Dear Parishioners of Grace Episcopal Church:
I am deeply blessed, humbled and thrilled to accept the appointment to serve as your priest-in charge. At every turn during the discernment process with your Transition Team and Vestry, I
was moved by the way Grace Episcopal Church embodies the very best of what any strong
parish community aspires to be: warm, engaged, diverse, thoughtful, and open to the
meanderings of the Holy Spirit. I have already begun to witness in you a congregation that is
alive in faith and committed to deepening a shared vision of community rooted in love, trust and grace.
Your dedication to the importance of music and liturgy in your common sacramental life, and
your witness of being a welcoming parish in the heart of a downtown also profoundly attract me. I believe that offering people sacred space to encounter the transcendent, Triune God–especially amidst the noise, tumult and anonymity of the city–is one of the chief spiritual assets Grace Episcopal Church has to offer those inhabiting its neighborhood and beyond. As we will begin our ministry together in the season of Easter, I especially look forward to proclaiming that the way of the Risen Christ leads right through the modern city of Manchester today, and not just through the distant lands and ancient stories of the past. In Matthew 4:19, Jesus invites us: “Come, follow me and I will show you…” I look forward to discerning with you how Jesus continues to call Grace Episcopal Church into “infinite respect for one another” and providing
“radical hospitality for the world” by showing us how to be present to the community at large
with care, tenderness and compassion.
The way of Jesus equally summons all of us to search for God together in beloved relationship—
in the here and now—with all of our joys, desires, pains, griefs and losses. I know Grace has
experienced these and other feelings in this time of upheaval and transition. As such, there is
hard, but holy, work that lies ahead for all of us. A large part of that work will involve listening
to your experiences of the past, accompanying the challenges of the present and strategizing the
hopes for the future. The vestry will be working with me to give ample time during my first 100
days to immerse myself into the life of the parish and to offer significant space to hear your
stories, experiences and visions for the parish. We will share more about this process in the
coming weeks.
Last but not least, I simply want to say that I really look forward to meeting you on Sunday, April 7 , 2024. It will be good for us to celebrate the Risen Christ among us in God’s word and sacrament. I will begin settling into the office starting on April 1st. Until then, as I prepare to say farewell to the good people of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts; I hope that you will keep me and my spouse, Al, in your prayers in this season of Lent, as we surely will keep you in ours. I wish to end with a note of gratitude to the Transition Team, the Vestry, The Rev. Jamie Hamilton, Canon Tina Pickering and Bishop Rob Hirschfeld for their accompaniment and support during this discernment process.
May God bless us in this shared work together.
With Peace,
Fr. Ed