WELCOME to Reverend Fr. Rodney S. Hurst,
the 7th Rector of Christ Church of the Ascension!
On behalf of our Search Committee and Vestry, we are pleased to announce we have called our 7th Rector of Christ Church of the Ascension. Please welcome The Reverend Fr. Rodney Shane Hurst, his wife Carol, daughter Juliana, and son Ian. They are coming to us from Grace Episcopal Church located in Carlsbad, NM, where they have served and worshiped for 14 years.
Fr. Rod’s successful tenure as Rector of Grace Episcopal Church included the responsibilities of ministry: liturgy, music, preaching and teaching, outreach and pastoral care, helping people of God discover and use their gifts for ministry and service, implementing spiritual formation opportunities for children and adults, as well as representing his parish on the leadership team of a multi-church ministry to help alleviate homelessness in the wider community.
In the early 1990’s Fr. Rod served as principal of a K-5th grade private school, and in the mid-1990’s he served as a Lutheran youth pastor. He also has several years of finance, management, supervisory and administrative experience within large state government agencies (Washington and Arizona) prior to parish ministry.
His answer to a question in the Ministry Portfolio; How are you preparing yourself for the Church of the future?
As no one knows exactly what the church of the future will look like, and because the church evolves differently in different contexts, it is important to understand that the attitudes and methods that work today in the church may not work in the church of tomorrow.
The ultimate preparation then is not straining to be “relevant” but, instead, seeking to create meaning for people in a way that correlates with their everyday sense experience irrespective of time, place, or culture.
Thus, to cast a vision of meaningful spirituality and spiritual vitality among the present and future people of God, and to equip them for service in the church and the world, adults and children, I continue to ground myself in the timeless, incarnational elements, signs and symbols of our Episcopal/Anglican tradition that intersect with this sense experience, such as music, bread and wine, water and oil, as well as conversation, friendship, hospitality, spiritual formation, evangelism, and community outreach: welcoming and including people of all backgrounds and families of all ages, gathering together, caring relationships, mutual instruction and shared learning all in concert with our baptismal covenant.
I asked Fr. Rod during our first interview; what is the one word people who know you best would use to describe you? He said “friend.”
Fr. Rod will be starting with us on Monday, August 21st and we will have a welcome reception for him and his family on Sunday August 27th; details to follow.
The Peace of the Lord,
Melissa Bull
Senior Warden
