Six years ago, the Rev. Catharine Reid came to St. Dunstan’s Church to see if this might become her worshipping community; a place where she could contribute as a priest and teacher, and a place where she could worship. A mutual friend of ours recommended she come and we have been graced with Mother Catharine’s wisdom, her liturgical graces, and her teaching since then.
I was grateful to invite Catharine to be a priest associate, grateful to learn from her experience with more formal worship, grateful to have a clear and engaging voice in our pulpit, and grateful to have her participation on our staff.
Mother Catharine came to us because she needed to find a new place to worship. Having both been raised to the priesthood by St. Paul’s Church in Queen Anne, and having served as Interim Priest for the congregation, it was not appropriate for her to continue as a member of that congregation. That’s just a fact of life for the ordained. And yet, St. Paul’s has never stopped being “home” to Mother Catharine, and now, six years later, she feels called to return to that home where she was formed.
I thank Mother Catharine for these years as a friend and colleague. I thank her for taking such good care of our congregation while I was on sabbatical, and for her support as we explored our mission and vision as a congregation. I am grateful that she will still be available to serve in a supply capacity when I am away.
Please join me in thanking Mother Catharine for all she has done for our congregation, and in wishing her the best as she returns “home”.
With love,
David+