I am pleased to announce that the Reverend Katherine Bush has accepted a call to serve as associate rector at Calvary. Her first Sunday will be Oct. 24. At the end of a five-month national search process, one which actually resulted in applicants from as far away as Pakistan, the priest whose gifts, experience, and passions aligned best with Calvary’s mission and ministry came to us from right here in Memphis.
Katherine has served at St. Mary’s Cathedral and Church of the Holy Communion, and she has been Chaplain & Director of Religious Studies for St. Mary’s Episcopal School since 2010. At St. Mary’s School, in addition to providing guidance for the overall spiritual life of the community, she developed and taught a variety of original curricula such as “The Meaning of Life,” a popular course on vocation, relationships, pain, and joy. And St. Mary’s efforts to build competence in inclusion and equity awareness expanded and deepened significantly thanks to her leadership as well.
At Calvary, Katherine’s primary area of oversight will be Christian Formation, where her gifts as teacher, retreat leader, and writer will serve our community well. But rather than take you on a further tour of her qualifications, I’ll end this little welcome with a few of Katherine’s own words from, of all things, the cover letter from her application for the position we’re so grateful she’s answered a call to:
”I am drawn to work in places where faithfulness and curiosity meet… Cultivating an active curiosity with more faith than fear is a challenge and a calling for all of us. I have seen a faithful curiosity in Calvary’s body: curiosity about the ancient principles of our faith and our stories, curiosity about the journeys of faithful witnesses across time and walking beside us today, curiosity about who Calvary was and is and is called to be…”
I hope you’re half as curious as I am about what forms of faithfulness God will cultivate in this Christian community through Katherine’s ministry among us in the days to come.
Faithfully yours,
Scott Walters,
Rector
Dear Calvary,
I am anticipating with great joy joining you in work and worship. The call to serve as your associate rector for formation fits the work of my heart, and I know that Calvary, too, has a heart for learning and growing. For me, the work of teaching and learning is, in a sense, the thread that William Stafford describes in “The Way It Is,” There’s a thread you follow. It goes among / things that change. But it doesn’t change.
Over twenty years ago, Calvary nurtured my marriage and my call to ordination. Much has changed at Calvary and in my own life, of course. Since then, I have only been an occasional interloper, but from the sidelines, I have continued to see how Calvary and her people have followed the thread and been brave searchers and steady witnesses for love. Your faithfulness to this particular city of God and the story of God unfolding in this place draws me as it has drawn others to come alongside you. I am excited to follow the thread and join the staff and the people of Calvary in this season of renewal and discovery.
I can’t wait to join you later this fall.
With much hope,
Katherine Bush