Saint Monica's Episcopal Church
Messenger
December 2014
From the priest’s desk by The Reverend Anthony MacWhinnie, II Greetings all! It’s so good to be sitting at THIS desk, writing THIS newsletter piece! Really! My family and I are so happy to be here. What an incredible blessing to us you all have already been. I suppose I should tell a little about myself here, for those not in the know. As Juanita Farrington used to say at the start of every EFM class, “I was born in a little log cabin that I built with my own two hands.” Well, of course, that’s not true, but it is true that I love Juanita and stealing from her is a great joy. My history with the Episcopal Church goes back to my childhood. In 1977, when I was 7 or 8, my mother decided we were going to church. The church she came to love was the Episcopal Church, specifically St. John’s in Warrington. We quickly became involved in everything and I started my long, illustrious career as an acolyte. Many were the Christmas Eves that I spent, in a robe, hiding behind the wooden boat-rib column that obscured our faces from the congregation at the acolyte desks. We slept through most of Father Nat’s long winded sermons, or made faces at each other from across the wide transepts of St. John’s beautiful Nave. I made life-long friends in those pews and started to hear the call to the priesthood as early as those days. Later in my Episcopal life I was a camp counselor at Beckwith, where I met my first wife, Jane. I came to St. Monica’s, “The little church in the village,” with her and her family, the Philens, in 1989. With Jane, I have a wonderful son, Trey. Our blended family gets along amazingly well, which is a blessing to us all. Somewhere around 2003 I finally said “yes” to that call that I had been hearing so long in my life. I entered the process toward priesthood as an aspirant with Father David McDowell-Fleming from St. Monica’s. The vestry of St. Monica’s unanimously said yes to sending me forward
Our Staff & Vestry The Rev, Anthony MacWhinnie, II, Priest in Charge Vestry: Chuck Barnett - Senior Warden, Dan Ferguson- Junior Warden, Ann Philen, Bill Ramsey, Melanie Velaski, Beth Woods, Linda Aligood, Tom Chaapel, Frank Murphy Carol Farrel - Treasurer Viv Welch—Clerk of the Vestry Brenda Ferguson—Church Secretary Twinette McDonald - Music Director Sally Putters - Parish Nurse
and from there I was sent through the myriad hoops that is the process. Eventually, I was accepted as a postulant and went to seminary at the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest (now called The Seminary of the Southwest, SSW) in Austin, Texas. I was ordained in 2008 to the Diaconate and in 2009 to the Priesthood. I have been honored to be the vicar of St. Thomas by the Sea, in Laguna Beach, FL, and rector of St. Augustine of Canterbury in Navarre, Father Anthony, his wife, FL. Elizabeth, Trey and Ruby. After I had moved to Midway to serve as rector of St. Augustine’s, I rekindled an old friendship I had made with Elizabeth Anagnostis. She was living in New Orleans at the time. We fell in love and were married in October of 2012. This past January our family was blessed with the addition of little Ruby Corinne. She’s definitely the princess in the house now, as life seems to revolve around her. Luckily, she’s got her big brother, her “Bubba”, Trey to be there for her when life gets her 10 month old self “ten month old loud.” So, that’s me in a nutshell. My history as a priest would not be the same, or may not have even happened, if it weren’t for this church. When I say that I love being here, what I really mean is that I love being BACK here. I’ve loved this congregation a long time and I hope to serve you as best as can be done. The Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, it shall be done. Peace to you all. Anthony+
Parish Christmas Party
Saturday, December 13 6 pm until
Come celebrate the season with dinner and fellowship! Please sign up on the sheet in the narthex!