May 11, 2010

Dear Members and Friends of St. Anne’s Church,

Joe’s gifts and experience make him superbly qualified for this position. Joe is also my husband of twenty years. Since this fact may be what initially makes this choice interesting to many, I will address it first, and then tell you more about his qualifications.

To some members of our parish, the thought of wife and husband working on the same staff may seem unusual. In our case, what is truly unusual is the caliber of priest St. Anne’s is able to bring on as associate because we are married to each other. It was my great privilege to work with Joe in the past, when Joe served as Associate Rector at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Milwaukee, WI, where I served as Rector. Because Joe and I have experience working together as associate and rector, I am confident that our professional working relationship will benefit St. Anne’s greatly.

An important theme in St. Anne’s search for its rector, and in my time here so far, is building trust amongst clergy, vestry, and the parish. It is my policy as rector to bring as much transparency and openness to our parish as possible. Due to the confidential nature of a clergy search, you were not privy to all the candidates considered and every aspect of the process in a search. Rectors commonly choose as associate someone with whom they have worked before in another church or whom they know from some other interaction in a diocese or in the larger Church.

However, because I considered my husband for this position, it has been even more important to me than it would be otherwise to involve others in the process. The Associate’s Committee has met several times, with me and with Joe separately, and did its homework of prayer, careful consultation, review, and speaking with our bishops. I consulted with the vestry about their views about my choice and their views of the parish’s response and receptivity. I have listened carefully to members who independently suggested to me that I consider Joe as our next associate. The canons of the Episcopal Church require the bishop’s approval: both Diocesan Bishop Eugene Sutton and Suffragan Bishop John Rabb wholeheartedly support this choice.

So, how does trust fit into this decision? Just as you trusted a small group of people who made a well-informed and prayerful decision in selecting me as rector on your behalf, I now ask you to trust me and the people I turned to as advisors in this decision in hiring the person who will be my associate. I am grateful to have a clergy person join me as part of the staff team of St. Anne’s with whom I already share a relationship of trust, rather than having to spend time building that trust.

Our time of transition at St. Anne’s Church, a transition that began long before I arrived, is not yet over as we say good-bye to Gid and as I continue to get to know the parish and as you continue to get to know me. By selecting as associate someone in whom I already have implicit trust, I believe the transition will be shortened overall because I will not need time getting to know my new associate, finding out through experience whether or not he truly has the gifts to serve, how he works, and how we work together. In short, we can continue to move forward without the “trial period” between rector and associate that is inevitably part of the process when two people begin to work together for the first time.

As I said when I was being interviewed by the rector search committee and vestry, the health of our marriage is a priority to us. We are grateful that God has called both of us into parish ministry and made service to the church a great joy and love for both of us. We are also mindful of the need to have interests outside of the parish and to have time away together so we may nurture our marriage and relationships to God. Within the parish we will also have our distinct and separate responsibilities, which will enable us to most effectively serve the parish and community. We believe that our marriage will be subjected to less stress by working in the same parish and serving in the same community than by serving two separate parish communities.

Joe currently serves as Rector of Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Baltimore. He also is Affiliate Professor of Theology at Loyola University in Baltimore. He holds a Ph. D. in Theology from Marquette University (in Systematic Theology and Ethics), an M. Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a B.A. in Religious Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. A native of New Jersey, Joe grew up in Trenton, and graduated from Princeton Day School in 1983, where he was captain of the soccer team,
MVP, and First Team All-State. Joe enjoys running, hiking, and golf. Joe also is a former third baseman looking for a softball team.

Joe has been ordained for six years, and spent the first two years of his ordained ministry at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Milwaukee, WI as Associate Rector. Joe connects and communicates well with people of all ages. He has excellent skills in preaching, teaching, and pastoral care. He has helped build Emmanuel Church’s adult education program and outreach program. He developed a Distinguished Preaching Series at Emmanuel and is himself the recipient of the John Hines Preaching Award, given by the Virginia Theological Seminary. He led Emmanuel in completing a capital campaign and managing their annual budget of over $700,000. His experience in churches with excellent music programs also makes him a good fit for St. Anne’s. Before ordination, Joe was a full-time professor of theology at Mount Mary College in Milwaukee.

Please read the enclosed letter from the Associate’s Committee about their endorsement of Joe as associate. Their work and insights have been extremely helpful to me and confirm my sense that God is offering us an uncommon opportunity to continue to build our church community by adding an extraordinary priest to our staff.

Joe will begin his ministry at St. Anne’s Church on September 1, 2010, overlapping with Gid Montjoy for two months before Gid retires on November 1. Please welcome Joe to this parish that I share with you in calling my spiritual home.

In Christ’s love and service,
The Rev. Dr. Amy Richter,
Rector