We are blessed to have our Deacon, The Rev. Jules Jodko, on our staff. Since arriving a few months ago Jules has made many friends and has had a very positive impact on our Church School. His pastoral care of our parishioners is very effective and he is a wonderful preacher. Jules will be ordained to the full priesthood by the end of the year.

It is with great enthusiasm that we also announce the appointment of The Rev. Canon K. Dexter Cheney as Interim Rector. Dexter will work part time during the week and will lead us in worship on Sundays, working closely with our Assistant to the Rector, Jules Jodko. He will be with us until we appoint a permanent Rector. As you know, the Calling Committee is working diligently to bring that about.

Dexter is an ideal fit for this unique role. He is a retired priest with wide experience in both secular and church roles. He has been a great success in his previous positions in the Episcopal Church and we are fortunate to have him join our St. Barnabas community. His first Sunday will be October 23rd.

Dexter graduated from Nichols College and Episcopal Divinity School and has an MBA degree from the University of Oregon. He has served as Rector of a church in Detroit and since retiring has been active as Interim Rector in churches throughout Connecticut, sometimes for lengthy periods. Dexter also has strong administrative skills having served as a Coast Guard officer for six years and later as Chief Administrative Officer for the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan.   

Dexter comes to us with very strong recommendations from among others Bishop Douglas, who has been most helpful. We are delighted to have a priest with his deep spiritual gifts, congenial personality and administrative skills. Please join us in welcoming Dexter as an integral part of St. Barnabas.

Newcomers and visitors should know that our parishioners span the breadth of the Episcopal Church in their understandings of God and Jesus Christ and the many ways in which they live out their faith. We are a community of people of many ages and backgrounds. Many became Episcopalians in childhood. Many grew up in other faiths and denominations, discovering the Episcopal Church in adulthood. However, we all share in our sense of connection with God through the Holy Eucharist and a desire to take all that we receive from God from the altar into the world.

Here at St. Barnabas our worship is grounded in the earliest history of the Christian church, and a sense that as we go through life we want to be growing and changing ourselves, becoming more the person God created us to be and serving God as we serve others. We share in a spiritual journey—one that brings us continually closer to the Holy, to Christ. We support each other and care for and about each other as we journey together in a constantly and rapidly changing world.

Won't you join us in worshiping here at St. Barnabas some Sunday?