36 NEW CANAAN RD
WILTON, CT 06897
Dear People of St. Matthew's,
About
I am delighted to accept the call to serve as your next rector. My deep gratitude goes to all the officers and members of the Vestry who have served double-duty as your search committee these past many months. Indeed, I am grateful to so many of you whom I’ve met over the years whose love for St. Matthew’s has told me again and again that something special is happening in this community.
My family and I will be coming to you from the New Haven area, where we relocated from Maui just five years ago. On Maui, I served as the rector of St. John's Episcopal Church (Kula) for nearly nine years, and since relocating I have served as the long-term supply priest at St. John's, North Guilford. Prior to this, I was just down the road from you in Westport, where I began my ordained ministry as the assistant rector back in 2009. In fact, it was that role that led to my first encounter with St. Matthew's, as I was invited to your pulpit to preach a joint evensong service in 2010. It was a beautiful liturgy, and even in that brief encounter, the warmth and welcome of your congregation came through. No doubt, a seed was planted that day. Now sixteen years later, I find myself returning to this place and discovering that the seed has been quietly growing.
I have come to believe that much of parish ministry is about tending what has already been planted: honoring the roots that run deep, nurturing what is growing, making room for new growth, and trusting that God is at work in ways we cannot see. I love much about the priesthood, but perhaps most of all I love the unique privilege of accompanying a community of people over time, as together we try—seriously, imperfectly, humorously, and hopefully—to discern what it means to be followers of Christ. There is something extraordinary about gathering as a fellowship, week after week and year after year, to practice becoming a people of love, and then, over time, getting to witness the fruit such love bears: in lives changed, burdens shared, children raised, strangers welcomed, wounds tended, and injustices challenged, all while the community is slowly shaped by grace. I simply cannot wait to join you in this transformational work and worship.
My first Sunday with you will be All Saints’ Day, November 1st. I hope many of you will join us for worship that day. I look forward with great joy to getting to know you, and to discovering together where God is leading us in the ministry we'll share at St. Matthew’s.
Faithfully,
Kerith Harding
The Rev. Kerith Harding