Wonderful and Bittersweet News about Mother Erica

Dear Friends,

As the subject line promised, today I am writing with the wonderful and bittersweet news that The Rev. Erica Andersen has accepted a call to become the next Vicar of St. John's Episcopal Church in Pottsboro, TX (just west of Denison on the south shore of Lake Texoma).

As many of you know, Mother Erica has a deep sense of calling to particular kinds of ministry, including rural ministry. This new role is an excellent fit for her gifts and passions, and we are grateful she has this opportunity.

While this means that Erica's time as a Curate at St. Andrew's will be ending sooner than originally planned, we should be proud of the role St. Andrew's has played in supporting her growth and ordination as a priest. We have heeded the call to help raise up a new leader for Christ's Church. Well done.

At the same time, we have been blessed by Mother Erica's compassionate ministry, her steady presence, and her warm sense of God's redeeming love in Jesus Christ – and so we know the gifts that she will bring to Pottsboro. We also have been blessed by Tim, Oliver and Evelyn, and all the ways they have shared with us in ministry here as well.

Mother Erica will begin her new ministry at St. John's in late August. Her final Sunday with us will be July 27. During the service that day, we will honor her time with us through prayers of thanksgiving and a formal sending-off with our love and blessing.

Over the next several weeks, please join me in congratulating Erica and wishing her and her family every blessing as they embark on this exciting new chapter in ministry.

In Christ,
Fr. Andrew