The Rev. Christine Marie’s ordained ministry began in April 2002. Her journey eventually led her to Eugene, Oregon, and St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, where she began participating as a priest with a particular emphasis on small group ministry. In December 2017 Christine was hired as our Small Group Ministry Developer. As we celebrate Christine’s ministry at St. Mary’s, we asked the Rev. Ted Berktold, Rector Emeritus, to share a personal reflection on how Christine Marie’s ministry has shaped him and St. Mary’s.
With Christmas so near, I will reflect on some the many gifts that Christine Marie brought to Saint Mary’s over the past five years.
1. HERSELF. A well-educated, imaginative woman, Christine brought a lifetime of wisdom and a gracious heart to us all in her sermons and Bellringer articles.
2. Her FEMINIST perspective, so ignored in our patriarchal past and practice, brought balance to our clergy team and creative ways of thinking and speaking about our faith, and the God we worship.
3. Christine modeled and taught LEADERSHIP SKILLS and SMALL GROUP MINISTRY, first in-person and then on Zoom as the pandemic spread, opening our eyes and ears to new ways of relating to one another. The key to it all was helping us learn to listen to one another, accepting what others say without a need to respond.
4. We came to know that SILENCE really is holy. Observing quiet times in our highly verbal worship and general communication taught us that silence can be a time of presence, not absence. We learned to connect to one another in a whole new way. As time passed, we went from getting to know one another as we prayed and shared, to loving one another.
5. A published POET, Christine used what was within her to build a bridge to our souls, as poets do. We are so ready to see God as distant and detached, once we have moved on from the Mystery of the Incarnation, but she helped us to see the God-in-us all through the year, individually and as a parish. Thank you, our priest and friend.
Ted Berktold+
