St. Paul's Episcopal Church to install new rector

News from St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Lewiston finds the church community will install a new rector Saturday, Jan. 25.

St. Paul's wardens, vestry and congregation will join in a celebration of a new ministry at which the Right Rev. William Franklin, bishop of the Diocese of Western New York, will install the Rev. Diane M. Pike as the 32nd rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. Ceremonies get underway at 11 a.m. at St. Paul's, Fourth and Ridge streets in the village, and area residents are invited.

Pike has a BA in elementary education from Nazareth College, and a MA in guidance and counseling from Oakland College. She has worked as a director of development at both the University of Missouri in Kansas City and also for the Girl Scouts of the USA in New York City. She is a 2011 graduate of the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, and was ordained on Jan. 20, 2012, by Bishop Joslin into the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island, where she became an assistant rector at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Portsmouth.

•At St. Paul's annual meeting Jan. 19, the following were elected to serve terms of office on the vestry: Carol Conibear of Lewiston, warden (one-year term); Shawn Slother of Sanborn, warden (two-year term); Christopher Olivera of Lewiston, (three-year term); and Allison Perfetti of Lewiston, (three-year term). Current vestry members include Peter Boyer and Marci Lynch, both of Niagara Falls, and Jackie Portik and John Rupnow, both of Lewiston.

Elected to represent St. Paul's at the annual convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Western New York are Terra Cutlip of Niagara Falls, Katharine (Kitty) Pierce of Lewiston, and Patricia (Pat) Walker, also of Lewiston. These individuals will also provide congregational representation on the Deanery Council. Elected to the position of alternate, should one of the elected delegates be unable to attend, are Margeurite Rupnow and Edward (Ed) Walker, both of Lewiston.

Following the annual meeting and election, the congregation enjoyed a potluck luncheon. Everyone who was present participated in visioning and creative discussion about the role of the church and St. Paul's in the community and beyond. Incoming rector Pike facilitated the discussion.

St. Paul's is an Episcopal Church in the Anglican tradition. Its members strive to offer an open congregation welcoming all who seek a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. All who enter through the doors, from the very young to those with more life experience, are warmly welcomed.

For more information, visit the church website at www.saintpaulslewiston.com, "Like" St. Paul's on Facebook at "Friends of St. Paul's Episcopal Church Lewiston, NY" or call the church office at 716-754-4591.