St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery to install first female Rector

From the EV Grieve inbox Monday...

St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery, one of New York’s most historic Episcopal churches, will install The Rev. Winnie Varghese as Rector at a special service at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 20. The Rt. Rev. Barbara C, Harris, the first woman ordained bishop in the world-wide Anglican Communion, will preach and The Rt. Rev. Andrew M.L. Dietsche, Bishop Coadjutor of New York will preside.

Varghese will be the church’s first Rector in 23 years — and the church’s first female rector in its history. The church, which has design contributions from a long line of notable architects, has been the site of continuous Christian worship for more than 350 years and is New York's oldest site of continuous religious practice.

Varghese joined St. Mark’s in 2009 as the pastor and priest-in-charge. Under her leadership, the church has experienced rapid growth, even as studies show that religious affiliation is falling.

Recently, Varghese was chosen to visit Derby, England, and Mumbai, India as part of an 8-member team from the New York Diocese. As part of the team, Varghese was tasked with understanding how specific cultural, political and social issues affect each diocese to help steer future church leadership. In recent years, Varghese was also asked to present at a conference for Christians working with people living with HIV/AIDS in Chennai, which explored a Christian perspective on sexual minorities.