TLDR: Mother Lewis has accepted a call to become an Assistant Chaplain in her hometown. Please read below for more information about her transition.
It is with sadness that I announce the imminent departure of our Curate, Mother Leesa Lewis, from Saint Dunstan’s. She will be an Assistant Chaplain at All Saints Episcopal School in Tyler, Texas. As a chaplain, Mother Leesa will be a part of the school’s faith formation team, with a focus on their Middle School. According to the school’s website, “The Assistant Chaplain will provide religious education and pastoral care to the students in the Chapel, the classroom, and within the school community. The Assistant Chaplain will work with the Senior Chaplain to help direct the spiritual life of the school and enhance the school’s Episcopal identity, especially by fostering the Anglican tradition and welcoming all members of our school community.” Mother Leesa is ready for this task and we wish her great success in her chaplaincy career.
There are a number of questions I will try to answer here: 1. Why now? The process, as I understand it, took place as follows: The Senior Chaplain of All Saints Episcopal School in Tyler spoke to Mother Leesa a number of weeks ago and asked her if she might be interested in the post, which she was. After this, Mother Leesa asked me if I would support her. I consented because I care about her happiness in ministry as a colleague and a friend, and this call would give her and Bill the opportunity to return home. After my consent, the school’s Senior Chaplain requested permission from the Diocese to end Mother Leesa’s curacy early. Bishop Doyle gave permission for Mother Leesa to be interviewed for the post, and at the on-site interview at the school in Tyler, in late April, Mother Leesa was given the Job. She then proceeded to inform me of this fact and we negotiated a transition plan.
- Why would the Diocese choose to terminate a curacy early? What happened to the two-year program? The simple answer to these questions is that we have a serious shortage of priests in the Church and Bishops have the difficult responsibility of thinking about the needs of the Diocese at a more corporate scale. Whereas our needs are local and parochial, the needs of the Diocese are institutional and very large in scale. Our Bishop has to balance the needs of a wide range of churches, institutions, schools, constituencies, and interests. Our job is not to question the reasoning for his decision. Curacies are becoming a thing of past in many Dioceses and I know of six curates in this Diocese over the last three years who did not complete the two-year term, and were called to become Rectors or Chaplains within three semesters of curacy.
- What are we to do? Our Associate Rector focuses almost 100% of his time on ministries to Spanish speakers, which means that in the absence of a Curate, our Rector will have to do it all. How will this work? This is a very difficult question to answer because it is not an exaggeration. Our pastoral care needs are increasing, we are growing, more sacramental actions (Baptisms, Weddings, funerals…) are taking place, and the Rector will be left alone to care for end-of-life ministries like Last Rites, visitations, counseling, etc. Additionally, the Rector currently has two Bible Studies, a community outreach project with John-17, and sits on the board of Seminary of the Southwest in Austin. He is in the process of reassessing those commitments. We have spoken to Fr. Steven Ferguson and he will assist with the occasional service on Sunday mornings from August through December. We discussed this issue at Vestry last night and together we will find a more permanent solution for next year. We will keep you informed as this develops.
- What will this do for the future of our Curacy program? This is another difficult question. The care and training of curates is part of the DNA of this congregation. We have trained a number of priests currently in ministry in our Diocese. We enjoy this ministry and have been exceedingly generous with our curates. It will be sad to see this ministry end. I want you all to know that the premature end of this curacy does not imply that we have done something wrong or that the Diocese changed their minds about Saint Dunstan’s desire to help mentor and train newly ordained people. We will enter the process again in the future. For now, I ask that you lift all existing curates up in your prayers as they enter into the ordained ministry.
- What are the next steps? Mother Leesa will remain at Saint Dunstan’s until the 15th of June. Please make sure that you express your gratitude for the work she has done and wish her God’s blessings at the school in Tyler. Please avoid “why?” questions. Discernment is always difficult for clergy and many factors determine their decisions. Mother Leesa followed all Diocesan protocols required and the decision to permit this transfer does not fall on her.
We have assigned June 9th as the last Sunday of ministry for Mother Leesa at Saint Dunstan’s, and she will preach all services. We will combine the 9:00 and 9:01 services in a bilingual liturgy jointly celebrated by Fr. Alvaro and your Rector. While this service is taking place, a select committee will be setting up our Price Fellowship Hall for a great brunch reception from 10:10 to 11:10 in honor of Mother Leesa’s ministry among us. We are cancelling ALL Sunday School classes on this day to ensure that parishioners of all ages can attend. Mother Leesa will begin moving from her office on Monday, June 10th and her last day of employment will be June 15th.
If any of you have any questions regarding this news, please feel free to contact your Rector or your Senior Warden directly.
May our Lord continue to bless you all!
Fr. Roman +
