A Good Word from the Rector: Staff Transitions
Dear Parish Family and Friends,
Alleluia, Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
Grace and Peace and Easter blessings to you! I write this morning with exciting news about changes in our staff.
First, I am honored to announce the call of the Rev. Deacon Marcea Paul as our Curate for Pastoral Care. Marcea will jump right into the fast lane on the first day of Shepherd Camp, Monday, June 25, following her ordination to the priesthood in her sponsoring Diocese of Southeast Florida. Marcea will then be in the Good Shepherd pulpit on Sunday, July 15.
A “curate” is a newly ordained priest, customarily one who has recently completed a three-year master’s program in an Episcopal seminary. Akin to a physician’s residency, a “curacy” refers to the cleric’s first two years of embedded ministry, a time during which a congregation covenants to support the new priest’s continuing formation in the practical setting of the parish.
Ordained a deacon in 2013, Marcea brings more experience in professional ministry than her peers, and her pastoral gifts and experience immediately drew us to her. While we at Good Shepherd now provide outstanding crisis care (whether at the time of injury, diagnosis, or death), we also recognize that our current infrastructure cannot support long-term needs with the same levels of constancy and excellence. Therefore, Marcea will focus her ministry on increasing our lay capacity to care for the homebound, the grieving, the sick, and those recovering from surgery or adjusting to life with a newborn.
I am also pleased to announce Lauren Beck as our Coordinator of Newcomer Ministry, effective May 21. God continues to bless us with an abundance of interest in Good Shepherd, calling us to welcome new friends and new neighbors with a commitment witnessing the warmest heart of our parish family. Therefore, as with Marcea and Pastoral Care, Lauren will partner with me in the development of a Welcoming Committee, increasing our lay capacity to love more and to love better. More than simply facilitating newcomers’ membership paperwork or Confirmation preparation, I pray that Lauren’s leadership and these efforts will better equip us to nurture every member’s sense of belonging, that all of us would be blessed by knowing and loving one another, being known and being loved.
Supporting these programmatic enhancements, I am delighted to announce Dawn Kaberline’s promotion to Parish Registrar. In this new post, Dawn will continue to manage our database and parish records, while adding scheduling and coordination responsibility for baptisms and other pastoral offices. Further, she will serve as a first point-of-contact for my office, focusing on the management of my calendar. I believe her proven skills will raise our administrative tides and lift all our programmatic boats: that is, with increasingly accurate and consistent membership and participation data, I believe all staff members and lay leaders will be positioned for greater effectiveness in their respective ministries.
I invite you to meet Marcea, Lauren, and Dawn, at our Windsor Campus’ Parish Picnic on Pentecost Sunday, May 20. As we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit that morning, we will also be joined by the Rev. Parker Jameson, who will serve as Locum Tenens at The Hill while Kathy is on Sabbatical later this summer. Bringing depths of generosity, kindness, and experience, please find Parker’s biography below this letter, as well as introductions from all the newest members of our staff.
As these leaders ready for their new ministries, I invite you to join me in prayer for Good Shepherd and Good Shepherd on the Hill, praying that we would continue to grow in love and service.
Godspeed,
The Rev. Morgan S. Allen
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Dear Good Shepherd Parishioners,
I am both humbled and excited to accept a call to serve as your Curate for Pastoral Care. The prayers and support I have received from your clergy and staff in the past few weeks have been extraordinary and life-giving, and I look forward to meeting and getting to know all of you.
Born in Jamaica, raised in Canada, I was baptized and confirmed in the Anglican Church. As an adult, I relocated with my family to Miami, Florida in 1993 where we worshipped at St. Faith’s Episcopal Church. It was there that I, with the support of the community, discerned a call to serve God’s people in ordained ministry. After a career in accounting, I was ordained to the diaconate and served as deacon and parish administrator before attending seminary. I have five grown sons and five beautiful grandchildren.
I am days away from completing my final year of studies at Virginia Theological Seminary, with a graduation date of May 17. My priestly ordination is set for June 16 and will be held at Trinity Cathedral in Miami. I feel truly blessed to be invited to begin my ministry as a priest in the Good Shepherd community.
With you, I look forward to living out our mission of finding “joyful union with God and with one another, being fully known and fully loved.”
Peace,
Marcea
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Dear All,
My name is Lauren Beck, and I am excited to serve as your Coordinator of Newcomer Ministry! I grew up in Lubbock, and though I was raised in the Baptist Church, I attended Episcopal schools. After graduation from Baylor, I served as a social worker and in development for a ministry of the Lutheran Church. I have spent the last year-and-a-half serving as the Director of Morgan’s office, where I learned firsthand how important Good Shepherd’s welcome ministries are to the vitality of our community. As a parish, we are blessed with many visitors and guests, and I look forward to nurturing them in their journey from “joining,” to “belonging.”
Blessings,
Lauren
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Dear Good Shepherd,
My name is Dawn Kaberline, and I have spent the past six months in an administrative support role on our staff. I am thrilled now to be transitioning to the position of Parish Registrar. My family attended Good Shepherd when I was a child, and, after working at All Saints Episcopal School, coming to work here has felt like a real homecoming and perfect fit. I hope to be a valuable asset to the church and community, and I look forward to serving with you in new ways.
Best,
Dawn
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The Rev. Parker Jameson will serve as Locum Tenens during the ten-weeks that Kathy Pfister will be on sabbatical, serving as the primary priest for the Woodland congregation from July 9 through September 16, 2018. Although recently retired, during his thirty-five years of ministry, Parker served congregations from family- to resource-size, in the dioceses of Northwest Texas, West Texas, Western Louisiana, and Texas, most recently as the longtime Associate Rector of St. Luke’s on the Lake, Austin. In the current chapter of his life, Parker, and his wife Paula are assisting the Rev. Jim Clark in developing and nurturing The ART of Engaging Holy Scripture (TAEHS), a contemplative-group spiritual practice based on lectio divina and Centering Prayer. Parker also continues his ministry as adjunct faculty at the Seminary of the Southwest.