Christ Episcopal Church is currently seeking a new priest
Christ Church is a small Episcopal parish located 2 blocks from the High School/Middle School in a quiet residential neighborhood in Berwick, PA. The rural town is a blue-collar middle-class town. There has recently been an influx of Spanish residents we would like to reach out to.
Our schools and community service a population of approximately 25,000 in the greater Berwick area alongside the Susquehanna river. We are the home of Wise potato chips and the Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant, Talen Electric, Gloria Gates, Central Susquehanna Community Foundation, Moxie Gas Plant, Innovative Technology, the Amazon Data Center, and other businesses. Bloomsburg University is only 12 miles from Berwick.
For the past several years, our parish has been yoked with a Lutheran Church across the street, creating a full-time position for our clergy leader. We shared our minister’s time and compensation equally. The unique relationship worked well, and we hope to continue that format to our mutual benefit. Their similarly small congregation combined with ours provided enhanced opportunities for bible study, midweek prayer service, special events, and outreach.
Together, we have grown in many ways through the experiences of the last several years. Both parishes embraced joining together as we shared activities. At the same time, we kept our individual identities. Our young pastor was instrumental in letting the two parishes share so much without forcing the congregations to combine. The process naturally evolved into a comfortable union. We hope to continue this partnership as we move forward. Both churches are modern in style, in good repair, and each has a house attached. The current plan is to continue to use the Lutheran parsonage as clergy housing.
Through several years of supply clergy prior to joining forces, the parishes became adept at handling the logistics of management. This proved to help the clergyperson focus on ministry without being overburdened with excessive administration, although he did institute a greater social media and streaming presence, which we want to continue. There is a shared secretary.
As we move forward, we realize how much we need a spiritual leader to rekindle the wonderful gains we experienced during our initial experiment.
We are looking for someone who will walk with us as disciples in the world, support us in times of challenge, lead us in life-affirming worship, and guide us to spiritual and numerical growth.
Interested in applying for our parish?
To apply, please contact our bishop, Rev. Canon Veronica Donohue Chappell at vchappell@diocesecpa.org