A fond memory. . .

I want to take a moment to pay tribute to a dear and esteemed colleague and friend.  He is a man of many accomplishments.  He is a lawyer who established his own practice, who was elected commonwealth attorney, and served as a federal judge.  And while all of this was happening, he was husband to one wife and father of two daughters.  Though no spring chicken, he did not quite believe that God was finished with him.  He went to seminary and learned Greek and got his masters.  This man of many honors served an ordinary vicarage in a small parish and I was privileged to be his bishop.  Then when plans for his ordination were compromised by COVID, I got to be literally his bishop -- ordaining him to what we often call the highest of all offices -- Pastor.  He was ordained on this day in 2020 and installed as Pastor of his first parish.  Who would begin their ministry as the shadow of a pandemic was cast over a world, a nation, a state, and a congregation.  He did.  During those terrible weeks and months when we did not know if we or the parishes in our charge would survive, this man saw the opportunity to build and not merely to preserve.  The parish survived a governor who wanted to shut down everything and a people constantly bombarded by fear.  It is by no small measure the accomplishment of this man whom I am privileged to know and love.  When illness brought this call to an end and forced a move he had not anticipated, this many cheerfully accepted what must be done and sought to serve the Lord and care for his family.  It was one of the greatest privileges of my life to preach at his ordination, to lay hands on him, to place upon him the stole and chasuble of the office, and to assist him as he celebrated the Holy Eucharist for the first time.  Whatever the future will bring, I know he will serve the Lord's will willingly.  He is one of my favorite people and I cannot tell you how much I have learned from him.

Happy Ordination Anniversary Pastor Richard Neely Owen