The Rev. Susan J. Latimer knows in her heart God brought her from Maine to West Virginia to serve as the new rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in Charleston.

"It was an amazing process," she said. "I was not looking to make a move. I got a letter from the parish. They found me in a national database for clergy. I read about the parish. It just spoke to my heart."

She was struck by the church's commitment to community and social justice.

"There is inclusion of all people whether gay or straight or black or white," she said. "They have wonderful music and liturgy. The whole setting is what I think the church should be."

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry

1. MargaretG wrote: For the record, this is the link to Rev Latimer’s new parish. The attendance bumps around rather than shows a trend, but it doesn’t look as if the period between 2003 and 2006 has been a stellar one of people flocking to the enlightened “new thing” (ie there has been a steady though small decline) http://12.0.101.88/reports/PR_ChartsDemo/exports/ParishRPT_826200864151PM.pdf Her previous parish’s statistics. It doesn’t look like inclusion built that place up either—very flat attendance for the last decade—with a peak in 2004 and decline since. I wonder why yet again the vast hordes attracted by the prophetic utterances are not appearing at this local parish. http://12.0.101.88/reports/PR_ChartsDemo/exports/ParishRPT_826200863952PM.pdf August 26, 6:23 pm | [comment link]

2. rob k wrote: Would non-inclusion have helped build it up more? August 27, 5:19 am | [comment link]

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