How Should We Begin?

Let me say first that I am overjoyed to be with you. You and I have awaited this time for months, and I am delighted that our ministry together has finally begun. There is so much good work to be done! From my very first encounter with Good Shepherd, I have been moved and excited by all that God has done, and all that God will do, in your midst. The resurrection is alive in you! I am so grateful to join your beloved community.

You may know that I grew up, and later served as a priest, in a parish which weathered many of the same challenges that Good Shepherd has experienced. In the years of recovery after schism, I remember feeling like we were holding onto something precious and fragile. With every change – each new priest who joined the staff, every new challenge before us –  I worried that we might lose the essence of what made our parish so special, what made it feel like home. Perhaps you might be wondering some of those same things as we step into the future.

And so, I thought that I would share with you some things that I might like to know if I were in your shoes:  

First, I believe that all clergy are called to be stewards. When we come to a new parish, we are entrusted with the gift of the community’s identity, liturgy, customs, and culture. We are not called to change those things and mold them into our own image. Rather, we are called to love them, to nurture them, and to help them grow, in order that we might pass them on to the saints who will come after us. I will do my very best to be a good steward of the remarkable gift which is the Church of the Good Shepherd.

Second, in my discernment process with the vestry and advisory committee, I was most excited by your passion for growth. I will never forget the first time I prayed Morning Prayer here in April, hearing the officiant pray for all those yet unknown to us whom God will draw here and for the growth of ministry here for the sake of the Gospel. It brought tears to my eyes. Your prayers reveal a faithful commitment to follow Jesus’ command to go and make disciples of all. Together, you and I will live out Christ’s Great Commission. We will continue to grow this parish. We will welcome new members and expand our ministries. We will serve our neighbors with love and compassion. We will raise up leaders for the Church and for the world. We will love our children well. All the while, we will remain faithful to our Anglo-Catholic identity.

And so, the question remains, how should we begin this work?  

 I will begin by listening. To serve you well, I ought to know you well. To that end, I would like to invite you to dinner! Beginning later this month, I will host a series of small group pot-luck dinners in the Rectory. I have scheduled a few evenings to get us started, and I will certainly add more as we need them. You can sign up at the links below or by emailing me directly. And, as the Prayer Book says, “all may… none must.”

The first round of dinners will be:

Tuesday July 28 at 6:15 pm

Tuesday August 4 at 6:15 pm

Saturday August 8 at 6:15 pm

Wednesday August 12 at 6:15 pm

Thursday August 27 at 6:15 pm

I am excited to hear your hopes and dreams and ideas about how God might be calling us to serve. I am look forward to our first Sunday together. And, I cannot wait to see all that God will do through you in the season ahead.

See you in Church!

Mthr. Maddie

FROM OUR BISHOP

A letter from the Bishop of Pennsylvania, the Rt. Revd. Daniel P. Gutierrez, directed to the parishes of our diocese about the observation of Independence Day

My Siblings in Christ,

As we prepare to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our country's founding, I am reflecting on the fact that Philadelphia is the birthplace not only of the United States but also of the Episcopal Church.

Our ancestors in faith in this diocese were leaders during that time of turmoil and uncertainty. Now, that leadership falls to us as we endeavor to live as disciples of Christ in this present moment in the life of our country, one that is marked by political division, upheaval, and war.

So, during this time of both celebration and uncertainty, I am calling on our diocese to join our voices together as one in prayer for this nation on Sunday, July 5, 2026.

On July 5, I am directing that every parish in the diocese use the readings appointed by the Book of Common Prayer for Independence Day, and to pray the Collect “For the Nation.” (See below.) These readings and Collect will replace the Proper for the 6th Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 9).

This direction comes out of deep prayer and consideration. From Deuteronomy’s call to “love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt,” to Jesus’ subversive and counter-cultural command in the Sermon on the Mount to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” the witness of Scripture speaks directly to our hearts, our communities, and to the very soul of our nation.

Please join me in solemn and humble prayer for our nation, for those who are marginalized and hurting, for God’s peace and love to reign in this world, and for God’s will to be done here and on all the earth as it is in heaven.

In Christ,
Bishop Daniel

Collect
Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Readings

Deuteronomy 10:17-21
Hebrews 11:8-16
Matthew 5:43-48
Psalm 145 or 145:1-9

From the Treasurer and Vestry Liaison for Finance

Becoming Whole

For many years, the Church has frequently been compared to a hospital, a place where one is made whole. This topic arose in one of our formation discussions during the past two weeks and may offer insights as we prepare for Mthr. Madeleine Hill’s arrival in July. In the first of our coffee-hour sessions two weeks ago, we discussed the story of the healing of the paralytic, found in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 9, verses 1–8.

This short passage begins with Jesus entering his own town and people bringing to him a paralytic lying on a pallet. According to the gospel, Jesus observes the faith of these people and tells the paralytic, “Take heart, son, your sins are forgiven.” This statement may seem to be a non-sequitur to an unspoken request for physical healing, but our Lord knew that genuine healing begins with spiritual wholeness. Even more noteworthy, Jesus’ grammar reflects a middle voice, suggesting the forgiveness He referred to isn’t a kind of dispensation from Him, but at least in part has emerged from the faith of the paralytic’s supporters.

Jesus provides physical healing to the paralytic, but only after a confrontation with nearby scribes regarding the authority to forgive sins. As the paralytic’s body is made whole along with his spirit, the importance of the community in bringing forgiveness to each other, and with it a greater intimacy with the divine, is made clear. After the healing, the final sentence of the passage asserts the crowd “glorified God, who gave such authority (also translated as power) to human beings.”

Our parish and the companions of the paralytic have something in common as we are also faced with a severe illness. In our case, it is a world stricken by cynicism, distrust and a temptation to focus on ourselves at the expense of our neighbors. However, our Lord has shown us a better way. It may seem to many that only a miraculous healing will suffice, but that is exactly where the power of the Holy Spirit can help us. Through faith and prayer, we have the authority and power to forgive others and make healing possible through the love of God.

Most recently, the Holy Spirit has helped us discern a call to our new permanent priest. Our congregation is being made whole once again. During this process, we have been blessed by many members of our parish who, through prayer, diligence, and faith have helped us move beyond tensions, disappointments and uncertainty. My hope is that any related shortcomings have been forgiven, thereby bringing us closer to our Lord Jesus Christ.

As Melinda Burrows, our People’s Warden, reminded us in last week’s message, we are a young congregation. Our mission as a church body is still evolving, growing and maturing. As we await the arrival of Mthr. Hill and the many gifts she will bring to our parish, we can rejoice in the ceaseless work of the Holy Spirit and the ongoing strength and healing we are able to give to each other each day.

Jonathan Adams
Treasurer and Vestry Liaison for Finance

From the People's Warden

Good Shepherd is a young congregation. I’m not speaking of our individual ages, but of the fact that most of us have made our commitment to this parish within the last few years. What made each of us visit a second time … and a third … until Good Shepherd was indisputably our spiritual home?

I won’t presume to speak for others, but only for myself. This week, in a fit of household filing, I came across the leaflet for the Sunday of my first visit to the “new” Good Shepherd. On a frigid February morning in 2022, my late husband and I were ready to return to church post-COVID, and intrigued by the possibility of renaissance at a revered parish that we knew had experienced trauma. We expected that the liturgy, music, and preaching would serve our worship. But what surprised us was a sense of ease here. We felt we had arrived among friends who had been waiting for us.

At that time Good Shepherd’s attendance was quite small, but the welcome was large and warm. What our new Priest in Charge has astutely identified as Good Shepherd’s charism for hospitality was evident even then. John and I felt embraced, but not seized upon. We understood that this community wanted to know us, and wanted to give of themselves, the better to worship God alongside us. Embedded in their welcome was a sense of hope. Something new was happening among this young congregation, and we were invited to join in that renewal.

This is the experience I hope we still offer to all who arrive at our doors. And since, as People’s Warden, I have the “newcomers” label attached to my role here, it’s heartening for me to see how many parishioners have taken on a simple habit of welcome. Every Sunday I witness how you notice a new face and smile, the warmth of your greetings at the Peace to friends and strangers alike, how you approach new visitors after the postlude with interest, kindness, and respect.

This has been more important than ever in our time of transition. When there is a full-time priest, it can be easy to leave the “work” of welcoming newcomers to the person wearing the cassock. In recent months, we haven’t had this luxury, and I don’t believe it is in our DNA, anyway. As we prepare to bring a new Priest in Charge into our midst, I pray that each of us will intentionally embrace the ministry of welcome. Continue to notice new faces, or recent visitors who have returned. Seek them out at coffee hour. Learn their stories. Introduce them to others. Invite them in. Appreciate their gifts. And enjoy how they contribute to the continuing renewal of our young congregation. 

“Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” (Romans 15:7)

In the peace of God,
Melinda Burrows
People’s Warden

From the Vestry Liaison for Staff

Our church, like all good institutions, has much work that goes on behind the scenes. A lot of that work here at Good Shepherd is done by volunteer members of the parish (for example, the Vestry, the Sacristans Guild, Acolyte Guild, Advancement Committee, Social Concerns, Buildings and Grounds, Adult Formation, Children’s Formation, Ushers and Lectors Committees).

We are however blessed to have a small staff who do a great deal, often tasks we as parishioners take for granted. Let me begin with our new organist, Alden Wright. Alden is obviously responsible for playing the organ (a prelude, postlude, accompanying the choir, accompanying hymns, improvisation) and directing the professional octet on Sundays and other feast days. Those are the duties that the parish witnesses, but it does not see all the preparation: his choosing of music, including the hymns we sing, suitable for the day; his own (substantial) practice time; his rehearsing the choir; his recruiting of substitutes in case a singer can’t make it; his overseeing the music library and the choir room; his writing about the music for the bulletin and the Weekly Word. And this is all supposed to happen within his “part-time” job!

We are equally blessed to have Renee Barrick as our part-time parish administrator. Each day for her is different, and often equally zany. With our transition period between priests, her days have been busier than usual. She is the point person for any number of people: contractors, other staff, Vestry members, etc. Renee, along with Kit Apostolacus, manages the Retreat House and its bookings, which are temporarily suspended during this summer. She, along with Alden, creates the Sunday leaflet; and she is responsible for putting out the Weekly Word. Scheduling the non-acolyte rota for Sundays and other special Masses and services also falls on Renee’s plate. This is only a sample of what she does!

Our financial administrator is Mary Campbell, who keeps our books in beautiful shape; makes regular reports to the Vestry; and works closely with our treasurer Jonathan Adams to determine the best course with such things as navigating the end of the 5-year plan and deciding how much or how little to draw from our endowment. We are pleased that Mary has become a member of the parish, and serves at the altar and as a lector.

Kevin Loughrey not long ago became our facilities manager, and does much work himself around the campus. In addition, he is expert at finding the best contractors in the area for our needs. Kevin works closely with the Buildings and Grounds Committee to determine priorities and to keep things close to budget. Given the number of buildings that Good Shepherd owns—the church itself with the cloister; the Parish Hall; the Retreat House; the Rectory; and the Play and Learn school—it is no wonder that there are always more things to do, certainly more than his twelve hours per week can contain.

Good Shepherd has come a long way in recent years, thanks to good leadership and a deep commitment on the part of the community to make things work, spiritually and practically. Our staff and their dedication is an essential part of our success.

Anne Hallmark
Vestry Member at Large & Staff Liaison

From the Vestry Liaison for Buildings and Property

If you have ever traveled to Europe, I’m sure that you have noticed quite a number of old churches. If you are anything like me, the opportunity to explore these holy spaces was likely a highlight of your trip. To put it in the simplest of terms, they just don’t build things like they used to.

My husband Paul, his mother, and I were recently fortunate to travel to Greece, and while there, we saw innumerable churches. One example in the center of Athens—the Church of Panagia Kapnikarea—dates to the year 1052 and sits on the site of another ancient temple. It is difficult to imagine the centuries of Christians who have worshipped in this dark, smokey, candle-lit space filled with mosaics, murals, and a deeply embedded scent of beeswax and frankincense.

While exploring family villages in the Peloponnese, we met with distant relatives who were eager to show us some of the churches in Dimitsana. At its height, Dimitsana was a village of over 2,500 residents, 26 churches, 4 monasteries, a seminary, and the seat of a bishop. Now, the churches and monasteries remain, but after wars, financial crises, and a military dictatorship, the population has dwindled to around 350 year-round residents.

Upon entering several of these churches, you are taken by the beauty and history contained within. Most date to the 17th and 18th centuries, and while older than the Church of the Good Shepherd, they are relatively young compared to many others in Greece. What struck me—and indeed the reason I am telling you this story—is the response of our guide when we found a large pile of plaster that had fallen from the dome of one church. In broken English, she said, “I came earlier today to clean this up…you can see more has fallen. We are trying to find the money to restore this church. We have not been able to yet—but we will.”

This simple exchange left an indelible impression, especially given my role as Vestry Liaison to the Buildings and Grounds Committee. We worship in a beautiful Gothic Revival building constructed over two years beginning in 1893. The first services were held in 1894 and the building was consecrated in 1910. It is truly a gift that we are able to call this edifice our spiritual home. Given our history, perhaps it is a greater gift that we are called to steward this place toward another 132 years of transcendent Christian worship and vibrant ministry.

After years of too little investment, a new spirit of proactivity has emerged to meet the needs of our buildings and properties. We have recently installed ADA accessible ramps and repaired soffits and downspouts on the retreat house. We have contracts in place for HVAC maintenance and landscaping. In coming weeks, we will be installing signage around campus to assist newcomers and visitors. Even the fire alarm sounding during the voluntary after Sung Mass on Trinity Sunday serves as a testament to the work being done here.

We know that large projects are on the horizon, and while we don’t currently have the funds to pay for a new roof or restore stained glass, we will. God will provide what is needed to maintain our space for generations of Christians to come. The Church of the Good Shepherd has been, is, and will continue to be a place where the Word of God is proclaimed and His Sacraments are celebrated. And while we wait, let us continue to pray for all yet unknown to us whom God will draw to this place to come to know and love our Lord Jesus and for the growth of ministry here for the sake of the Gospel.

William Hillegeist
Vestry Liaison for Buildings and Property

From the Rector's Warden

Beloved Good Shepherd community,

Today I write to you not only as Rector’s Warden, but as vestry liaison for the Social Concerns committee. A theme that has consistently come up in conversations about the future of our parish is a commitment to the Anglo-Catholic tradition. Much of the discussion around this commitment focuses on worship—our liturgy is centered in a sacramental and incarnational viewpoint informed by the theological traditions of Anglo-Catholicism. However, another important element of the Anglo-Catholic tradition is social action and witness. The history of Anglo-Catholicism includes engagement with the broader community, and in particular ministry to the poor and marginalized. This is not a separate consideration, but rather flows from the same sacramental and incarnational way of viewing the world. Taking seriously the idea that God is in and among us, and that we are called to share in the communion of God, goes hand in hand with an inclusive vision of humanity.

One way that this aspect of the Anglo-Catholic tradition has manifested at Good Shepherd is in our commitment to welcome and hospitality. It is safe to say hospitality is a central part of the identity of Good Shepherd. This is reflected not only in the everyday welcoming of newcomers and guests for worship, coffee hour, and other church activities, but in the development of one of our central ministries: the Retreat House. The Retreat House ministry has allowed us to provide a haven for personal and group retreats for a variety of people and organizations, as well as host patients and family members traveling to the area for medical care. It has been a godsent resource for a family navigating the challenges of refugee status. One of our challenges going forward as a parish is creating and implementing a plan to further utilize this invaluable ministry asset.

Another way that we have worked to further live into Good Shepherd’s identity of hospitality is to refine our sick and homebound ministry, and mutual aid ministries more broadly. In the past few months, we have laid the groundwork for a more cohesive network of volunteers to help with meals, shopping, and transportation needs. If you or someone you know needs assistance, or if you would like to volunteer to help provide such assistance, please reach out to me directly.

I see an opportunity for Good Shepherd’s growth in not just welcoming those who come to us, but to more actively invite them in as well as venture out into the community as God’s hands and feet. As our congregation has grown in the last few years, so too has the desire to grow our ministries to the surrounding community. For example, in the last year our youth confirmands spearheaded cultivation of a relationship with one of the diocese’s ministries, the Clare Project street ministry in Kensington. There are avenues to deepen that relationship further. Social Concerns is also currently developing plans to expand our long-time support for the Ardmore Food Pantry (at our sister parish St. Mary’s) into a fuller partnership. And there are other ideas for greater community engagement being incubated in the Social Concerns committee.

Please prayerfully reflect on how Good Shepherd might continue to grow in its social ministry, and in particular prayerfully consider how you might contribute to our social ministries as we continue to grow.

In Christ,
Jason Crockett
Rector’s Warden
Vestry Liaison for Social Concerns

From the Theologian in Residence

Pentecost, like Easter, is a Christian holy day superimposed on a Jewish holy day. Its classic text is from Acts 2. It recounts a dramatic event that occurred in Jerusalem when Jews there were joined by others from many diaspora countries, marking the summer pilgrimage festival commanded by Leviticus 23:15–22 and other texts from Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. It became associated with celebrating God’s giving the Law on Mount Sinai fifty days after the liberation from Egypt.

Luke (the author of Luke-Acts) reports that precisely seven weeks after Jesus’s death, “… suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.”

The Galileans among them, who probably spoke Aramaic, began speaking in the languages of the pilgrims. What was this? Was the punishment of many languages imposed at the tower of Babel being undone? Or were even more languages being spoken making communication yet worse?! Were people speaking languages that they did not understand?! Or were they all able to speak and understand all the other languages?

Had the pillar of fire that led the Israelites from Egypt to Sinai to receive God’s instruction there returned to lead them again?! And if so, to where? Was the fire—along with thunder, lightning and trumpet blasts that had engulfed mount Sinai, terrifying the Israelites at the foot of the mountain—now among these Jews gathered to honor and celebrate the Sinai theophany?

Luke has Peter refashion words from the prophet Joel, who had anticipated that God would pour out his spirit on, well, everyone on the great and awful day of the Lord, when blood and fire with smoke would engulf the earth and the sun would be darkened and the moon look like blood. But in Luke’s rewrite, that will also be a glorious day because all who call upon the name of the Lord will escape the destruction that awaits everyone else.

Such confusion. Such turmoil. Such fear. Such division. In times of great confusion, when the ground is dropping out from under our feet, where are stability, order, and a path forward to be found? It is only by trusting that God will pour out his spirit once again that we may understand one another across dark divides. And so, on Christian Pentecost the church prays, “Come, Holy Spirit.”

Ellen T. Charry
Theologian in Residence

From the Vestry Liaison for Formation

Dear Good Shepherd Family,

As a parish, we are in an in-between time. Summer is never the busiest time in any church community’s life, but this year might feel especially quiet and uncertain. We’ve no sooner said farewell to our dear friend and priest of many years, Fr. Kyle Babin, than we’re preparing to welcome our new Priest in Charge, Mthr. Maddie Hill.

Rest assured, things are happening in this interim season! Even in quieter times, when programs and attendance might dwindle, the Spirit is at work in our community, drawing us together in the love of Christ.

Just this past week, on Thursday, May 7, Dr. Don McCown hosted a conversation among a small group of Good Shepherd parishioners and friends. The topic of conversation was Walter Hilton, a 14th century English priest, and how his practice of quiet listening and waiting might enrich spiritual life at the Church of the Good Shepherd in the 21st century. As with all Adult Formation events at our church, Thursday’s conversation was a lovely time of quiet prayer and mutual reflection.

Regarding Children’s Formation, we have a lot to look forward to in the upcoming months. Mthr. Maddie will join us in mid-July, and she’s particularly eager to get involved with Good Shepherd’s Godly Play program. For those who’ve never had the pleasure of attending Children’s Formation on Sunday mornings, Godly Play is a Montessori-based storytelling curriculum that takes children through key themes and stories of the Christian tradition. It’s hands-on, imaginative, and rooted in the belief that children are naturally receptive to the transcendent mystery of sacred stories. Our kids at Good Shepherd love it, and, if you watch the adults in attendance, they’re always smiling right along with the little guys.

Mthr. Maddie has a deep affinity with the Godly Play program, and she’s used it at many parishes throughout her career and upbringing. During her interview process, she cited children’s ministry as one of the most enjoyable and rejuvenating aspects of her calling as a priest. We couldn’t be more excited for her to join us and our children in spiritual formation.

Additionally, both Mthr. Maddie and our new Music Director, Alden Wright, will oversee a Children’s Summer Camp in August. (Sign Up here!) It’s important to emphasize how exciting it is that, only a month into Mthr. Maddie’s time as our priest, she and Alden get to log some quality time with Good Shepherd’s kids and young families. We anticipate lots of fun and we’re grateful for the opportunity to foster relationships in a season of new growth for our parish.

Please continue to pray for both our Children’s and Adults’ Formation programs as we embark on an exciting new chapter in the life of the Church of the Good Shepherd.

Sincerely,

Tim Austen

Vestry Liaison for Formation

THOUGHTS FROM MOTHER MADDIE

Introductory Note: As the vestry and the parish advisory committee were immersed in our recent search for our next priest, we came across an essay that we found deeply moving. Now that we have called our new Priest in Charge, Mthr. Maddie Hill, we want to share this statement with you, our beloved Good Shepherd community. Mthr. Maddie posted it a few months ago on the website of her current parish, the Church of the Transfiguration in Dallas, and it tells a compelling story of her formation as a Christian and, ultimately, as clergy. 

the church of tomorrow

by Mother Maddie

I came to faith in the midst of a schism.

My family and I found our way to an Episcopal Church in Fort Worth because a girl in my third-grade class invited me to sing in the Children's Choir. At first, we were reticent. The liturgy was so formal, the hymns so unfamiliar, but we were moved by something we could not yet name.

After almost two years as "visitors," we joined the church on one condition from my father: "We can become members, as long as we don't get involved…"

Although we could not yet see it, conflict was brewing. A group of parishioners were preparing to leave the Episcopal Church because of theological differences, primarily the ordination of women. When they left, they wanted to take the whole parish with them.

I was fifteen years old when that small group walked out of the Annual Parish Meeting. The next Sunday, their absence was palpable. Families, couples, and life-long friendships were split down the middle, divided by conflict. The parish had been torn in two.

What I remember most about that time is not the heartache or the absence. I remember the way we banded together to repair our beloved church. I remember parishioners old and new stepping up to fill the gaps and take on new ministries, ensuring that our mission never skipped a beat. I remember Fr. Shannon chasing after my family as we headed home after the 9:00 mass, shouting, "Wait! There are no acolytes at 11:15!" I vested that day with pride, glad to be necessary, grateful to be home. For the next few years, I got to serve at the altar every Sunday, filling any space left open. And in my own small way, I got to help us heal.

In the work of rebuilding and repairing and resurrecting our church, I heard God calling me to the priesthood. Although I had never seen a female priest, it never occurred to me that I could not say "yes." In the parish's embrace of my gawky and awkward teenage ministry, I discovered the joy and belonging that only service can give.

Our world today is so much like the Episcopal Church in Fort Worth all those years ago. Our world is rife with bitter conflict, lines drawn in the sand, the same question hanging in the air: Are you with us, or are you against us? Our world has been broken in two, like a church after schism. Our unity – as a nation, as Christians, and even as families – seems to have failed. But that fracture, that brokenness, that heartache is not the end of our story. It is only just the beginning.

God calls us to repair our brokenness. In the Garden of Gethsemane, just before he gives his life for us, Jesus prays, "Father, I pray that they may be one, as you and I are one." This is God's will. Jesus died on the cross for us, in order to draw the whole world to himself. In the cross, we have already been been made one with Christ and with every person he has made. We have been made one with liberals and conservatives, with the rich and the poor, with our friends and with our enemies. We are all members of the Body of Christ.

When we tear ourselves apart, when we make those who are different from us feel unwelcome or unnecessary, we desecrate the gift given to us on the cross. Our vocation as the Church is to draw all people to God, which means we must be a home for all people, even those with whom we disagree. Of course, we fall short of this charge each and every day.

But I can tell you because I have lived it: there is hope on the other side of division. When we commit ourselves to band together and recover our unity, humbly making room for all of God's people, there will be growth. There will be new life. There will be resurrection.

With God's help, we can heal our world. We can shine a light in the darkness of despair. We can be a city on a hill, showing the world another way of living together. We can be the church we have been called and created to be – the middle way, where all truly belong.

Mthr. Maddie

From the Rector's Warden

Beloved Good Shepherd community,

This week we shared the momentous news of our call to a new Priest in Charge, Mthr. Maddie Hill. In anticipation of this announcement, during this past Sunday’s parish conversation, we reflected on the strengths of Good Shepherd, Rosemont, as well as areas where we can continue to grow. Our discussion was guided by the framework of Brother Ephrem Arcement, who visited us this spring. He proposes seven dimensions of “ecclesial wholeness” that together can help us to live into the fullness of what it means to be a church together. The dimensions he names are: 

• evangelical (proclamation of the Good News)

• pentecostal (openness to the empowerment of the Holy Spirit)

• sacramental (recognition of the inherent sacredness of the liturgy and Creation)

• intellectual (discernment of divinely revealed truths)

• mystical (contemplative seeking of union with God)

• pastoral (community-oriented care for all souls)

• prophetic (attestation to truth and justice).

Our parish conversation paralleled a discussion by the Vestry during our recent retreat. We found that we experienced repeated surprise and excitement at the breadth and depth of the ways that Good Shepherd lives into the different dimensions listed above, even in areas we initially felt might not be our strengths or most central to our identity as a parish. (If you are interested in seeing the notes from that discussion, please ask a Vestry member for a copy.) As you look over the list, what strikes you as central to Good Shepherd, Rosemont’s identity? Where do you see strengths and room to grow in each of these dimensions?

In previous parish conversations we asked parishioners to reflect on what qualities they are looking for in a new priest. This past Sunday we asked participants to reflect on the qualities we as a parish offer our new priest. Once Mthr. Maddie settles into her new role, together we will  create a joint vision statement for Good Shepherd, Rosemont. We know from our meetings with her that she is eager to start working with the parish on this unified vision. Sunday’s deliberations were a promising preamble to that process, and I hope we as individuals and as a parish will continue to ponder these dimensions as we prepare for the arrival of Mthr. Maddie.

In Christ,
Jason Crockett
Rector’s Warden

From the Treasurer

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

One of the goals of the vestry for 2026 is to increase the transparency of our deliberations and decisions. That goal is especially important during the parish’s transition to a new rector, who is joining us initially as a priest-in-charge. Regular updates on our financial condition are one component of transparency, upon which this Weekly Word will focus.

For the first three months of 2026, Good Shepherd’s financial results were healthy. Income exceeded expenses by about $8,300, resulting in an operating surplus. Revenue and spending typically follow annual patterns, affected by seasonal giving, the timing of annual payments, the church calendar and many other factors. Given these recurring patterns, our Financial Administrator, Mary Campbell, suggests it is important to compare current first quarter results with those of the same period in the prior year. By this metric, our 2026 performance is generally in line with the $9,000 operating surplus in the first quarter of 2025.  

Entering the second quarter, we can expect lower expenses by not having a full-time priest on payroll. Still, the blessedly brisk pace of our search process may result in a new priest-in-charge reasonably soon, so we should not expect a dramatic reduction in annual expenses during our transition. As our Wardens noted in their message from last week, “the holy spirit has been busy in this place….” That wonderful activity both expands and draws upon our resources as we keep the message of the gospel vibrant.

The 2026 budget anticipates a reduction in the endowment to meet our annual expenses for this year. Our endowment fund manager distributes a regular, recurring distribution a bit over $4,000 each quarter. Beyond this recurring payment, we elected to withdraw an additional $15,000 from the endowment in March to provide adequate cash and liquidity. However, even with this withdrawal, investment gains over the prior year have buoyed the balance of our endowment, which was $423,664 as of March 31st compared to $420,523 one year ago.   

On a related financial matter, Good Shepherd will welcome an arts recording studio to the second floor of our Parish Hall as of July 1st. This entity will generate meaningful rental income for Good Shepherd in the second half of 2026 as well as in 2027. We expect our new tenant will serve many local and younger performing artists, providing good exposure to Good Shepherd while using a valuable resource consistent with our church’s goals and mission.

If you have any questions regarding parish finances, please bring them to any member of the Finance Committee (Ms. Karen Tripp, Ms. Mary Campbell and me) or feel free to join us at our monthly meeting! We welcome your interest and thank you for your many efforts to support the Church of the Good Shepherd.

Jonathan Adams
Treasurer

From the Wardens

“Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine.” (Ephesians 3:20)

Our parish community is entering a time of transition, as we bid a fond farewell to Fr. Kyle. For most of us it is hard to imagine Good Shepherd without his sterling leadership. At such a time, a sense of loss is a natural emotion, even as we know intellectually that there is every reason for hope.

The last six years have been a period of extraordinary blessings. No one who was here in 2020 could have predicted how our spiritual life has blossomed, and the degree to which our numbers and our ministry have grown. And the majority of us, who have joined this remarkable community in the years since, have been continually surprised at how our blessings have multiplied, thanks to the work of the Holy Spirit among us.

Now, we look ahead to the process of calling a Priest in Charge. More about that process is here, and your vestry pledges to keep the parish fully informed at every stage. We hope you will stay after coffee hour for the next Parish Conversation on April 26, for further updates and discussion.

It’s only human to feel some grief and anxiety right now, and it’s important to acknowledge it. Those of us on the vestry are grateful for the feedback you have given us in our March Parish Conversation, in our regular interactions, and in your honest and thoughtful responses to our online parish survey. You have shared questions and worries, which we are resolved to address. You have also expressed a firm confidence in our strength as a community.

Now is the time to act on that confidence. How? Simply by showing up. 

It’s essential that we come to church on Sunday and for special services, as often as we normally would – or more often. It’s crucial that we support one another and the community we have built and nurtured – by our presence, by our prayers, and by our participation in ministry. You are needed, and your gifts are needed, too. If there is a ministry you’ve been curious about, now is the time to volunteer! Please speak to any member of the vestry about how you can help. 

As we embark on a necessary period of transition and ultimately a new era, some excellent travel advice comes to mind: When journeying to a new place, live not on comparison, but on appreciation. The Holy Spirit has long been busy in this place, working through us. We must not underestimate its power, and it’s important to be attentive to where it might lead us as we call a new priest. Inevitably, that priest will be different from Fr. Kyle. Inevitably, that priest will bring gifts to Good Shepherd that we didn’t anticipate in advance. If we are open to those gifts, later we will look back with surprise and gratitude on the  ways our blessings have multiplied–just as today, we marvel at how far we’ve come since 2020.

We are grateful to those who are easing our route to that future. We heartily thank Jack Burnam for his steadfast stewardship of our highly valued music program as we await a new Director of Music, Alden Wright. We’re grateful to the Transition Office of the Diocese of Pennsylvania, and for the help of numerous priests who have stepped forward to celebrate, preach, and serve during our transition (read more about them here). These priests are from our immediate neighborhood, the larger diocese, and nearby dioceses. As we have communicated with them about how they can serve us, it has been exciting to learn more about the local ecosystem of which Good Shepherd is a part. We hope you will welcome them and enjoy getting to know them.

And we are grateful for you, our parish family. We feel blessed to be traveling this road with you.

Jason Crockett
Rector’s Warden

Melinda Burrows
People’s Warden

April 10, 2026

It seems fitting that I write my last rector’s message to you at the start of Eastertide. For me, the time immediately after our Lord’s resurrection in Scripture is tinged with sadness and poignancy. The disciples are dealing, at first, with loss and confusion. But they soon come to realize that the loss of their Lord’s earthly presence doesn’t mean that their Lord has gone away. He is simply present with them in a new way—less obvious at times, but just as powerfully nonetheless.

The aftermath of Jesus’s resurrection from the dead—the time in which we still live—is a time characterized by presence in absence. The poet R.S. Thomas writes beautifully of this in several of his poems, noting the difficulty of physical absence, along with its lingering doubt and questions. And yet, this absence is not absence at all. It is a new mode of knowing our Lord’s presence. It is, in fact, a presence that equips the Church with great power, with power to proclaim the Gospel not just locally but to the ends of the earth. It is a power that enables the disciples to do even greater works than their Lord, as he told them in John 14.

This week is a poignant one for me and, I suspect, for you. We must say goodbye in the midst of Easter joy, concluding a pastoral relationship of nearly six years. But as the prayer book says about grief at funerals, the celebration of resurrection life doesn’t mean that grief itself is unchristian. Quite the contrary. Our grief at changed relationships and departing presences means that something profoundly good and true is underneath it all.

It has been my privilege and joy to serve as your priest for nearly six years. When I look at Good Shepherd now in relation to where it was in August of 2020, I am rendered nearly speechless at the power of almighty God to make all things new. While I sensed there was real potential for growth and flourishing when I came to Good Shepherd, what has happened has far surpassed what I could have imagined. This, of course, is what God does all the time, since God “whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20). I’m convinced that God will continue to do such things at Good Shepherd.

As I entrust the pastoral care of this parish to my successor, I leave you with some encouragement.

• During this time of transition, even and especially when there is grief, sadness, and confusion—even doubt—commit yourselves even more to life at Good Shepherd. Show up for Mass weekly. Rather than pausing your involvement in ministry, become more involved and deepen that involvement. The parish needs your presence and gifts.

• Love and care for one another. Assume the best in each other, trusting in your parish leadership, which is strong, healthy, and mature.

• Remember, as our bishop has said, that God has already chosen your next priest. You simply need to pray and discern whom God has selected for you.

• Know that your new priest will be different from me and will need to be different from me. Give your new priest your trust and love, knowing that God will support you and your new priest.

• Times of uncertainty breed anxiety, but do not accept the offer of anxiety. It only likes to give itself away, and you don’t need to take it!

• Scarcity mindset is rampant within our culture and the church, but Good Shepherd has grown and flourished because we have trusted in God’s abundance. God still provides abundance, even when naysaying voices sow fear and doubt. Assume God’s abundance, and all shall be well. Take a chance on generosity.

And finally, thank you, for your support, love, and encouragement. You are in my prayers as you navigate the next period of transition. I will follow from afar the astounding works that God will do among you. May God richly bless you in the years ahead, and I will look forward to celebrating the Mass with you on Sunday, when we have the great joy of welcoming a new child, Charles Eric Mahoney, into the body of Christ through Baptism.

Yours in Christ,
Father Kyle

April 3, 2026

It could be easy to overlook perhaps the most important part of the Good Friday Liturgy. It is not the Veneration of the Cross (which is optional, although profoundly moving) but the praying of the Solemn Collects. I have been thinking about the Solemn Collects quite a lot this year.

While I would never be so bold as to say that the age in which we live is more desperate, violent, cruel, or wayward than any in the past, it is nevertheless an age which is indeed desperate, violent, cruel, and wayward. Reading the daily news can suck the life out of us. We are living through a war that has been treated by some as little more than a video game, demeaning the image of God in the people whom it affects. Some who call themselves Christians claim to wage holy wars against other religions, even though Christianity is specifically a religion founded on love of enemies. Tribalism is on the rise. I do not need to name all the hideousness of our times to you. But given all this chaos and mess, I keep turning to the Solemn Collects of the Good Friday liturgy because there is a truth there that survives the worst distortions of blasphemous assertions.

As I mentioned in last week’s message, these collects are the theological and soteriological moment in which we move into the place that Christ has been as the Great High Priest. We are called to be a priestly people, interceding for the salvation of the world as Christ himself did. We pray for all sorts of situations and peoples. We pray especially for our enemies, not consigning them to our own attempts at hasty and ill-founded “justice.” We pray for them so that God will care, love, and protect them by bringing them to repentance and amendment of life. And we pray that God will bring us to repentance if we have wronged others. In the Solemn Collects, we pray for others before ourselves, finally concluding by asking “for the grace of a holy life” so that “we may be accounted worthy to enter into the fullness of the joy of our Lord.” The shape of the Solemn Collects is Christ-like. We intercede for others first. We die to self so that others might rise to newness of life.

If you examine the Solemn Collects, you will find that many, if not most, of the petitions are for situations caused by human sin and wrongdoing, or for people who are still actively living as an affront to love, justice, truth, and mercy. The petitions are evidence that there is much brokenness in our world. There is evil. There is sin. And yet. . . these things are not the final word. We must acknowledge them and name them, of course. We must repent for our own misdoings and past wrongs as the Church. Still, God finds us in the disorder of our lives. Something deeper, a glimmer of hope, is there among the rubble, and it emerges in fits and starts on Good Friday but shines clearly on Easter Day.

And so, the Solemn Collects end with one of the most beautiful collects in the prayer book, a collect that we pray not only on Good Friday but at the Great Vigil of Easter and at ordinations (time is not linear!). It is a collect that plumbs the profundity of salvation. It is a collect that never fails to give me goosebumps when I pray it.

O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the effectual working of your providence, carry out in tranquility the plan of salvation; let the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Yes, even on Good Friday, even in the midst of war, national chaos, and political turmoil, even as we suffer and toil through the inconstancies of life, God is carrying out the plan of salvation. God is raising up those things we have cast down in disrespect. God is making new those things that we have sullied with malaise and lack of care. God is bringing us and the whole world to salvation. This is the mystery of Easter, which we celebrate every day of our lives, even on this Good Friday. And on Saturday night, the first strains of our joyous acclamations of this everlasting hope will ring out, pealing like bells in the darkness of the night.

For those of you who despair, for those of you who suffer, for those of you who are beaten down, know that the God who came among us as one of the poor and as one who suffers is still carrying out the plan of salvation. This plan includes you. And this plan is intended for the transformation of your enemies, too. It includes all who are willing to turn back to the light, back to Christ, the one whom God raised from the dead and in whom all things become new. May God bless you this Easter.

Yours in Christ,
Father Kyle

March 27, 2026

Last Sunday during children’s formation, I talked with the class about Holy Week and Easter. As part of our conversation, the children made Holy Week passports. We made little folded notebooks of paper. Each page of the notebooks was dedicated to a different liturgy, from Palm Sunday until Easter Day. I explained to the children that the liturgies of Holy Week are the most important of the Church year. And because they are so important, it’s as if we are going to a different country. We enter Jesus’s time. We are there with him in his suffering, death, and resurrection, and he is with us. Past, present, and future collide.

I told the children to bring their Holy Week passports to all the Holy Week liturgies. Yes, I mean all of them! They wrote down the times of the liturgies, and I said that I hoped they would attend them all (yes, even the Easter Vigil!). For each liturgy that they attend, I would stamp their passports with a Good Shepherd, Rosemont, stamp. I even offered to give them something special for each liturgy they attend. (I’m not above a bit of bribery!) But the real point I wanted to make—even if the allure of a special treat was used—was that the liturgies of Holy Week and Easter are worth attending. They are necessary to attend.

This holiest of Christian weeks begins this Sunday, The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday. That is the title given by the prayer book. Two incongruent liturgies (a passion liturgy and a palm liturgy) come together to create a theological whiplash effect, where we find ourselves retreating from acclamations of Jesus as king to call for his crucifixion in our own various betrayals. This liturgy should bring us up short. On Maundy Thursday, we move from this perceived separation from Christ, as we falter in our attempts to follow him, to begin a deeper identification with him, to take on his identity as we strive to become Christ for the world. This starts with the mandatum: to love others—even our enemies—as Christ loves us. This is embodied in the footwashing. If the footwashing makes you uncomfortable, then I hope you will have your feet washed! It should make all of us uncomfortable, because it reminds us that Christ calls us to pattern our lives on his by loving and serving others in his Name. That is a gargantuan task.

Good Friday is what the liturgist James Farwell (on whose work I draw in this theological/soteriological framing of Holy Week) calls the “soteriological fusion of identities” [see This Is the Night: Suffering, Salvation, and the Liturgies of Holy Week]. By the day of Jesus’s crucifixion and death, we have moved closer to him, so close, in fact, that animated by Christ’s Spirit, we move to the place in which Jesus, the Great High Priest, has been to intercede for the world in the Solemn Collects. In these collects, we will also pray for our Jewish brothers and sisters. Holy Week has historically been a time in which they experienced great persecution by Christians, so we will pray for repentance and for the continued blessing of the Jewish people by God. This prayer of repentance is a part of drawing closer to Christ, himself a Jew.

Finally, by the Great Vigil and First Mass of Easter, we will arrive at the tomb, in the dark, before the sun rises on Easter Day. We will wait with Christ in his death, hoping for his resurrection. We will hear our family stories of faith around the campfire, a newly-lighted fire announcing that the light of Christ can’t be squelched by the darkness. We will baptize an adult, Scarlett Muller, who has been faithfully preparing for baptism since September. She will be buried with Christ in his death in the waters of Baptism, and she will rise again to new life in him. We will renew our own baptismal vows, as we remember the paschal pattern in our own lives. And then, after much waiting, we will make the first Easter proclamation for this year, and we will share in the Eucharist together, reborn in Christ’s image. Be sure to bring a bell to ring at the Easter acclamation!

I hope my brief summary of these incredible liturgies tantalizes you. I hope you will prioritize attending them all this year. Imagine that, like our children in the parish, you have your Holy Week passport. On Sunday, we will enter a different country, a different land, where eternity meets us and we meet eternity, where we catch palpable glimpses of eternal life. In each liturgy, something of the pattern of Christ’s own life will be stamped on your hearts. I do hope to see you at the liturgies next week. They are liturgies by which we participate in God’s saving acts, not at some point in the distant future alone, but here and now. May this holiest of weeks be a dying and rising for you. May you be born again in Christ.

Yours in Christ,
Father Kyle

March 20, 2026

I am sometimes asked how my training as a professional musician has influenced priestly ministry. For one, my previous experience as a parish church musician has helped me to understand pastoral care. And chanting the liturgy is one way in which I can use musical skills in liturgical service. I have also found that a musician’s understanding of performance—in the best sense of the word—directly impacts celebrating and officiating liturgies. Presiding at a liturgy requires that the presider use body and voice to draw the congregation into reverence, prayer, and worship. But there is yet one more aspect of professional musical training that has influenced not just priestly ministry for me but also my own spiritual life. And that is the art of practicing.

From an early age, I learned the discipline of practicing, and I use the word discipline quite intentionally. Practicing is not always fun. Practice can, in fact, be very tedious. My earliest teachers taught me to turn a metronome on, slowly at first, with incremental increases in tempo until a technically difficult piece could be performed with ease. My first organ teacher was one of the best teachers of technique I know. When I first started learning the organ, I only practiced boring pedal exercises for months. Then I was allowed to put right hand and pedal together, then left hand and pedal, then hands together, and only after all that could I put both hands and pedal together. And then, it was as if I had always known the piece. Everything just fit together, and it felt very good.

One of the best testaments to the efficacy of the training I received is that even now, when I have very little time to practice, I can pull a difficult piece I learned twenty years ago out and play it after a modest amount of practice time. What I learned so many years ago is still there, in my muscle memory, in my heart, in my imagination. And that feels wonderful.

And this is very much like the art of learning to pray. The discipline of praying gets into our bones, our hearts, and imaginations. Prayer is frequently not easy. It can be boring. It can even feel tedious. And it takes a lot of discipline. Prayer requires that we show up to pray, make time to pray, and pray especially when it’s the last thing we want to do. I’m so thankful that my parents taught me how to pray. At first, I memorized a few prayers and said them each night before bed. But that rigid structure has allowed me to maintain spiritual structure in my life, has led me to love the Daily Office, and has spurred me to engage in more contemplative types of prayer. I am so glad that my parents brought me to church, every week, unless I was seriously ill. As a child, there were many times when I didn’t want to go to church, but now, I’m so thankful that my parents insisted that I go. I would feel completely out-of-sorts if I had to miss Mass for whatever reason.

The season of Lent is a time for going deeper into spiritual disciplines. But this can often lead to taking on more than we are capable of doing or should do. We would rather play the difficult piece of music at full tempo, hands and feet together without doing the hard, slow, tedious practice beforehand. Lent can easily become a time of diving headfirst into a plethora of spiritual practices for a week before crashing and burning. This is not the point of Lent, nor is it how we should approach any foray into spiritual practices. Lent is, more helpfully, a time to gently bring spiritual structure into our lives rather than trying to be superstars in spirituality.

Spiritual discipline starts slowly and with small efforts, like intentionally carving out time for prayer, giving attention to the Lord’s Day, and making God a conscious part of our lives from sunrise to sunset. This is both simple and challenging. It’s rarely glamorous. But through discipline and practice mixed with compassion for oneself, one’s life begins to change. One begins to see, in surprising ways, God’s hand and hear God’s voice in new and clarifying ways. Spiritual practices help keep our egos in check so that God becomes primary and God is allowed to speak in God’s good time. We find ourselves decreasing so that God may increase in our lives.

The discipline of spiritual practices is not relegated only to Lent, but Lent is an excellent time to make a renewed effort to bring structure to our spiritual lives. In these remaining days of Lent, what can you do to make yourself more available to God, who is always available to us? How will you offer yourself as malleable clay in the hands of the Potter? May God give you the grace and strength to pattern your life after the one who came so that we might have life and have it abundantly, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Yours in Christ,
Father Kyle

March 13, 2026

Sometimes, looking to the past can enrich our present. Mere nostalgia or a wish to return to the way things always were is often unhelpful. But the past can indeed remind us of things we have lost. I was recently reminded of something we have lost when reading the fourth-century pilgrim Egeria’s descriptions of Holy Week and Easter in the Holy Land.

Egeria tells us that the fourth-century liturgies of Holy Week and Easter were stational. Crowds (and I mean a lot of people) moved from holy site to holy site in a deep remembrance of the saving events of our Lord’s passion, death, and resurrection. Hundreds of people, along with the bishop, fasted, kept vigil, prayed, and sang hymns, journeying up and down hills, hardly taking time to rest. Egeria also notes that the crowds included both catechumens (adults preparing for baptism) and children. Adults carried children in their arms. This was an intergenerational affair.

Egeria movingly relates one moment on Maundy Thursday.

“And from [the place of our Lord’s ascension] with hymns, even down to the smallest child, they come down on foot with the bishop to Gethsemane, where on account of the large size of the crowd both wearied from the vigil and weak from the daily fasting, because they have come down such a large mountain, they come very slowly with hymns to Gethsemane. More than two hundred church candles are prepared to give light to all the people. So, when they have arrived at Gethsemane, first an appropriate prayer is made, then a hymn is recited; then is read that passage from the gospel where the Lord was arrested. When that passage has been read, there is such a groaning and moaning from all the people, with weeping, that the lamentation of all the people is heard about as far away as the city” (The Pilgrimage of Egeria, trans. Anne McGowan and Paul F. Bradshaw, Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2018, p. 174).

So, what have we lost in comparison with the fourth-century observances of Holy Week and Easter? For one, I think we’ve lost a sense of how important it is to observe these liturgies in the fullness of the local church community. These days, spring break from schools often occurs during Holy Week, which means that we usually miss the intergenerational aspect of the liturgies if families are traveling. Second, we’ve lost the sense of the rigor of Christian practice in early Christianity. Recall that in the recent memory of Egeria’s contemporaries, Christianity had been illegal. People were torn apart by wild animals for confessing Christ. Following Jesus was more than lip service; it was a way of life. Third, perhaps we’ve lost an ability to identify physically and emotionally with the suffering of Jesus’s passion and death. We can’t recreate it (nor should we, nor should we “reenact” it), but a weeklong observance involving strenuous processions, fasting, and much prayer can’t help but recall some of the sacrifice of following Christ.

And this collective loss of memory is why it’s so important for us to observe the entirety of Holy Week as a community. By attending all the liturgies, we find ourselves entering into an extended drama that plays out over the course of a week. While we don’t reenact those historic moments, by ritual observance and prayer, the saving events of over two thousand years ago become present to us. As we say in Godly Play, those events are here, and we are there.

We are just over two weeks away from the start of Holy Week. I encourage you to do what you can to prioritize the saving liturgies of Holy Week and Easter on your calendars. It might mean taking off a day of work to show up at noon on Good Friday, but the rest of the liturgies should be easier to attend, as they are evening or Sunday morning liturgies. If you have children, please bring them to all the services as well. Children are not only welcome; they are integral to our corporate worship. They may get antsy or bored, but in that antsyness and boredom, they will learn something, and that learning will stay with them for a lifetime. And adults who hear the sounds of children in their midst will learn something, too. If you have never attended all the Holy Week liturgies, once you do, you will never want to miss them. If you were not able to attend the recent Zoom presentation I led on these liturgies, you may wish to view that video online.

Every year, the Holy Week liturgies have a different meaning for us depending on what’s happening in our world. This year, the suffering and death of innocent victims in the war in the Middle East will inevitably be on our hearts, and we must bring knowledge of that suffering to our prayers in the Holy Week liturgies. On Good Friday, in the Solemn Collects, we will pray for people across the world in all circumstances. The Holy Week liturgies protect us from ourselves—from our tendency to pray for our own selfish desires or only out of our partisan loyalties or solely for our “friends.” The liturgies command, as Christ does, to pray for all, and this is a prayer that transcends the world’s fragile, skewed efforts at justice or peace. This Holy Week, come, one and all, to pray for the peace that passes all understanding, the peace that only Christ can bring.

Yours in Christ,
Father Kyle

March 6, 2026

Transitions are always challenging times. But transitions are also filled with gifts. I write to you as a parish in transition but also as someone who has been navigating transition for the past few months myself. In my report to the vestry last month, I shared some of what I have learned since last fall. For one, I have learned to live more in the moment, to live day by day, something which is very difficult for me as a planner!

During the first few weeks after I knew I would eventually be moving to Richmond, I was impatient. I thought there was a real chance that I would receive clarity about my next steps quite quickly. But after a few weeks, I realized this was wishful thinking. Once I settled into taking the long view (running the marathon rather than the sprint), things actually became a bit easier for me. I began to understand that job rejections were not personal but, instead, indications that what God had prepared for me was yet to be revealed. With this more comprehensive view, I suddenly became more aware of subtle moments of encouragement from God. An unanticipated text or email from someone would speak just the words I needed to hear, although the sender of the message had little idea of my struggles. I savored each of those little moments of encouragement. They were bread for the journey.

When people approach me about discerning a call to ordained ministry, I speak to them of the gift of time. Early in the discernment process, the temptation is to rush to the finish line and to have everything wrapped up. But waiting patiently for a process to unfold so that the voice of the Spirit becomes clear is, ultimately, the only way true discernment can happen. And it simply takes time.

My invitation to you as you navigate the coming months is to ask God for grace to be patient with yourselves and the process before you. From personal experience, I know this is not easy. But much of the anxiety of our world is the result of impatience. Understandably, there are legitimate concerns you are harboring. Can we keep the momentum in ministry going? Who will our new priest be? Do we have sufficient helping hands to accomplish what we need to do? The gift of patience is that it opens us to God’s surprises. You may learn things through waiting and trusting in God that you wouldn’t have known otherwise. This is all part of discernment.

Having said all this, I believe that there are also concrete things you can be doing while you wait. The first is to pray—pray regularly, pray consistently in community, and pray as your starting place. In the coming weeks, a beautiful spiritual opportunity is available to us as the parish prepares for a transition. I draw your attention to our parish retreat on the weekend of March 20 - 22. The retreat will be led by Brother Ephrem Arcement of the Order of the Holy Cross, an Anglican community of men in West Park, New York. Brother Ephrem has written a very interesting book entitled The Shape of the Church: The Seven Dimensions of Ecclesial Wholeness. Our parish retreat will be structured around Brother Ephrem’s book, and this weekend of prayer can help all of us attend to what makes a parish spiritually balanced and healthy. I strongly encourage you to attend this retreat. There are limited spots available to stay in the retreat house on Friday and Saturday nights, but there are unlimited spots available for the day retreat on Saturday, March 21. Register online as soon as possible so that we can plan for food. This retreat weekend will be spiritually beneficial as we look to the transition period, but also, practically speaking, it is a way for the parish to consider ways of supporting our retreat house ministry. (Please recall that our operating budget depends partly on revenue from the retreat house.)

I also want to mention a few other practical ways you can help to prepare for the transition.

1) Please consider helping out with a lay ministry. After my departure, more lay assistance will be needed to sustain the Daily Office and support our children’s formation program, among others. Complete this online form to indicate your interest in helping with a ministry(ies).

2) Speaking of lay ministries, I encourage you to please follow the procedures for finding replacements for assigned liturgical and fellowship duties. This will help both lay ministry leaders as well as staff, since it saves a lot of time and ensures that the appropriate people are aware of who is scheduled for various roles. (Please recall that the easiest way to see who is scheduled to serve on a particular day is on our website. Simply scroll down to “Serving Rotas,” and click on the desired service rota.) In the months between my departure and the arrival of a new priest, many tasks previously done by me will need to shift to lay members. Your vestry and staff will be busy with many things, so the more we can work together in following established systems, the easier it will be for everyone! Thank you, in advance, for your cooperation.

3) I invite you to use this time of transition to recommit yourself to ministry participation. Your vestry (and new priest) will thank you for that! Rather than stepping back from involvement, consider diving more deeply into a ministry. This will give extra momentum to parish ministry and prepare the parish for a stronger future.

During times of waiting, concrete tasks can be very helpful in staving off anxiety and in carrying on with the work that God has called us to do. I always remember the sage advice of the late Archbishop of Canterbury Michael Ramsey who, in counseling priests, said that when malaise or torpor sets in, get up and go do something! Taking action can shift our mood and our energy in positive ways.

For months now, the vestry and I have been planning towards this time of transition. The only thing that is new to us is the definite date of my departure. I hope the knowledge of the past months’ preparation will give you comfort. And when the doubts and the anxiety creep in (as they usually do!), remember that God has a vision for us, and God will equip us to realize that vision. All we need to do is show up in prayer, listen, and then respond.

Yours in Christ,
Father Kyle

From the Wardens

In light of the announcement of Fr. Kyle’s departure, we are providing an update on the transition process. For the past two weeks we have been in ongoing conversation with the Rev. Canon Jane Gober, Canon of Transition Ministry for the Diocese, about the options and opportunities for Good Shepherd in its next steps. Our conversation has been informed by the perspectives and questions shared in our parish conversation meetings during the last few months, and we’re grateful for the input we’ve heard from parishioners during this time. Canon Gober’s insights have been immensely valuable in developing an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the two approaches to a search for a new priest, as well as how the Diocese can support our parish during its transition period. Our impression is that the Diocese is very much mindful of what makes Good Shepherd, Rosemont distinctive and wants to help us honor that as we move forward, even as we necessarily birth something new.

We have briefed the Vestry on what we have learned, and expect to make a final determination of whether to pursue a priest-in-charge or interim/rector search model at this week’s Vestry meeting, in which case the outcome will be shared this Sunday at a parish conversation following the 10:30 am mass. Regardless of the model chosen, it is our goal to make the process as transparent as possible (one piece of that goal being this letter) while also respecting the need for confidentiality regarding candidates. It is also our goal to move the process forward in a timely way, while being mindful that we are operating in God’s time.

This Sunday, March 1, Canon Gober will visit the parish. In addition to preaching the sermon, Canon Gober will meet with Vestry before the 10:30am mass, and will also attend the parish conversation. Please plan to attend the parish conversation and bring your questions for Canon Gober and the Vestry.

Also, please continue to pray for wisdom and discernment among church leadership as we navigate this time of transition.

Yours in Christ,
Jason Crockett & Melinda Burrows