Dear Doubters of Great Faith,
Happy Christmastide! I hope this finds you basking in all of the light that Christ’s natal star has to offer to each and every one of us, particularly this Christmas. If ever we needed to celebrate Immanuel, God’s residing among us, as one of us, in human form, 2020 is most surely the year!
It is with that joy that I tell you (again) of my appointment, and your Vestry’s resounding approval, along with both Bishop Sumner and Bishop Smith, of the Rev. Stephen J. Waller to the honorary position of Rector Emeritus of the Episcopal Church of St. Thomas the Apostle. Fr. Stephen served the St. Thomas family for well over 23 years, from 1989 thru 2012, and I know has had a profound effect on so many of your individual lives, and the collective life of this parish, having journeyed alongside you through the ups and the downs, the mountains and the valleys, that have brought you to where you are now.
The title and the position are completely honorary – they are meant to recognize this sometimes heroic, always human, always faithful, service to God, to you, and to this parish.
At St. Thomas the Apostle, I, and we, are blessed ABUNDANTLY with clergy who choose to make this place their home. We are the benefactors of their wisdom, their strength, their courage, and their knowledge. The fact that I am privileged to get to meet on a weekly basis with the Rev. Stephen J. Waller, and the Rev. Virginia Holleman, and the Rev. Andy McCarthy does not escape me, particularly as I think about incarnation, and all the ways that God chooses to incarnate God’s self. No matter their “status,” priests are ALWAYS priests, and these priests are no exception. They are exceptional. (I also include the Rev. Raymond C. Ball in this list!)
Now, you may ask, what exactly does a “Rector Emeritus” do?
First of all, the joy of retirement, for all clergy, is that they get to do the things they want to do, and not the things they don’t want to do.
But, that doesn’t mean I don’t have a few ideas! First of all, the Rector Emeritus gives advice and counsel to your fledgling Rector. Who better to have some idea of the heartbeat of this parish, than Fr. Stephen Waller? Fr. Stephen has been a counsel to me since I first visited St. Thomas in January 2009. He can speak openly and honestly (and lovingly!) to me, from his profound base of knowledge and wisdom. Fr. Stephen (and all of our clergy) help to insure we survive “Coronatide.”
Beyond that, the Rector Emeritus will help us, you and I, in nurturing our newfound relationship. That’s going to be one of his “jobs,” to help us to be successful in wedding together as Rector and congregation. I believe that is his greatest gift to us, and I think he is ably suited for it, for he knows you, and he knows me!
I don’t believe it’s any coincidence that Fr. Stephen came to all of us during this pandemic. If you will remember, he began his rectorship with you during another pandemic. He knows how to love people through pandemic. God is not through with Fr. Stephen at St. Thomas.
And I thank God for that!
Your faithful Rector,
Fr. Christopher+
