Sunday July 10th, 2022
Dear Friends,
I call you friends knowing that the Holy Spirit is already busy knitting us together regardless of the distance still between us. I am thrilled to be coming to Asheville to be your new dean. God is surely up to something good, and Dee and I so look forward to being with you all and getting to know Asheville and the diocese. My family has had a cabin in Swain County since the ‘50s and I spent many childhood days happily exploring the beauty of Western North Carolina with them. Dee and I find Asheville to be an exciting place full of life and vitality and are already exploring the riches the area has to offer.
As we transition there I’ll be in constant contact with congregational and diocesan leadership to ensure as simple a move as possible for us all. The fantastic staff at All Souls are such a blessing to you and I can’t wait to get to know them and work with them for the building up of the people of All Souls, ministry to and with the wider Diocese and the spread of the Gospel to our conflicted world. Bishop Jose and I were in seminary together for two years and have admired each other’s ministry from afar since then. I can’t wait to work with him and the diocesan staff to lead and plan together for the building up of the Diocese of Western North Carolina. Former Sec. General of the U.N. Dag Hammarskjold wrote a little prayer that has welled up in me during this process. “For all that has been, thank you. For all that is to come, yes.” I come to you with a full heart, open mind and faith in what God is doing in us.
My wife (of 5 years) Dee is a high school teacher, personal trainer, mindfulness coach and a practicing Buddhist. She is excited to find several sanghas in the area where she can plug in and practice her spirituality with others. Rest assured she loves being present with the people of the churches I’ve served and will be a loving supporter of all we do together. Dee and I bring with us Jack, our old Dalmatian, and our two bunnies, Audrey Hepbun and Steven (her husbun)! These fur babies are a joy in our lives and will likely make appearances around the cathedral as time and circumstance allow.
I pray for you all as we get ready to be together in person and ask for your prayers as well. God’s blessings to you all and we’ll see you soon!
Faithfully,
Sarah+
