Dear saints of James and Andrew,

I write to share news that gives me a mixture of sadness and excitement. My last day serving as Saints James and Andrew’s Rector will be on the Feast of St. James, July 26, as Bishop Miguelina Howell has invited me to serve as her Canon to the Ordinary, and I have accepted this call.  

This news has not been announced to the diocese yet, so please refrain from posting on social media until an announcement from our diocese goes out and you see it posted on our parish’s social media.

It has been the greatest privilege of my ministry to walk together with you these last thirteen and a half years. Together, with joy, we have continued in the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, and breaking of the bread; we have persisted in resisting evil in our world by being a people of hope; we have affirmed for one another that God’s love is always right there awaiting our return.

We have experienced the healing that God’s love brings, and we have shared that love by proclaiming the Good News of God in Christ through thousands of free meals; essential items given from our pantry; countless socks and sleeping bags distributed, all while being fully present and a listening ear for those whom we walk alongside. 

We have remained steadfast in our commitment to seek and serve God in all people, loving our neighbors by welcoming all to find prayer, rest, and peace in the sanctuary of our cloisters, gardens, and labyrinth. We have been staunch advocates for justice and peace, and call on our world to respect the dignity of all people by calling for creation justice, and by standing alongside our LGBTQ+ siblings - proclaiming all are welcome here - no exceptions. 

This is the community of Saints James and Andrew. You make this community what it is, and you have such incredible work to keep doing in the months and years ahead. Your photo below is a reminder that while clergy come and go, it is you, the body of Christ here at James and Andrew that makes this place so truly special. 

As I will no longer be your priest and pastor after July 26, it will no longer be appropriate for me to preside over or attend worship, baptisms, marriages, or funerals; make pastoral visitations; or attend parish events. This will be strange at first, but is an important part of the healthy boundaries we want to establish to ensure this community continues to thrive as you prepare to call your next priest. 

We will remain neighbors here in Franklin County, as our family plans to buy a home here so Lucas may continue to attend Four Rivers Public Charter School.  Our paths will cross - and we can greet one another as neighbors do, but it will not be appropriate for us to discuss parish matters. With time, our paths will also cross in my new role as our diocese’s Canon to the Ordinary.

While my time serving as your Rector - as your priest and pastor - will come to an end this July, my love and prayers for you will continue for a lifetime. Not as your priest, but as fellow travelers on the Way of Love, serving this little corner of God’s world here in the Diocese of Western Massachusetts. 

There are no words to express the level of gratitude our family feels for this community. You taught me how to be a parish priest, and loved me as I made mistakes, tried again, and continued to grow. You have loved my family as your own, and cheered Logan and Lucas on as they have grown into the young people they are today. You have taught them what it means to be a healthy community of faith, and we will remain eternally grateful. 

In the absence of a Rector, the Wardens - Ben Cluff and Reynolds Whalen - are the ecclesiastical authority for the parish. Over the next couple of months we will work together with the Vestry, Staff, and the Rev. Cn. Steven Wilco, who is supporting the parish through the transition, to model a healthy departure and goodbye. 

In the months ahead, let us pray for one another, but most especially for Saints James and Andrew. Let us give thanks to God for this season of ministry together, and may this community be open to the movement of the Spirit, for the ways God is calling you forward into a new season.

May God bless you, and keep you, this day, and every day. Amen. 

Yours in the love, joy, peace, and hope of Christ,
Rev. Heather J. Blais,
Rector