Dear St. Philippians,

I am thrilled to announce that the Rev. Maryann D. Younger, the curate of St. David’s Episcopal Church in Wilmington, Delaware, will be our next Rector! 

As you know, our Rector Search Committee has spent eight months refining the list of qualities we need in our next Rector and searching for a priest who embodied them. With God’s help, they discerned that Maryann is the one who checks all the boxes, and our Vestry enthusiastically and unanimously agrees. Each group has spent a weekend getting to know Maryann in-person – sharing meals, celebrating the Eucharist, and having conversations that were both intense and joyful. We have found her enthusiasm infectious, her spirit nurturing, her faith inspiring, and her thinking strategic.

Maryann is a second-career priest. Much of her working life has been dedicated to Montessori-style children’s education and nonprofit leadership, and fittingly she describes herself as “a guide on the side, not a sage on the stage.” Before hearing the call to ordained ministry and attending seminary, Maryann spent many years as a lay leader whose responsibilities included pastoral care, preaching, designing worship, and empowering lay ministers. Maryann was ordained a Transitional Deacon in 2019, and after graduating from The General Theological Seminary in 2020, she was ordained to the Priesthood. St. Philip’s will be the first parish where she serves as Rector. The Search Committee and Vestry have complete confidence in Maryann’s leadership and administrative skills, her depth of maturity and self-knowledge, and her creative, open heart. 

The Search Committee was very forthcoming with Maryann about the many areas of discernment before St. Philip’s, including the hopes, dreams, and concerns you shared in our winter listening sessions and survey. She is energized by all the opportunities for growth and calls St. Philip’s a “cradle of possibility.”

Maryann describes her ministry as one of deep listening, and she is eager to get to know us and our neighborhood, listen deeply, and ask questions. She is committed to the vision of beloved community, and for years has been engaged in personal, congregational, and diocesan racial justice work. She looks forward to walking along with us on the path towards greater equity in our parish and the wider community, a transformative journey rooted in our relationship with God. “God will meet you where you are but won’t leave you there,” she told the Search Committee.

We expect her first service at St. Philip’s will be Sunday, October 10, and the Transition Committee, chaired by Bob Walker will be planning several events throughout the fall when you can meet her and her husband, Kris. 

I also want to take this time to thank the Search Committee for their diligence, thoughtfulness, and prayerful work that began late last year. Bynum Walter (chair), Judy Pearson, Shamieka Rhinehart, Kirk Royal, Kelly Ryan, Liz Sappenfield, Isaac Trost, Freda Tucker, Bob Walker, and Callie Woods are owed a deep note of gratitude for the work they have done on our behalf.

The Vestry and I are exhilarated when we think about St. Philip’s future with Maryann as our next Rector. Please hold the Youngers in your prayers as they prepare to join us in our ministry of worship, love, and action.  

Yours in Christ,

Richard Ammons
Senior Warden

Please click here for a PDF version of this letter.