Clergy Epistle: Parish Staff Announcement

Beloved in Christ,

In Eastertide, when the Church lingers—almost deliberately—in the astonishment of the Resurrection, we are reminded that the life of the Body of Christ is always marked by both continuity and change, by dying and rising, by farewell and new vocation. What we commend to God, God returns transfigured, deepened, and made fruitful for the sake of the Gospel.

It is in that spirit that I write to you today.

First, we give thanks for the faithful ministry of three beloved members of our parish staff, each of whom now enters a new chapter of vocation. Caleb Briggs will soon depart for Virginia Theological Seminary, to continue his discernment and formation for ordained ministry. Caleb has served among us with generosity, intellectual seriousness, and a pastoral instinct that has already borne quiet fruit. While he goes from us in one sense, he remains connected to St. Anne’s in another, and we look forward to walking with him—prayerfully and intentionally—through this next stage of discernment.

The Rev. Kathy Shahanian, who has served this parish with deep fidelity as a vocational deacon, now enters retirement from active ordained ministry. Kathy+ has embodied the diaconal call to bridge the Church and the world, to interpret the needs, hopes, and sufferings of our neighbors to the gathered Body of Christ. Though she lays aside the formal exercise of her diaconate, she does not lay aside her belonging. We are grateful that she will remain among us—as a parishioner, as a witness, and as one whose presence continues to shape our common life.

Tempest Strunge, too, steps into a new vocational path. Tempest has contributed to the life of this parish with care, diligence, and a quiet steadiness that has strengthened our shared ministry. We commend Tempest to God’s providence with gratitude for all that has been given and accomplished here.

We will celebrate Caleb, Kathy+, and Tempest at the 10:00 a.m. service on May 17, 2026.

Yet Easter always teaches us: leave-taking is never the final word.

We are overjoyed to announce that The Rev. Alice K. Grant—Mother Alice+—will assume a more clearly defined role as Associate for Formation and Evangelism. In this role, she will work to form disciples across the whole span of life and to cultivate a culture of evangelism that is invitational, relational, and rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She will lead our parish in the sacred work of intergenerational Christian formation—ensuring that the faith is not only taught, but inhabited; not only received, but lived; not only preserved, but proclaimed.

To support this vital work, we are also delighted to announce that Kathy Shaffer has been called to serve as Program Coordinator. Many of you already know Kathy through her faithful work with the Preschool for the Arts, where she has served across multiple classrooms and led summer programming with attentiveness and care. Kathy brings to this role a depth of professional experience that will serve our parish in this next season. Her background includes leadership in communications, marketing, and event coordination, including producing and hosting a county-wide educational program, managing large-scale school and community initiatives, and overseeing complex events involving hundreds of participants. She has demonstrated a consistent ability to translate vision into execution—coordinating people, managing details, and communicating with clarity and purpose. In addition, her work as a small business owner reflects a capacity for initiative, organization, and sustained client engagement—skills that are essential in the ordering of parish life. In her role as Program Coordinator, Kathy will serve as a vital connective presence between parish and school, coordinating the programming of children and youth ministries, supporting communication and calendaring across the parish, and assisting in the practical outworking of our shared life. In this way, her work will help ensure that what we proclaim theologically is supported administratively and lived out practically—so that formation is not merely envisioned, but embodied.

So, in this Easter season, we find ourselves doing what the Church has always done: giving thanks, commending, sending, and receiving.

We say goodbye—but not as those without hope.
We welcome—but not as those without memory.

For the Risen Christ holds all of this together.

In conclusion, I ask you: pray for Caleb, for Kathy+, for Tempest.
Pray also for Mother Alice+ and Kathy as they step more deeply into their call.
Pray for this parish, that we may continue to be—ever more fully—a people formed in Christ, sent into the world, and alive in the power of the Resurrection.

Faithfully,

Manoj+

The Rev. Manoj Mathew Zacharia, Ph.D.