We Have a New Rector!

The Rev. Patricia Barrett Called to St Barnabas

The Vestry and Search Committee are pleased to tell you that we are at a crossroads in our Faith Journey. After thirteen months of conscientious, prayerful discernment, last night the Search Committee presented to the Vestry a candidate to serve as our next rector. This was a truly spirit driven search and we are joyful and excited and pray you will share our confidence in the future of St. Barnabas.

With Bishop Bud’s blessing, the candidate to whom we issued the call to serve at St. Barnabas is, we believe, the perfect match to all the criteria we developed – with your help and valuable input. In education, in experience, in maintaining the "theater of the liturgy", in administrative expertise, and in living, projecting and supporting spiritual excitement, this candidate captured our interest early in the search process and we believe we were, indeed, led by God in her selection.

Rev. Patricia Barrett is presently serving as rector in a parish in California, but she is not new to Massachusetts. She is a graduate of the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge and served as assistant rector in Nantucket and interim rector in Scituate. Hear how she describes her ministry: "We are in the business of doing church because we believe we have met Christ and Christ is present among us..."

Rev. Barrett will be the first woman to serve as rector of St. Barnabas. Our parish has a tradition of selecting women to serve as assistant and our interim priest has continued that tradition, but Rev. Barrett will be the first woman installed to serve as rector. Please be assured that Rev. Barrett is called to be our rector, not because she is a woman who is a priest, but because she is the priest who most fully fulfilled our prayerfully established criteria and who happens to be a woman. We know her warmth and spirituality will captivate you and that you will welcome her into your hearts and into your homes. Her spiritual excitement is contagious!

Rev. Barrett and her husband will be moving to Falmouth in early February. As you make your winter plans, please reserve space on your calendars for her installation and a reception in her honor. We will publish the exact dates as soon as we know them. We will also publish details of the selection process in the January Banner.

And now we are ready for the next part of our Faith Journey – with new leadership and renewed commitment to our roles in a parish community.