance at St. Paul’s continues to rise after the difficult COVID years. And, still, the Church as a whole is going through a cultural shift. Almost all religions and denominations are experiencing downward trends. At St. Paul’s, we know that God isn’t going anywhere, Christ isn’t going anywhere, the Holy Spirit isn’t going anywhere. Your dedication to St. Paul’s, your desire to seek, serve and love, your desire to worship together, to care for one another, to give your time and energy to the many ministries of this parish is precisely why this community will continue to thrive through this era of reimagination.

I am not retiring, but I don’t yet know what is next for me in ministry. Coincidentally, following on the heels of Brandon’s move to Boston, Gary and I have decided to relocate to the Boston area to live closer to family. My son, Will, and his soon-to-be wife, Emma, are moving to Boston this summer; Will is beginning graduate school there in the fall. I am feeling such a strong pull to live closer to my children; not being able to see them for over a year during COVID was a heartache. I have begun a job search in the Boston area.

My last Sunday will be June 16. My hope is that this timing will allow for an Interim Rector to begin to get to know this community before the start of the new Program Year. I am endlessly grateful for these past nine years, for you welcoming me into your hearts and homes, trusting me with your spiritual and pastoral concerns, allowing me to grow and learn beside you. You have loved, challenged, and inspired me. I hope it goes without saying, I am honored to have served with such a faithful, skilled, creative, pastoral, and dedicated staff. I thank you all, parishioners and staff, for caring so deeply for this parish community.

I will miss you and will always be wishing the very best for this beloved community.

With love,
Jeanne+

A Note from our Wardens

It is with heavy hearts that we receive the news of Jeanne’s departure. She will be deeply missed – her gifts and skills led us ably through the pandemic, her vision for our music program has greatly enhanced our worship, her leadership of our capital campaign allowed us to greatly exceed our expectations. Her preaching, her leadership, her warmth, and her wisdom have nurtured and sustained us. Our various ministries are thriving. We are a growing, vibrant parish and she leaves us in a very strong place.

It is perhaps appropriate that we receive this news in the Easter season – the season of rebirth and renewal – which causes us to look to our future with the assurance of the resurrection. St Paul’s will change as we enter a new season in our life together, but we have every reason to have faith in God’s plan for the Parish.

The selection of the 17^th Rector of St Paul’s will follow the standard procedure in the Episcopal Church and we have been assured of much necessary support from the Diocese. Our immediate focus will be the hiring of an Interim Rector to help lead us in our transition. We will form a Search Committee representative of the breadth of this Parish in skills, demographics, and ministries. The Search Committee will be charged initially with working with Vestry to assess our needs and set the vision for our new rector; and then with developing a parish profile, recruiting, and screening candidates, and finally recommending final candidate(s) to the Vestry. The process will be collaborative and will involve feedback from the entire parish through meetings, surveys, and interviews as appropriate. Making the right decision for us will take time.

While we begin to launch the process, we also look forward to an opportunity to bid Jeanne a fond adieu and celebrate her extraordinary ministry with us. Details will follow.

With confidence in our future,
Sam Hartwell, Senior Warden
Susan Quill, Junior Warden