One of the greatest gifts I inherited as I have stepped into the role of your Priest-in-Charge was an incredible staff and vestry who have been leading this church through exceptional times with an exceptional level of commitment and ability. One example of this was your vestry agreeing to extend their terms by a year to give the parish some much needed continuity and stability through its time of transition. I am deeply grateful to all of them, especially Heidi Anderson and Stephen Taylor, who have served as your Wardens during that time.
Because of the extenuating circumstances in which they served, and the rigor with which they performed their duties, the vestry has decided, at their request, to allow Heidi and Stephen to rotate out of their Warden roles effective this month. However, they will remain on the vestry until their terms both expire at the end of the year. In their place I am pleased to announce that Kim Montalvo has agreed to step into the role of Senior Warden and Dave Cass has agreed to serve as Junior Warden. Those of you who know Kim and Dave will know that we are truly going from strength to strength in our leadership. Rotating these roles now will give us a smooth transition, and a valuable chance for Kim and Dave to learn from their predecessors as they take on these new roles and responsibilities.
Additionally, I am pleased to announce that Maria Booth has begun serving as Assistant Treasurer and will do so through the year before taking over for Melissa Thrasher-West who has served our parish as Treasurer with incredible devotion, organization, and professionalism for a number of years.
On the staff front, it became clear to me early on that some new titles were needed to better encapsulate the roles people were performing. To that end, Judie Belka is now our Director of Parish Operations. Michelle Sturges is our Business Administrator. And Fr. Vince Connery, in addition to continuing his service as Assisting Priest, will be working alongside Bob Reneau, our incredible Groundskeeper, and David Roberts, our invaluable Sexton, as Sacristan. In medieval monasteries, the Sacristan was responsible for the care of sacred spaces. To that end, Fr. Vince will be responsible for the oversight of the interior of our worship spaces and buildings, making sure our beloved church will be regularly cared for and attended to.
Let me say again how glad I am to serve alongside such faithful, enjoyable, and committed leaders. I thank God every day for all of them, and for all of you!
With Gratitude,
Fr. Noah
