Dear Friends,
Ellen and I have been deeply moved by the enormous outpouring of love and well-wishes so many of you shared after the announcement that Sunday, March 2, 2025 will be my last Sunday as your Rector.
I hope you all know just how much I have loved serving Saint Bartholomew’s Church in the City of New York! I also trust you all know how very difficult it is to step away from such an extraordinary team and such a dynamic parish. There is not a church anywhere that I would rather serve. I know some of you may feel this transition is happening very quickly, but I hope you will trust me when I tell you an expeditious transition is in the very best interests of the parish. We don’t want to lose a single bit of momentum if we can possibly avoid it.
St. Bart’s is on the move! We’re enjoying a post-Covid upswing and we don’t want to lose any of our hard-won progress in a long, drawn-out, transition process.
• We have the huge advantage of having our extraordinarily talented Vicar, The Reverend Peter Thompson, appointed as our new Interim Rector. Peter knows the parish as well as anyone and has already been in charge of the congregation during my sabbatical. He will hit the road running.
• The Reverend Zack Nyein is an experienced Senior Associate who brings a multitude of gifts in children’s ministry, newcomer incorporation, Imagine Worship, and Faith in Action ministries. His organizational abilities and zeal for the gospel have been largely responsible for helping our parish grow in such dynamic ways.
• The Reverend Meredith Ward is a uniquely talented pastoral care giver, preacher, teacher, and all-around good priest. People who have experienced her compassionate pastoral presence feel they have been cared for lovingly.
And, of course, if we add our part-time clergy like...
• The Reverend Stephanie Spellers; who continues to preach to the deepest parts of us.
• The Reverend Molly O’Neil Frank; our newest team member who offers exceptional gifts in teaching, preaching, and pastoral care.
• The Reverend Andrew Mullins; our gifted and faithful voice of experience.
• And, Deacon John Wirenius; who uses his special gifts to serve us so faithfully and so well.
• And this doesn’t even cover our uber-talented Music Department with Dr. Paolo Bordignon, our world-class Organist and Director of Music, and Mr. Alex Pattavina, our Julliard whiz-kid Associate Director, who continues to make his mark leading our Chorister program.
• Of course, the behind-the-scenes staff deserve their own column, but we are enormously assisted by our building and administrative staff members who help keep the doors open and the trains running on time.
What I am trying to say is that we have all the resources we need to do the work God has given us to do in this place and in this moment. Be ye not anxious. This is no time to take a step back. Change, although we usually fear it, is often good for us. We can develop a fresh new vision for what St. Bart’s can be... and who we can be as a part of St. Bart’s.
I should mention that a few people have asked me if there are any health conditions which have played a role in this decision but, thanks be to God, I’m happy to report that Ellen and I are enjoying good health. No, this is a decision based largely on wanting to be closer to our son and his wife and her family, as well as our friends in Dallas. It’s also a decision made in the knowledge that St. Bart’s has great leadership, lay and ordained, and is in a good place.
If the congregation continues to participate enthusiastically...
If the parish continues to generously support this vision for what a church can be...
then this will be a time not only of transition, but of true transformation.
Faithfully, 
The Right Reverend Dean E. Wolfe, D.D.
Rector
Addendum from the Rector
• If you did not see it, I commend to you the President James E. Carter funeral which took place Thursday, January 9 at the Washington National Cathedral. By all accounts, President Carter was one of the most religious presidents we have ever elected and, while he was a Southern Baptist, the National Cathedral felt like a particularly appropriate place for him to be remembered. I’m always proud of The Episcopal Church and the role we play in these events. I thought the eulogies at this funeral were particularly moving and his grandson, Jason, delivered one of the best eulogies I have ever heard. (It’s also comforting, in our fractured age, to see political rivals, sitting only seats apart, in a House of Prayer for All People. Some of them even spoke to one another!)
My friend, Dean Randy Hollerith, and his wonderful staff do such a great job of organizing these complex state liturgies, and watching this funeral just made me feel proud to be an Episcopalian... and an American.
• The wildfires in California are having a devastating impact on thousands of lives. Historic losses are being recorded and countless people have lost their homes and all their possessions. There is deep concern that the casualty count will rise when first responders have an opportunity to further assess the damaged areas. Episcopal Relief and Development, in partnership with The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, is already getting aid to people in need. Many of us have friends and family living in the greater Los Angeles area and I invite you to go to the ERD website and make a contribution that will make a difference.