|
Thank you, Christ Trinity folks, for welcoming me so warmly last Sunday. It was the first time I’d ever officiated using a Lutheran liturgy, so I was a bit nervous. I enjoyed warming up with the choir before the service and loved the robust singing of hymns and service music that supported the liturgy so well. The themes of sermon and music meshed together so beautifully that it seemed as if John Arthur and I had sat down together to make choices, but we were of course working from the same scripture passages even if we didn’t confer over the specifics. It’s always inspiring to me when that kind of synergy happens in worship. I look forward to being with you for the rest of January while Pastor Erik is away.
Teak asked me to tell you a little bit about my background, so here’s the short version. I grew up on a farm in rural Alabama, earning a BA in English from Huntingdon College in Montgomery, followed by graduate study at Auburn University. While living in North Dakota as a young adult, I moved from the Southern Baptist Church of my youth to the Episcopal Church (my husband Jim is a “cradle” Episcopalian) and knew I had arrived home. From North Dakota we moved south again to Florida, then Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, and Kentucky. After several decades as a lay professional in the areas of music and Christian formation, I was ordained in 1998 in the Diocese of Kentucky. I studied at Louisville Presbyterian Seminary and received an MDiv from the General Theological Seminary in New York City as preparation for priesthood. After serving in several congregations in Louisville and spending almost 10 years as Rector of Grace Church in Paducah, KY, I retired in 2014. Jim and I moved to Lee, MA that summer to be closer to our sons in Maplewood, NJ and Melrose, MA. Post-retirement, I’ve served as Interim Priest in Williamstown, Southwick, Great Barrington, and twice at St. Paul’s in Stockbridge. When the Rev. Sam Vaught was called to St. Paul’s, I “hung up” the interim hat to once again try retirement. Now I serve as non-stipendiary Priest Associate at St. Paul’s, working primarily in Christian formation for all ages, and do a lot of Sunday Supply work in congregations like Christ Trinity. It seems I’m not too good at the whole retirement thing! In my spare time, I enjoy reading, playing piano, taking OLLI classes, using photography as a spiritual practice, and spending time with family, especially our three grandchildren.
(Photo credit goes to Jean Chapin, Christ Trinity member, who was Parish Admin at St. Paul’s when I started as Interim Priest there in 2022.)
The Rev. Libby Wade
| 
