The Rev. Marya DeCarlen is Called to Serve as Priest In Charge at All Saints Episcopal Church, Danvers

DANVERS, MA -- The Rev. Marya DeCarlen, who has been enthusiastically and unanimously called to serve as the full-time Priest in Charge at All Saints Episcopal Church of the North Shore, begins her ministry with the parish on Sunday, April 27, 2014 -- the first Sunday after Easter -- a fitting time, she says, to get to know and grow with parishioners and take the opportunity, together, to cultivate the Easter spirit, by celebrating Christ's resurrection along with the parish's rebirth and renewal.  

Rev. DeCarlen is currently the rector at St. James Church in Groveland, MA, where she has served since 2003. 

"I feel very clear that you are bearers of God's light to each other and that you want to be bearers of God's light beyond the walls of All Saints," Rev. DeCarlen told the Vestry, the 11-person, lay governing board of All Saints, about what drew her to the people of All Saints. 

"Your desire to bear God's light is what I think is crucial in order to grow in spirit. And if there is that attitude, and that nest of energy is alive and ready to give, then, that is your God given gift. And, it can only get better."

Among her passions for pastoral leadership and care, The Rev. Marya DeCarlen includes worship services "to share in prayer and God’s love for each of us, through lively services, including homegrown seasonal prayers and feast days, Christian rituals and diverse music," and offering short homilies "that share the good news of Jesus Christ!"  Rev. DeCarlen includes pastoral care, companionship ministry, healing prayer, and healing touch ministry, as well as active community involvement, among her other favorite priestly responsibilities.

"Encouraging and empowering folks to discern their God given gifts is my favorite part of parish ministry," she explains. "The joyful energy that emanates from someone who is delighted to use their gifts in revealing God's kingdom is particularly satisfying. For me, that begins with listening to them, and wondering with them about what God is calling them to next." 

Rev. DeCarlen is a native of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and was raised in the Roman Catholic Church before she became an Episcopalian in college. She earned her Master of Divinity degree from the Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, MA., and holds a baccalaureate degree in religion and philosophy, from Stephens College, in Columbia, MO. Rev. DeCarlen has been an ordained priest since 1984.

She is married "to an awesomely calm husband, John," she explains, and is the proud mother of "two wondrous boys, Jacob, 9 and Michael 13."  The family also includes a beloved canine named Blue. (Fittingly, since she will be leading the Perfect Paws Pet Ministry at All Saints, Marya is an inveterate animal lover, and has always had rescued canine companions.)

Marya (pronounced Mar as in "tar" and YA) DeCarlen’s call to All Saints comes after a year of intensive search and discernment for the newly merged worshipping community that brought together the parishes of Danvers (Calvary) and Peabody (Saint Paul's), into what is now All Saints, to worship as one body, at the 46 Cherry Street church, across from Danvers Town Hall. Rev. DeCarlen was the enthusiastic and unanimous choice of the seven member All Saints Search Committee, explained its chair and All Saints parishioner, Gail Arnold.

"Rev. DeCarlen comes to us with very impressive credentials and accomplishments. She has been a priest for 30 years and it is clear that she has a natural aptitude for reaching out to people, and bringing them closer to their faith. She knows the North Shore community, and she is actively involved with the Diocese of Massachusetts, serving as a member of the Standing Committee,  the body that advises the Bishops," Gail Arnold explained. Rev. DeCarlen will serve as president of the Standing Committee next year.

Colleagues and friends, who spoke with members of the All Saints Search Committee, used the words "empathetic," "smart," "imaginative," "consensus builder," creative and  inspirational," "energetic," "inclusive," "compassionate," "good listener" and  " integrity," in describing her.

"We are so grateful that Marya saw God's light in us, and joyful that it will be she who will guide and inspire us into letting that light shine more brightly and enduringly ... in ourselves and in our communities," said Wardens Ken Bouffard of Peabody, and Paul French of Boxford, the lay leaders of the Vestry, about Rev. DeCarlen's becoming All Saints’ spiritual leader.  
  
Although she is sad to leave her beloved parish in Groveland, Rev. DeCarlen says she relishes the opportunities she sees at All Saints, where she can fully share her gifts of listening, and focus on helping to "grow spirits" and offer spiritual guidance and support. 

"For a priest, it's never a  good time to leave a parish. When I arrived at St. James, I said I would be there for seven to 10 years, and I'm now in my 11th year. We all get attached. You get into a syncopated pace with each other. And it's hard to change. But I think it is a great time for me to seek another call and work with the gift that I feel God has given me with merging congregations.

"I'm a veteran of blended families, she adds, explaining that she has personal experience with "being loving and respectful" in difficult family situations. "Blending families -- or churches -- offers challenges and opportunities that call upon intentional and careful nurturing. At All Saints, there has been a blending of two different parishes. I feel as though I have an inside eye for this faith-filled coalescing."

Marya believes that "the church of the future is about relationships. "At the core of my convictions is belief in a God who loves us beyond our wildest imagining. God's love is the spark that sets our hearts on fire and keeps us on the path of love," she says. "For me, church is the 'school of love,' or the Jesus Way. We are all companions on the way and all learning and teaching together. It is the church of the future that will encourage us to discover ourselves through each other in Christian community."

She continues, "As a church -- a Christian community -- that will thrive, not simply survive, we need to figure out how to live and support one another in a community that manifests God boldly." 

All Saints Episcopal Church of the North Shore, Danvers, welcomes people of all ages, backgrounds and orientations to visit, join, and participate in the warm and welcoming worshipping experience that offers a  source of refuge and strength and spiritual home to all who enter.

Ours is a church where people pray together, love and support one another, and work together in community to help foster justice, freedom, and peace.

"The Rev. Marya DeCarlen's vitality, warmth, gentleness, openness, and deep commitment to her work and life as a priest make her the ideal choice for All Saints as it grows in faith and in numbers," said the Wardens.
 
Transitional Priest Richard T. Loring, much loved by the entire All Saints congregation, will be ending his service with us, after 15 months, on Easter Sunday. He will be celebrated on Sunday, May 4th, with a luncheon immediately following Rev. DeCarlen's 10 a.m. service. All are most welcome to attend.

Whether you have been away for a while or are new to All Saints Episcopal Church of the North Shore, please join us. You'll be welcome here!
For more information please visit our Web site at http://www.allsaintsepiscopalnorthshore.org or visit us on Facebook.

Everyone is welcome to join us for the service and to celebrate with us at Marya's welcome brunch. If you plan to be at the brunch, please RSVP to allstoffice@gmail.com, For more information please call the Parish Office at 978-774-1150.

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