Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

With joy and eager anticipation, I write to tell you that the Rev. Amanda (Amy) Molina-Moore has accepted my invitation to join us as Associate Rector for Formation and Pastoral Care. Amy is a dynamic enthusiast for the Gospel, with infectious energy and passion. Bright, thoughtful and direct, she readily integrates faith in daily life.
Amy writes:

 

Hello St. Columba's,  

I am so excited to be invited to partner in ministry with all of you! Throughout the many conversations and observations shared, one thing became abundantly clear--the Holy Spirit is hard at work stoking the flames of imagination and purpose within the hearts and minds of those here at St. Columba's. As one who feels particularly called to fetch wood and stoke embers,* I am honored to soon join the St. Columba's community.  

 

One quickly learns, as I did, that the people are definitely the heart of St. Columba's. I kept hearing over and over again that St. Columba's isn't just a place where people go to church; St. Columba's is a place where people are the church. As a Christian and as one of your associate rectors, I look forward to being the church with you!
(*My prowess in gathering wood and stoking embers is purely metaphorical--when it comes to real life camp fires, I excel most at roasting marshmallows.) 

 

As Associate Rector for Formation and Pastoral Care, Amy will lead and support our adult education and spiritual formation. In addition to Sunday Forums, Wednesday evening classes and assorted gatherings for prayer and Bible study, Amy will work with us to design and implement opportunities for all of us to grow in faith and discipleship. With the heart of a pastor eager to be with our youngest, oldest and everyone in between, Amy will lead and support our varied lay pastoral ministries and will share in the priestly leadership of the parish.

 

Amy's first Sunday at St. Columba's will be December 11; she and her husband John, an ordained Presbyterian pastor, will be moving from Wilmington, Delaware.

 

While the roles will be different, this will not be the first time Amy and I share ministry. While at Princeton Theological Seminary, Amy spent an intern year at St. Peter's Philadelphia (my former parish)--during which she discerned her call to the priesthood. With graduate degrees in education and divinity, Amy spent two years as an Americorp teaching fellow in East Harlem and, for the past two years, as curate at Christ Church Christiana Hundred in Wilmington, DE.

 

Peace!

Ledlie