Dear friends,
Tidings
of great joy: I am delighted to announce that the Rev. Lorna H.
Williams has accepted my call to be St. Andrew's Associate Rector for
Children and Youth, beginning on October 1. I can't wait for you to
meet her!
Lorna
comes to us from the Diocese of Pennsylvania. Ordained in 1999, she
has served parishes and schools in New York, Michigan, Massachusetts,
and Florida. Lorna is a team player who has always worked in
multi-clergy parishes, frequently combining those responsibilities with
chaplaincies at Episcopal schools and a university. Her passion is
serving children and youth, and it shows.
Lorna
graduated from Seabury-Western Seminary (my alma mater!!) in Evanston,
Illinois, where she won a coveted preaching award. Her references
describe her as well-respected, diplomatic, patient, and pastoral. As
we proceeded through the lengthy and sometimes tedious steps of the
search process, Lorna was consistently on top of details and responsive
to all communications, attributes that bode well for communicating with
us here at St. Andrew's. In person she is warm and candid and funny.
One
of Lorna's references said that Lorna is very picky about where she
applies to work. That observation echoed our experience of Lorna. When
we asked why she was interested in coming to St. Andrew's, Lorna noted
that many churches say that children and youth are important to them,
but in her experience few churches actually treat children and youth as
if they are important. Yet it was clear to her from our website and
from meeting us that St. Andrew's really is committed to our children and youth, and that made her want to be part of us. Lucky us!
Lorna
was born and raised in Jamaica and emigrated to the United States at
the age of 16 to re-join her parents, who had come here five years
earlier, seeking a better life for themselves and their children. She
has a twin sister and several brothers, and an amazing life story to
share with us.
You may have noticed that my earlier articles about our search talked about finding an assistant rector and that now I am using the term associate rector.
"Assistant" is the title often given to someone who is fresh out of
seminary. Lorna has been ordained longer than I have and comes to us
with a wealth of experience, and therefore I have called her to be our
Associate Rector. According to our letter of agreement, one of her
responsibilities is to be "a counselor to, and a confidant of, the
rector." She is eminently qualified to be both, and I feel very blessed
to be able to partner in ministry with her.
I
am extremely grateful to the members of my search advisory team: John
Whitley, Doug Vaughan, and David Lilley; and also to Audre'ana Ellis,
Cassie Jones, and Allie Wittkamp, who assisted us with the interview
process. They were unanimous in their approval of Lorna. I am also
grateful to each of you for your patience and prayerfulness during the
search; and to Jen, Elizabeth and Travis for their ministry in our midst
in the in-between time. Above all, I am grateful to God for leading us
to Lorna and Lorna to us.
I
know firsthand what a warm and gracious welcome you extend to new
clergy, and I look forward to joining you in offering that same blessing
to Lorna. Please continue to hold her in your prayers as she prepares
to join us. May God bless us all in this exciting new relationship!
Faithfully,
Anne+
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