I have some exciting staffing news to share that will positively impact the church’s mission as our parish continues to grow and flourish into the future.
As we announced a few weeks ago, our Director of Parish Operations, Judie Belka will be retiring in January. We have been hard at work finding someone to steward this important role in our church, taking a fresh look at all the ways Judie has faithfully served our community and carefully considering what will be needed as we continue to grow and live into our vision for the parish. Reflecting on our current blessings and our hopes for the future, it became clear that the operational life of our church has expanded to a point where it calls for leadership similar to that of a traditional Chief Operating Officer. This new leader would have oversight over the financial, physical, and human resources of our parish while also nurturing and expanding the relationships we cherish with our partners in the wider community. Our goal is to ensure that the operational foundations of our church remain strong so that our ministries can continue to flourish.
With this expanded role in mind, we searched for a leader with both the professional experience to manage a complex organization and a heart for our mission. I am thrilled to announce that we have found that person.
“Starting in mid-January, Luisa Vázquez-López will be joining our team as Chief Operating Officer.”
Starting in mid-January, Luisa Vázquez-López will be joining our team as Chief Operating Officer. Luisa joins us after a decade of work at The Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, where she rose to the role of Chief of Staff, helping to guide an institution with a budget of more than $10 million and over 100 employees, which also maintained one of the nation’s largest privately owned, publicly accessible parks. Her nearly two-decade career has been devoted to non-profit management. She has provided strategic leadership across operations, board relations, finance, personnel management, and facilities, while also leading key initiatives in the areas of development, marketing, communications, and community engagement.
“My passion is working in institutions committed to making a meaningful and lasting impact in the communities they serve. I’m truly honored to join Christ & St. Luke’s and become a member of this like-minded team, along with its dedicated volunteers and parishioners. I’m inspired by all that has been accomplished in recent years, and I look forward to working alongside you to continue strengthening Christ & St. Luke’s mission and serving the community in impactful ways.”
Her breadth of experience and ability to help strengthen complex organizations make her the perfect person for this position at our parish.
Luisa and her husband JJ and son Martín live in Virginia Beach and she is looking forward to not having to battle the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel every day to get to work! As she says about joining the team at Christ and St. Luke’s, “My passion is working in institutions committed to making a meaningful and lasting impact in the communities they serve. I’m truly honored to join Christ & St. Luke’s and become a member of this like-minded team, along with its dedicated volunteers and parishioners. I’m inspired by all that has been accomplished in recent years, and I look forward to working alongside you to continue strengthening Christ & St. Luke’s mission and serving the community in impactful ways.”
In my conversations with Luisa, I was struck by her acumen for the kind of executive leadership we need, inspired by what she has been able to build and accomplish in the places she has worked, and how quickly she grasped the heart of this place: its people, its purpose, and its hopes for the future. For all those reasons and more we are blessed that she has accepted the invitation to serve here.
As part of the new team structure, we are also blessed by the fact that Rachel Welch will be increasing her role at the parish. She will now be the point person for all weddings and funerals, liaise with ministries, and help organize our various events. In recognition of these new responsibilities, I am pleased to announce that she will be promoted from Administrative Assistant to Director of Parish Life. Congratulations, Rachel, and thank you for your impactful service to the parish.
One of the greatest gifts of serving as Rector of this dynamic parish is the people who I get to do this work with. We have as dedicated, passionate, determined and talented a staff team as you will find in The Episcopal Church and with these new additions we are truly moving from strength to strength.
Thanks be to God for this place and for those who have helped lead it and those who will.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Noah
—Noah Van Niel is the Rector of Christ & St. Luke’s.
