The rectory is in Wellsville, behind St. John's Church and steps from Jones Memorial Hospital.

These parishes have a broad church style. On the first and third Sundays of the month, St. Paul's Angelica and Christ Church Cuba have Holy Eucharist. On alternate Sunday's there is Morning Prayer at St. Paul's. St. Paul's service is at 9, and Christ Church's service is at 11. St. Paul's is especially focused on music and makes a point of inviting guest musicians to have concerts in their classic 19th century gothic church. St. Paul's also has a number of young children who are curious about the liturgy. St. Paul's broadcasts a recording of their services over the local AM radio station.

Christ Church is very informal, with pews arranged around the altar.

St. John's Wellsville has Holy Eucharist on the second and fourth Sunday of the month. On first and third Sundays, their worship team leads Morning Prayer. They enjoy a traditional liturgy with a small choir, and the music is often accompanied by other instruments. Anthems and preludes often have a jazzy feel to them. St. John's begins every service with an opportunity to express gratitude and thanks with donations to the UTO. As a result, they have one of the largest annual UTO collections in the Diocese..

The churches worship separately currently. Two Sundays a month, a supply priest holds services at 9 am in Angelica and at 11 am in Cuba. The other two Sundays, they broadcast the prior Sunday's recorded service via a.m.radio. When no priest is available, they say Morning Prayer.

St. John's has supply clergy most of the Sunday soft the month. On fifth Sundays, the three churches worship together, and rotate the site of the service.

Historically, there were five parishes in Allegany County. Two parishes closed in the last decade and the proceeds from the sale of those properties helps fund a dedicated, full-time priest to serve the other three.

The parishes began their shared ministry in November 2023, with a regional priest-in-charge who is present in each parish at least once a month.  The priest also coordinates supply clergy and pastoral care.  The wardens from the parishes meet monthly to discuss seasonal planning and shared liturgies (such as Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday and fifth Sundays).  The regional P-I-C also leads a weekly bible study on Zoom, with participation from all three parishes. During Lent, a joint program about prayer takes place on Wednesday evenings. They also hold joint fellowship events, including a recent trip to a maple sugar shack for pancakes (attended by 16), a dinner for young families with a short education program, and active coffee hours.

The parishes would like to work together on homelessness in their rural county. They each have a different vantage point on the problem: St. John's has a bus shelter across from the local hospital, where homeless frequently hang out.  Cuba sits in a town that is struggling with decline and lacks the social services necessary to respond to those who are food- and housing-insecure.  St. Paul's sits on the town green in Angelica, at the edge of a tourist area, and close by to other parishes that can help with ministry efforts.  Together, these three could become the network that helps to serve the underserved in Allegany County.

Each of the parishes has experienced decline due to COVID.  Christ Church Cuba has been especially hard hit, and needs to carefully discern its long-term plans.  The parishes do not have a long history of working together, but they are eager to grow what they've started and to retain the progressive voice in their part of the state.  They are also committed to collaboration and mutual support as they experiment with new models of ministry to serve their communities and the larger Kingdom of God.

Their largest concern is funding.  In this introductory phase with the Priest-in-Charge, the parishes are donating what they feel they can afford to the position. Once the permanent priest is called, the Diocese will work with the parishes to resource the position through a shared pooling of funds through the Allegany County trust, congregational development funding from the Diocese, and modest investment from the parishes' respective endowments.

This is an opportunity to grow ministry presence in an underserved portion of New York State. It's the perfect opportunity for someone who loves rural settings, outdoor life (camping, hiking and cross country skiing, just to name a few), and engagement with families.  This is also an opportunity to take the church outside of the buildings, and to reinvigorate Episcopal presence in this part of New York State.  There is an opportunity for collaboration with the local ELCA parish, as well as other churches and community organizations.

The Rev. Virginia Tyler Smith

transitions@episcopaldioceseofrochester.org

585-315-6604