Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On behalf of the Vestry, it is with great joy that I announce the Reverend P.J. Woodall has accepted the call to be our Interim Rector.  Father Woodall, known as Father P.J., comes to us with twenty seven years of ordained ministry and we are excited to welcome both him and his wife Lorraine to our parish.

Father P.J. hails from North Carolina and

attended college at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, where he obtained his Bachelors degree. He later earned his Masters in Divinity from the University of the South School of Theology in Sewanee, TN in 1983. He served as Rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Clinton, N.C. for five years and then for the next ten years was the Rector at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Natick, MA.

In 1998, Father P.J. became the Missionary Priest for the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti where he served for five years working with schools and clinics before returning to the United States, where he served as Missioner for Overseas Missions for the Diocese of Virginia as well as the Consulting Project Manager of Episcopal Relief and Development coordinating the construction of a new college in Haiti.

For the last seven years, Father P.J. has served as an Interim Rector in Georgia, at St. Dunstan's in Atlanta, St. Gregory the Great in Athens, Nativity in Fayetteville, and Christ Church in Norcross, and most recently, St. John’s Cathedral in Jacksonville, FL.

Your Vestry has worked diligently to interview candidates for the Interim Rector position.  We have sought valued input from both church and school members and administration.  With insight from The Venerable Tom Bruttell of the Diocese of Southeast Florida and prayer to lead us, we believe we have found the Interim Priest who will best guide us in carrying out the will of God at St. Thomas Episcopal Parish as we journey through our transition process to finding a permanent Priest.

Father P.J. and Loraine asked me to let you all know that they are truly looking forward to joining the St. Thomas family, engaging together with you in Christ's work and in Christ's love.  Father P.J. will deliver his first sermon with us on February 14, 2010 and you will no doubt see him and Lorraine on the property during the week of February 9.  I know you will join us in welcoming the Woodalls to their new home.

Peace,

Meg Kerr Cochran

Senior Warden