BPW To Hear About Community And Confirmation

The framed copy of the Benedictine Rule “Pray, Work, Study, Play” is prominently displayed on a bookcase in the office of the Rev Kathleen Adams-Shepherd, rector of Trinity Church in Newtown.

Pastor Kathy, as she is lovingly called by her parishioners, knows well the demands that a hectic schedule can pose. Balancing her vocation with her roles as a wife and mother leaves barely a moment to spare.

Pastor Kathy will be speaking about how to find your center and balance despite the demands of modern life when she addresses the Business and Professional Women of Newtown at their Monday, November 1 dinner meeting at the Mary Hawley Inn.

“Everyone needs a community that affords confirmation,” Pastor Kathy said, but centering ourselves takes practice and time.

“I have long days, with church meetings often ending at 10:30 pm,” she said. “I have a high school student that is up at 5:30 am and a middle schooler who leaves at 8:15. The most difficult thing is to find time for myself – I have to work at it.”

The Rev Kathleen Adams-Shepherd was 26 years old when she was ordained and began working at her first parish in Oswego, N.Y., in 1982, a scant six years after the first 11 women were ordained priests in the Episcopal Church. She was fortunate to have as her mentor and friend the Rev Donald Read, a modern priest who embraced the concept of women as priests.  When he retired two years later, she became the priest in charge.

During her four years in Oswego, Pastor Kathy and her husband, Shep, had their first child, Sarah, to the delight of the parish.  In 1986, Pastor Kathy was called to serve two parishes 18 miles apart in an area near the Thousand Islands in New York. She served the parishes for nine years, during which time her son, Miles, was born in 1992.

In 1995 one of Pastor Kathy’s summer parishioners told her that Trinity Church in Newtown was looking for a priest.  At the time she also was a finalist in the search by a large New York congregation for a new rector. When the Adams-Shepherd family came to visit Newtown on a glorious autumn day, she said to herself, “We’re home.” When the Trinity Search Committee called to tell her she had been selected, and Pastor Kathy accepted, the Newtown group began to sing the Doxology over the phone – “Praise God from whom all blessings flow…”

Being the rector at a busy parish such as Trinity means that Pastor Kathy has to work constantly to find family time and time for herself. She says she could not do her job without the love and support of her family, especially her husband, who understands the demands of what is often a 70-hour work week and weekends that are filled with church activities.  Having the help of the Rev Kurt Huber, the assistant rector, also is invaluable in enabling her to succeed, she said.

Now in the midst of a major renovation, Trinity Church has grown significantly in the years since Pastor Kathy came to Newtown. The Sunday services are filled and the building is in constant use by the community.

Although the parish has grown to include 600 people, Pastor Kathy remembers each by name during her morning prayers during the week.

“It’s really not so difficult,” she said. “I divide the names up between my morning and evening prayers, and mention 50 at a time. It helps me stay connected to each of them.”

Another ritual she performs every Sunday is to invite all of the children to participate in the sharing of the sign of peace. She believes that having everyone “gathering around the table” is central to the celebration of the Eucharist, and a fundamental symbol of the church community.

The program by the Rev Kathleen Adams-Shepherd is part of Newtown BPW’s celebration of women of courage and grace. The meeting will be held at 6 pm at the Mary Hawley Inn with the program promptly at 6:45 to 7:15 pm. Dinner reservations are $18. For information or reservations call Ann LoBosco at 426-0472 by Friday, October 29.

BPW is a nonprofit organization that promotes the interests of business and professional women, providing them with an opportunity for networking. It meets the first Monday of each month. For more information call membership chairman Jane Sharpe at 426-5539.