St. Paul's Episcopal Church celebrates renewal of ministry and new rector
Parishioners of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on East Pine and Academy streets near The Circle in Georgetown recently celebrated the choice of the Rev. Joe Rushton to become their priest.
The ceremony, titled a Renewal of Ministry with the Welcoming of a New Rector, in part recognizes that Rushton, or Joe as he likes to be called, shares the congregation's traditional and ecumenical beliefs, and welcomes and offers thanksgiving for Rushton’s ministry of loving God and loving and caring for God’s creation and his commitment to St. Paul’s. The ceremony marks a new collaborative relationship and also renews parishioners’ baptismal promises.
“Whenever there is a change with the appointment of a new rector, there are potential shifts in focus, but what is amplified is the commitment for doing the work Jesus has left us to do,” Rushton explains. “I am privileged to spread the gospel by word and deed and to strive to be an exemplary servant who takes Jesus’ message seriously within the church, within the parish family and out and beyond.”
The ceremony began with the Right Rev. Wayne P. Wright, bishop of the Diocese of Delaware, inviting the attendees to renew their baptismal commitments and offering them both encouragement and thanks for what they do in the church and in the community; he also invited them to celebrate the happy occasion.
Visiting Deacon Tom McCormick of All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Rehoboth Beach and St. George’s Chapel in Harbeson, who also participated in the ceremony, summed up his impression of Rushton by stating, “Joe shared with me before his installation as rector that he saw it [the installation] as his parish family being installed together with him to continue God’s work. You ‘done good’ with your choice of a new rector. No grass is going to grow under his feet, or yours as you and Joe rejuvenate this parish!”
Born in Baltimore, Md., Rushton began his career as a priest for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore. He then earned a graduate degree in social work, became a licensed clinical social worker and worked in clinical research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Following this 20-year career, he studied at Virginia Theological Seminary and resumed active church ministry as an Episcopal priest in the Towson and Timonium sections of Baltimore County before his journey brought him to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Georgetown.
“My vision for St. Paul’s is to work with the parish to discern what particular gifts are present in the community and where the people’s passions lie. When gifts and passions come together, that is when the best ministry happens. St. Paul’s has over the years focused their outreach on distant neighbors and the support of fair trade practices which allow for a fair and reasonable income going to the provider of the goods. While this remains a worthwhile venture, the energies seem to be shifting to help our local neighbors - those who are disenfranchised here and now and nearer our home in Sussex County. There are many needs in this county, such as the ministry of The Way Home and First Steps/Primeros Pasos, housed since 2009 in the basement of St. Paul’s. First Steps is a multicultural early learning program designed to prepare preschool children for their future academic education in elementary school and beyond. I will work with the parishioners to meet those needs,” said Rushton.
The church’s handbell choir enhanced the traditional ceremony, and the parishioners welcomed Rushton’s family and friends with a beautiful luncheon in the parish hall.
