Welcome Christopher
St. Andrew's is pleased to announce the hiring of our new Associate Rector for Parish Life, the Reverend Christopher McAbee
Christopher and his husband, Kyle Harshey
Christopher’s first Sunday at the Cathedral will be June 30th. He will preach and there will be a welcome reception between the 8:30 and 10:30 services. Please come join us to welcome him and his husband, Kyle Harshey, to the St. Andrew’s family!
Christopher is a recent graduate of The School of Theology at Sewanee and will be ordained to the priesthood on June 22nd at 2:00pm in Atlanta. If you'd like, you can watch the livestream of his ordination by visiting standrews.ms/ordination.
To learn more about Christopher, take a look at the video he sent us and please read his letter to the parish as well as Dean Maxwell’s letter announcing his hiring below.
From Christopher
Dear Saints of St. Andrews!
Greetings from the School of Theology at Sewanee! Kyle and I are packing up and making our way to Jackson and we expect to arrive in the next week or so. I wanted to take the opportunity to introduce myself and say how delighted I am to be the Associate Rector for Parish Life at Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Cathedral. This is an exciting time for Kyle and me and we rejoice in God’s faithfulness and the work the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives.
A bit about me:
I’m from Northwest Georgia—the Diocese of Atlanta.I love all things Appalachia including but not limited to my own relatives, the Foxfire series and the play, popular religion and folklore, trout fishing, the Nantahala river, Dolly Parton, and Appalachian language. I studied history at the University of Utah where I developed a love for examining community formation in early Stuart England. I’m an avid student of liturgy, especially Spanish liturgy in the Episcopal Church. I believe God gives us everything we need to survive on this planet. I have a deep love for creation and seeking God’s incarnational presence in everyday life. I’m a mushroom forager and I’ve really enjoyed noticing similarities between mycelium and the Kingdom of God.
Ask me anything—I love getting to know people and I love hearing stories.
My first Sunday will be June 30th. I hope to see each of you in church.
The peace of Jesus Christ be with you always,
Christopher +
From Dean Maxwell
Dear Cathedral Parishioners,
As we head into the summer, we have many things for which to be grateful. We have elected a new diocesan bishop who will be seated at the Cathedral on July 21st. Our ministries, both within our Cathedral
community and within the Jackson area, are thriving as we invite new members into our midst. And, at long last, we have a new Associate Rector for Parish Life.
The Reverend Christopher McAbee will join our staff on Sunday, June 30th. As many of you know, we have been searching for just the right priest since Jennifer Deaton left for the Delta, with the search becoming more urgent after Katie Bradshaw moved to Athens. I am grateful to the search committee: Susan and Paul Blake, Morgan and Ben Bryant, Stephen Stray, and our wardens Margaret McLarty, Michelle Lewis, and previously Robert Langford. Their efforts behind the scenes interviewing, reviewing, and handling logistics of candidate visits was invaluable in this process.
Christopher will focus on Parish Life, in addition to assisting with preaching, teaching, and pastoral care. As his first full-time placement, we have a wonderful opportunity to help him find his voice as a priest. We can offer him a wide variety of experiences because of our extensive resources and our place in the life of the diocese. While this is not his first professional job, it is his first full-time job as a priest, which means there is a learning curve. I know you will extend him grace as you support him in his ministry. He comes to us with a myriad of gifts, including a deep love of scripture and liturgy, time as a chaplain, experience working in public health, and competency in liturgical Spanish.
Christopher was sent to The School of Theology, Sewanee from the Diocese of Atlanta and will be ordained to the priesthood June 22nd in Atlanta. Having many friends from the Diocese of Atlanta, I was delighted to hear from many of them: “I have only good things to say about Christopher.” He is joyful, enthusiastic about moving to Jackson, and excited to begin his ministry with us. Christopher and his husband Kyle Harshey have rented a house in downtown Jackson with their dog Budd. Our prayers are with them in the next two weeks as they pack and move to Jackson.
Come celebrate their arrival with us June 30th for a reception between the 8:30 am and 10:30 am services.
Grace and peace,
The Very Reverend Anne M. Maxwell