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The Rev. Mark Linder
Linder retired June 30 after a successful 14-year tenure as rector of the western Kentucky parish, which included, under his stewardship, the construction of the parish hall where the 2006 Diocesan Convention met.His service record to the diocese is extensive. He currently is a member of the diocese's Standing Commission and Constitution and Canon Committee, and he serves as the vacancy consultant, which means he helps our parishes with their clergy searches. He was elected a 2006 General Convention Deputy, which he attended last summer and is still serving the diocese in that capacity until new elections are held next year. He has also been a member of the Trustees and Council, the All Saints' Board of Trustees and the Commission on Ministry, and he has been a Cursillo Secretary.
The Rev. Dr. Beth Macke
Macke earned her doctorate in sociology from Emory University and has a master's of divinity from the University of the South. Before receiving the call to St. Paul's, she served as rector of St. Mary's Church, Middlesboro, Ky., while also providing Spanish language worship services for the local Mexican community. Her church experience includes ministry in both large and small congregations, and she has worked extensively with children and young adults.Associate rector changes
The Rev. Jim Quigley
Quigley, Christ Church's associate rector for six years, also served as the Episcopal chaplain at Western Kentucky University. He is now headed with his wife, Ellen, and their daughter, Morgan, for New Orleans, where he has been called to serve as rector of St. George's Church.Quigley is looking forward to serving St. George's, which he described as a congregation diminished by the hurricane but resilient and energetic. The church sits on relatively high ground on St. Charles' Street, so it escaped the flooding that damaged so much of the city. The hurricane, however, took its roof, and the rainstorm that followed damaged the nave. In addition, more than 100 parishioners who left New Orleans have not yet returned. Thanks to the energy of the remaining members, however, he said, the storm damage has been repaired, the church's ministries have been maintained and the congregation is ready to grow.
The congregation's inner city outreach ministries also are appealing to him, Quigley reported. Twice a week, parishioners serve meals in the undercroft, christened "The Dragon Café" for those occasions. Last year, they served 14,000 free meals to the people of central New Orleans. During Mardi Gras, he also noted, the space becomes an upscale restaurant catering to revelers as a fundraising project.
In addition to their food ministry, St. George's has a K-8 elementary school. Although Quigley won't be able to serve as a chaplain at Tulane or Loyola universities (both of which are near the church), he will still be working with children and youth through the school and by serving student parishioners from both universities.
The Rev. J. D. Brown
In July, Brown concludes four years of service as St. Francis's associate rector and leader of that parish's extensive outreach program. Brown became a visible, active presence in his community as chaplain to the Harrods Creek Volunteer Fire Department in eastern Jefferson County, and he was the diocese's disaster response coordinator, serving as a liaison with similar representatives from other dioceses and the national church. He has been called to serve as rector of Holy Trinity Church in Garland, Texas.The transition for Brown is a challenging one. He is moving from the largest parish in our diocese to a small congregation in a much larger diocese, and the Texas parish is rebuilding following a divisive situation that saw the rector and almost half the congregation leave the Episcopal Church. The remaining members of the parish, Brown reports, are excited and up-beat as they contemplate a future based on building God‚s Reign through ministry to all God's children.
He says he will be taking with him many of the skills he has honed at St. Francis, particularly their accent on family needs and their emphasis on mission rather than maintenance.
The Rev. Dr. William Mangrum
Beginning in August, Mangrum will serve as interim replacement for Brown at St. Francis. Mangum is a minister of word and sacrament attached to the Redwoods Presbytery. His doctorate is from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif., where he has taught practical theology. As he begins his ministry at St. Francis, Mangum will also be serving as an adjunct professor of theology at Bellarmine University.Mangum has had extensive experience with Christians of all ages, including service as minister for collegians and older adults at the First Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton.
