The Rev. Rebecca Barnes Called As Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral, Buffalo

Dear People of God in Western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania:

I am delighted to share the news that the vestry of St. Paul’s Cathedral in Buffalo has called the Rev. Rebecca Barnes, currently rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Scranton, Pennsylvania, as the cathedral’s new dean. Her first Sunday at the cathedral will be July 7, and she will be in the office in Buffalo beginning August 6. Please save the date of September 15, when I will preside at her seating and a celebration of this new ministry.

Rebecca, who has served at St. Luke’s since 2015, is an experienced priest with a strong background in liturgy, pastoral care, Christian formation, and social justice ministry. An accomplished musician, she holds a master’s degree in classical vocal performance from the Manhattan School of Music as well as an MDiv and master’s in sacred theology from the General Theological Seminary in New York City. You can read more about her in Dean Twila Smith’s announcement to the cathedral congregation.

I had the pleasure of knowing Rebecca when I served as bishop provisional of the Diocese of Bethlehem. She is a wise pastor and devoted leader who is committed to serving with God’s people at the cathedral to build vital ministry and strong community relationships. I am delighted to welcome Rebecca and her wife, the Rev. Elizabeth Grohowski, to our diocesan partnership.

You may know that this call has been some years in the making. I am extremely grateful to the Rev. Canon Twila Smith, partnership canon for mission program, for agreeing to serve the cathedral as dean for two years to assist the congregation in emerging from the pandemic and preparing for a successful search. My thanks, too, to Canon Craig Dressler, who assisted the cathedral’s vestry and search committee with the search, and to the members of those groups, who worked diligently and prayerfully to discern that Rebecca is called to be their dean.

As part of our partnership’s mission strategy, we deploy diocesan staff to congregations in transition so that our capacity for ministry and mission is shared where it is most needed. The cathedral’s successful search and call to Rebecca is the result of this strategy, and I am pleased to celebrate it with the people of St. Paul’s and with all of you.

Faithfully,

 

 

image courtesy of the Rev. Rebecca Barnes