Dear friends,
During the summer months, instead of weekly letters in the E-News, I and other members of our staff and vestry will be writing a less frequent but more detailed letter to you all. Our letters will feature highlights from summer plans and activities, as well as news updates for our parish in preparation for the new program year beginning in September.
This week, I am writing the first letter. And, as we begin to prayerfully discern plans for the fall, I trust that it will provide also some inspiration for you to discern your own ministry among our parish.
Curate—The Rev. Eva Dalzell
The Rev. Eva Dalzell was ordained on June 8 at The Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston. She will be joining us as Curate on July 1. Eva will serve as a transitional deacon for six months and will be ordained as a priest on December 13. Eva will serve her two-year curacy with us, with a possible third year extension. Eva attended Summerfest at St. John’s and has been settling in and doing some general planning with me during June prior to her official start date. She has been warmly welcomed, is thrilled to be joining our community, and we are very grateful to have her with us.
Organist and Director of Music, and Music for the Summer
As I wrote last week, on June 29 we will bid a fond farewell to Brian Locke as he departs St. John’s for new musical adventures in Boston and beyond. Again, we give thanks for his ministry, and we wish him well. As Brian departs, and as many of you know, we have been searching over the last several months for our permanent Organist and Director of Music. Prior to Holy Week, I assembled a search committee for this task, consisting of Kaja Fickes, Emily Hutchinson, Tracy O’Sullivan, Holly Seggev, Matthew Ginn, and Craig Smith. We had seventeen applicants for the position and are currently interviewing four finalists. The process will be completed by July 1, at which time the committee and I hope to have called one of our candidates to be our new music minister.
While this process has taken a little longer to complete than initially expected—in large part due to scheduling, ongoing applicants and a desire to be as thorough as possible—I am confident that we will call a new Organist-Director of Music to begin by September 1 at the latest. I have therefore secured substitute organists for July and August, and we will welcome our new musician by the start of the program year.
Liturgy and Worship
During the summer, as Eva comes on board, she will join our Verger Tom Daley and I in planning a new liturgical customary for St. John’s. This will essentially involve a review of all worship, including plans for new services in the program year. This initiative has taken place in light of our Ministry Discernment Exercise which we launched at our Annual Meeting in January. In early August, I will write again with more news and updates. All our current worship offerings will, of course, remain the same, however we will be looking to provide a wider range of worship services and liturgies in the new year.
Intergenerational Education, Newcomers’ Ministry, and Outreach
Another area which has been highlighted through our Ministry Discernment exercise is education. This year, Devon Abts and I have offered “trial run” theological education courses during Advent and Lent. Holly Carter, Jody Jones Turner, and Alexis MacElhiney have, of course, been preparing for our South Africa Mission and Formation Trip this summer. And a range of new ideas have been proposed through conversations with parishioners, and feedback on our offerings throughout the winter and early spring. During the summer, I will be working with Devon, Eva, Alexis, and our Sunday School and Youth Ministry teams to explore new ideas and curriculum opportunities across all generations in our parish for theological education and spiritual formation. We will have a Godly Play consultant work with Alexis. And Devon, Eva and I will be carrying out an audit of our education offerings given recent vestry discussions around ministry to newcomers and engaging with our wider community. Furthermore, thanks to the profound gifts and talents of Kenzie Blackwell, Free. has secured another $500,000 grant. Kenzie will be offerings internships for high school and college students this summer alongside the regular work that she and the Outreach Committee are engaged with. There is a lot happening already, and so many new opportunities in the pipeline for the program year.
A Ministry of Space
During this year, given our ministry discernment, we have launched several new committees from the vestry to begin reflecting on longer term projects and ministries, including those which concern the future of our buildings and grounds. While we are a certain distance from proposing a longer-term vision plan in this area, there are some areas of our campus which need attention, and which might, sooner rather than later, offer valuable opportunities for our parish. In July, we will therefore be launching a new committee named “Ministry of Space,” whose role will be to examine all our campus facilities and begin to consider both short-term and long-term possibilities for renewal and reimagining of our campus. I am very grateful to Jennifer Gay Smith who has graciously agreed to chair this initial term of the committee which will last for the summer months, and plans will be presented to the vestry early in the fall. Indeed, you can already see the difference our Creation Care Ministry has made with our St. John’s Labyrinth. Again, I am beyond grateful to Jennifer Seggev, Michael Pizziferri, everyone in the Creation Care Ministry and our Youth Groups, and of course to the Holtschlag family for everything they have done to help us begin to reimagine our campus for generations to come.
I think that is (almost) everything for now. As Devon and I complete our first year with you all, St. John’s continues to be an inspiration and encouragement, a comfort, and nourishment; and, of course, not just for us, but for so many in Hingham and beyond. I am excited to see where we journey together next.
With every prayer and blessing,
Ed.
The Rev. Edward Thornley
Rector of The Episcopal Parish of St. John the Evangelist