Clergy

Priest, scientist, social activist, and missionary, the Rev. Canon Wade Renn, 79, will retire from House of Prayer in Newark on June 29 after a 50-year ministry that has touched the lives of countless people. When asked what he cherishes most about his long and varied ministry, he answers without hesitation, “To have been called by God to be a domestic and foreign missionary of the Episcopal Church.” In 2005, at age 70, when not a few clergy have settled into less ambitious ministries, Renn founded a faith-based mission to the homeless in Montclair, providing shelter, food and showers for those in need. He remained president of the mission until 2012. It’s but one of many impressive accomplishments during a truly amazing life of service.

At 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 14 at Trinity & St. Philip's Cathedral in Newark, Joyce McGirr was ordained to the Transitional Diaconate (a step in the process toward ordination to the Priesthood). Her journey to this day has been diverse and spirit-filled.

Twenty-five years ago, the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, under the leadership of the Rt. Rev. John Shelby Spong, made church history when it created the first official diocesan ministry for gay and lesbian people. That milestone was remembered on Sunday, June 1, 2014 at Trinity & St. Philip’s Cathedral in Newark, where current and former leaders of The OASIS gathered with family and friends for a joyous Eucharist and reception, to look back and also to think about what God might be calling us to do next.

In 2012, The OASIS launched the Louie Crew Scholarship and OASIS Grant. Named for the founder of Integrity, who is a longtime resident and leader in the Diocese of Newark, this program annually helps people with scholarly and missional work “at the intersection of sexuality and faith.”

When Bishop Mark Beckwith blesses the launch of Good Shepherd Episcopal Church of Lincoln Park & Montville on June 8, it will mark the formal end of a methodical process that started more than seven years earlier, and the beginning of a new ministry and mission. The unification of St. Andrew’s in Lincoln Park and Church of the Transfiguration in Towaco (a section of Montville) was affirmed in January at Diocesan Convention.

The Episcopal House staff is pleased to welcome their new team member, Jane Jubilee, who started on June 3 as part-time Administrative Assistant, working Tuesdays and Wednesdays.