KENT—After many months of meetings and interviews, the search committee has called the Rev. Richard J. Clark to be the next rector of St. Andrew’s Parish.
He and his wife, Cinda, and daughter, Lydia, will move into the rectory in early August. Lydia will enter third grade at Kent Center School, and Cinda will continue working from home as she has done for several years with a job through the University of Florida in Gainesville.
Clark will visit St. Andrew’s on Saturday, June 22, and will be the celebrant and preacher at both services on Sunday, June 23. A gala coffee hour will follow in the parish house after the 10:30 service.
Senior Warden Ned Reade said Clark impressed the search committee with “his authenticity, thoughtful manner, spirit of adventure and sense of humor. He added that the new pastor is a good listener.
Clark grew up in Louisiana and earned his bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University and a Master’s in Business Administration in The Netherlands. After a few years in finance, he felt a call to serve the church and earned his divinity degree from Wycliffe College at the University of Toronto.
After divinity school and his ordination in 2009, Clark served as Canon for Youth and Young Adult Ministries for the Diocese of Louisiana. In 2011, when his wife began her Ph.D. studies at the University of Florida, Clark served as chaplain for students at the university, rector of a church in Gainesville, and Canon for Youth Ministries in the Diocese of Florida. In 2018, he became the chaplain at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Bradenton, FL. where he was much loved by the school community. Most recently he served as one of three full-time priests at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Charlotte, NC.
Reade wrote that the new rector and his family are look forward to becoming New Englanders and enjoying Kent and its hiking trails, places to ride bikes, swim, and snow.
