Anna Horen joined us as a Ministry Intern beginning in February of this year, and we are very happy to have her on board. The primary purpose of having an intern is to provide an environment for training in parochial ministry. To that end, Anna will work under my direct supervision. She will work in various areas, including assisting me in liturgical planning and administration, and participating in worship and preaching. She will also work with our Sunday School under the leadership of Jan Scrutton and in chaplaincy and pastoral care under the guidance of Deacon Ken Parris. Anna comes to us with extensive experience in Adult Christian Formation, providing us an opportunity to learn from her as well.
By means of introduction, Anna writes:
I was born and raised in the New York City area by two loving and devout Italian Roman Catholic parents. I have felt a call to ordained priestly ministry since childhood. Since it was not possible in my denomination, I pursued other avenues. The blessing is that it has given me a breadth of professional experience and skills in education, high-tech, and lay pastoral ministry that I would not have otherwise obtained. I am grateful for this as well as the more personal experiences of raising two sons in a long-term loving marriage and surviving breast cancer, because all of it has made me the minister and person I am today. I have been a member of St. Timothy’s Parish in Danville for 5 years, and was formally received into the Episcopal Church by Bishop Marc over 3 years ago.
Bob and I have been married for 33 years, and have lived in Pleasanton for 26 of them. He works in the high-tech industry as a project engineer and developer. Chris, our eldest son, lives in Denver and is engaged to be married. Eric and his wife live in Los Angeles, still in the glow of their first year of marriage.
As soon as I stepped into your church for Sunday worship earlier this month, I knew it would be the right parish to spend my field education intern year. I am so pleased it has come to pass, and look forward to both serving you and learning from you.