Here is her letter to her parish in May:

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

At the time of this writing I have been with you just over a month – and it has been a busy time to say the least. Taking a job as the new Rector of a parish only a few weeks before Holy Week presents one with a real challenge. I am happy to say that I was blessed to be a part of that time with all of you and I know that we experienced what is called “anamnesis” in worship. In other words, we truly recalled God’s saving deeds. On Palm Sunday we began with The Liturgy of the Palms outside, we heard about the events leading up to Jesus’ sentencing, and ended with the story of Jesus’ death on the cross.

The children learned to make palm crosses and that our palms are burned later to make the ashes for the next Ash Wednesday. At our Maundy Thursday service the choir sang, we washed each other’s feet, we shared the Eucharist; and we watched as the altar was stripped, the sacrament was taken to the Altar of Repose, the lights went dim and then we left in silence. From that time until noon on Good Friday, parishioners prayed in our sanctuary.

Jesus asked the disciples to pray in the garden as He prayed just before He was arrested. On Good Friday at noon we walked The Stations of the Cross and shared the reserved sacrament. Some stayed to meditate on the last words of Jesus from the cross and our choir director rang the chimes at 3:00 – the time when Jesus died on Good Friday. And then it was Easter! What a glorious day! Alleluia! Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia! We had two services complete with choir, and beautiful Easter lilies on the altar.

People brought flowers for a flower cross also and we brought out the Sanctus bells which will continue to be used in our services. The coffee hour was spectacular and the Easter egg hunt after the 10:30 service was a real hit. My favorite part of the whole day was the ringing of bells every time we said the word, “alleluia!” I left St. Mary’s that day praising the Lord for how wonderful our Easter celebration was and I am still praising Him. Thank you to everyone for your participation, however great or small, in our worship.

You are loved and appreciated. Going forward, by the time you read this we’ll be heading into summer when things slow down a little bit for us. Many of our ministries take a break from their meetings until September. This is a good thing, because we all need to step back from time to time and just rest. When we do this we sometimes get fresh ideas and I am looking forward to hearing about them. I have been reaching out into the community and will continue to do so as I believe we are called to minister to those in our surrounding area.

Deacon Martha’s Grief and Loss Support Group is just one way that St. Mary’s will bless our community. Note that this is not meant for our parishioners only – it is meant to serve all who are suffering losses. Bob and Carolyn have begun to support Habitat for Humanity with a group of volunteers. I am attending community meetings and visiting small businesses. Together we feed the poor through our food pantry and we pray for each and every individual that receives help.

Jim Koehlinger heads up a team of those who serve children in the public schools with The Good News Club – and we’ll showcase this at our 10:30 service on April 26th. Think about ways in which we can serve others outside our parish. My Celebration of New Ministry will have taken place by the time you read this also. I know that will be a wonderful day too. I am grateful to God to be your new Rector and Priest. Don’t hesitate to make an appointment to speak with me or invite me to your home so that I can get to know you better. I am here to serve you and the Lord and it is my desire for St. Mary’s to do all that God has called us to do. Pray for me at all times.

I am ecstatic about all of those confirmed on May 10. It is a record number! I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching the Confirmation classes on Sundays between the services and many have attended as a refresher course.

The Youth will have their own classes at a Lock-in scheduled for April 24th & 25th . We are raising up disciples here! It would be impossible to share all that is going on behind the scenes in that regard. Look for new opportunities, especially a Men’s Discipleship Ministry that will be led by the Brotherhood of St. Andrew’s.

We’ll be having fun with them on May 2nd at the golf outing that they are sponsoring to help kids with scholarship money for Camp Wingmann. We must continue to affirm our young people. They are the crowns on our heads. I thank God that you at St. Mary’s know this. Please ask me how you can help in that regard.

Love in Christ,
Rev. Lisa