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November 23, 2009

New position for Rev. Frannie

One of the great challenges that Jesus puts before us in the Gospel is the challenge to love our neighbors as ourselves. Over and over again, we find Jesus focusing on the most vulnerable members of his society. If the Gospels are read carefully, we discover that Jesus is actually challenging many of the established traditions and social systems of his time, because he perceives them to be unjust. The standard he uses in making that judgment is the way in which those at the bottom of society are treated. Jesus seeks transformation through a simple recognition that the least among us are as fully human as the rest. Our Baptismal Covenant calls us to live out this aspect of the Gospel by asking for our solemn promise that we will "strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being." Every Episcopal community, including Trinity, must work out how we live into this solemn promise.

I come to you as your new Rector with the conviction that if a church in our time and place is to grow not only in numbers but also in vitality, then we must take seriously the tasks of reaching out to others, of caring for our environment and in working for justice and dignity for the whole human family. I also have the conviction that we must do this from a deep grounding in God that is the fruit of a life of prayer. In other words, I believe that we are called to be engaged with the world from a contemplative center.

As I have thought and prayed and talked with various people in this community about how Trinity might best respond to the call of the Gospel and to the solemn promises of our Baptismal Covenant, and as I have reflected on the Vestry's adoption of "action for mercy and justice" as a priority, I have come to the conclusion that the staff person in our midst most gifted and most passionate about helping us to discern our ministry as strivers for justice is the Rev. Frannie Hall Kieschnick. As a result, I am pleased to announce that, with the Vestry's approval, Frannie has been named Senior Associate Rector (in recognition of her nearly 30 years of ordained ministry) and Director of Contemplative Engagement.

To quote from Frannie's new job description, in her new role she will be responsible for interpreting "to the people of Trinity Church local, national and international social justice concerns in ways which help them to engage with those concerns in an active way, consistent with our Christian calling and commitments". In this new role, Frannie will serve as lead clergy for the Outreach Commission, the emerging environmental concerns group and for a group that is yet to be formed, whose focus will be on social justice issues.

Please know that with this change, Radical Welcoming will continue to be a priority, and primary responsibility will now rest with me as Rector, which I believe is most appropriate. This change in Frannie's role and title will have no impact on the 2010 budget, since she will be continuing in a half-time capacity. She will also continue to be a part of our worship life and will be pastorally available as much as a half-time position will allow.

Trinity Church has a long tradition of outreach to the vulnerable in our community, and I see this development as the next evolution in that tradition. Neither Frannie nor I have a complete picture of what our social justice ministry, as distinct from our outreach ministry, will look like. That is, however, as it should be, for ultimately all of us, as a community, need to prayerfully fill in that picture together. In her new role, Frannie will be helping us all to do just that.

As always, I welcome your questions and your perspectives. I hope you will always feel free to share them with me. And I rejoice that Frannie's ministry among us will continue in new and creative ways.

Faithfully,

The Rev. Matthew Dutton-Gillett
Rector