The First of Many

My family and I are so excited to be a part of the family at St Timothy's and the larger community of Winston-Salem, that I'm not sure I can wait until May to say hello! Welcome to this blog - or online journal - of St Timothy's Episcopal Church. If you are new to the blogosphere, I'll walk you through this new frontier of virtual communication. My goal, starting today, is to write something every day. Sometimes it might be (or at least will attempt to be) profound and theological, while other times it might be completely silly, but the goal will be the same every day - to explore the intersection of our Christian faith and our daily lives. Of course this blog is not just for me to write. In the future, I'll show you how you can contribute, not only by responding to the posts I and others leave, but how you can journal online too!

But first, I imagine you are a little curious about the Rice family. I am originally from South Carolina. I grew up in a wonderful town called Greenwood. My mother was and still is an elementary school principal and my father is a retired SC State Trooper and now runs a video production studio. I played football and basketball (and one track meet) and I still hold the distinction of being the captain for the worst football team in school history! I grew up in the United Methodist Church and sometime between graduation from high school and the first day of college, I accepted God's call to serve in some capacity in the church. The first week of college I was hired by Main Street United Methodist as the youth director. I had a youth group of about 75 kids. While at Main Street I learned how to make Nickelodeon slime and hold the attention of 35 middle schoolers. Just before I started my junior year in college (Erskine College), I was appointed by the United Methodist bishop to serve as pastor of Calhoun Falls United Methodist Church in Calhoun Falls, SC. The United Methodist Church allows those preparing for ordination to serve churches as pastors, granting them full responsibility in those parishes. I served Calhoun Falls through college (graduated with a B.A. in psychology) and the first year of seminary. I was then appointed as the associate at Grace United Methodist Church in North Augusta, SC.

While in seminary I began to wrestle with my call. I wasn't in doubt as to whether God had called me, but I was in doubt as to where God had called me. My theological and liturgical intuition seemed constantly at odds with the church of my upbringing. I craved the sacraments and the mystery of worship. I envied the historical lineage of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican traditions. And I loved the Anglican pastoral sense. I liked their (our) sense of humanity and how Anglicans laugh and put their actions where the words are. This is but a sense of my internal dialog but the point is - I had to do something.

Shortening a long story, I left the United Methodist Church, was confirmed in the Episcopal Church and was ordained deacon and then priest. For the past three and a half years, I have been the rector of St Michael's Episcopal Church in Waynesboro, Georgia. And now, thanks be to God, I have been called as the rector of St Timothy's.

If you want to more about my past experiences in churches, my short stint teaching in college and other tidbits, my C.V. can be downloaded here.

In 2001, I married the prettiest girl from Erskine College, Cherilyn Walker. She has two bachelors degrees (she's smarter than I) and is a Labor and Delivery nurse. In August 2004, our lives were changed with the arrival of our first child, Abby and in October we expect the arrival of our second.

Right now we are looking forward to becoming a part of Winston-Salem and the family of St Timothy's parish. I look forward to sharing more with you on these pages before and after I officially arrive in Winston. Please share this blog with others and I hope to see you tomorrow.

Fr. Steve+