On Sunday, July 29, 2018 in a combined service at 9:30 am, the Reverend Kevin Lloyd presided over his final Eucharist as rector of Saint Matthew's Episcopal Church of Jamestown. Fr. Kevin, with his family of Julia, Harry, and Robert contributed so much to Saint Matthew's in his time of twelve years with us. We celebrated a milestone 175th anniversary, we completed a capital campaign to upgrade our infrastructure and our shared spaces, we've grown our parish thrift shop into a true community asset for Jamestown, we've raised our visibility state-wide through outreach to non-profits and the Diocese, and so much more.
Our search is over.
Meet our new rector...
The Reverend Christa Moore-Levesque or Christa, as she likes to be called, is currently Curate and Associate Rector for Children and Youth at St. Thomas' Episcopal Church, Rochester, NY. She was raised in Framingham, Mass., has a BA Summa Cum Lauda in French and Francophone Studies with a minor in Religious Studies from William Smith College, Geneva, NY; an MA in Teaching from Hobart and William Smith College; and an MDiv from Duke University's Divinity School, Durham, NC, where she was a Duke University Scholarship recipient. She was ordained in November 2015 and will start as our rector on May 29.
After months of work sifting through a number of excellent candidates, the Discernment Committee under Ed Wing and then the Vestry unanimously and enthusiastically voted for Christa. Our votes were based on her passion for working with children and youth - she established "Coffee with Christa" in the library opposite the local high school in Rochester in order to spend time with teens - plus pastoral care for older and house-bound parishioners, in addition to her skills as a preacher. She is spiritual, smart, funny, dynamic and a born leader, and we all feel St. Matthews is very lucky she has agreed to be our new rector.
Yours faithfully, Peter Elsworth, Senior Warden March 28, 2019
And now, here she is in her own words:
Hello St. Matthew's Community!
I am so looking forward to learning, worshiping, and living our faith together beginning in late May. My family and I are excited to call Jamestown our home. My husband John works for the EPA, and our son Samuel is perfecting the art of crawling. We also have two cats, Maple and Cooper. In my free time, I love to take walks, read, and watch a good game of basketball.
I believe that God gives us all unique gifts for building up the Kingdom, and I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you and learn about your gifts and passions. The Spirit has been moving, and I'm excited to be joining you as your Rector.