Rev. Susan McGarry of St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church celebrates 30 years in ministry
Rev. Susan McGarry points at a photo of herself upon ordination, taken 30 years ago. The photo collage was created for McGarry's anniversary celebration at her congregation, St. Aidan's Episcopal Church.
Photo by Stephanie Fenton
McGarry currently serves at St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church of Ann Arbor, and the congregation recently commemorated McGarry’s 30 years of ministry. In typical fashion, she chose to have her party benefit others.
“Instead of going to a restaurant and having people spend $45 on food, I said, ‘Hey, why not have the party here and raise outreach funds instead? It could be a fundraiser as well as a celebration,’” said McGarry. After McGarry chose six of her favorite charities to benefit from the fundraiser - including local organizations Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice, Religious Action for Affordable Housing and SafeHouse - volunteers set up games at the party. The party’s approximate 60 attendees competed in the games and raised more than $1,000.
“It was great,” said McGarry, who says she aims each day to live according to how she believes God meant for the world to be.
While many of the faithful may base their behaviors on biblical instructions, McGarry has spent her life learning just what those instructions really mean. As the Episcopalian denomination is a “questioning church,” as McGarry puts it, she has spent two years in Jerusalem, learned Hebrew and completed a Ph.D. in Ancient and Biblical Studies to help answer the questions of members of her congregation.
“I wanted to really be able to teach and know the Bible, and the brief semester at the seminary didn’t give as deep enough understanding as I had wanted,” said McGarry, who completed her Ph.D. this past spring. And when it comes to practicing what she preaches, McGarry, quite literally, does just that.
“I think God intends this world to be different than it is,” she said. “I think he intends it to be a more loving, peaceful world, where domination and exploitation are not the norm.”
To help create that intended world, McGarry has been taking action for decades.
“I was on the Interfaith Council of Congregations that funded many anti-poverty projects in town, and that organization’s programs were designed to actually break the cycles of poverty,” she said. “It has since folded, but that organization was where I met extraordinary people. I met the heroic people working on the ground who get things done.”
McGarry has also worked with the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice, Religious Action for Affordable Housing and programs within her congregation, just to name a few. In addition, McGarry has spent her whole career working for rights on behalf of lesbians, gays, transvestites and transsexuals (LGTT), as she believes that part of being a successful leader is realizing that religion is a changing institution.
“When I first went to the seminary, our church wasn’t even ordaining women,” said McGarry, who wasn’t yet serving St. Aidan’s at the time of her ordination. “We’ve struggled with inclusions. It’s an exciting time to be including the LGTT, because we - as Episcopalians - are ahead in sexual orientation, whereas we were behind in the inclusion of women. It’s exciting to have both of these movements be in my lifetime.”
When McGarry teaches faith to younger generations, she also includes the other two members of her family: a 2-year-old boy from Vietnam and an 8-year-old girl from China. Being a single mother to the children has “really enriched” McGarry’s life, she says.
Reflecting upon her time as a reverend and where she hopes to take her ministry in the future, McGarry remains humble.
“I’m not sure that I’ve morphed this congregation’s identity, because this congregation has long been involved in issues of justice,” she says. “But the focus of activism has just changed, from nuclear disarmament to housing, hunger and the environment. In creating the Kingdom of God on Earth, I hope I’ve fostered it in a lot of new ways.”
Stephanie Fenton covers Faith for AnnArbor.com. Stephanie can be contacted at Fenton.Stephanie@gmail.com.
Comments
Susan Wyman
Tue, Dec 15, 2009 : 10:14 a.m.
This article has produced interesting dialog and something very concrete: not long after it appeared, a man walked into the St. Aidan's office, asked for Susan McGarry, and handed her $100 cash. He did not give his name but said he had read about her in the annarbor.com and thought she sounded like one of God's good servants and wanted to contribute to her charities. Alleluia!
pseudo
Mon, Nov 30, 2009 : 9:25 p.m.
I think formerpiskie misses a great deal of the point here. There are liberal and inclusive parishes that are growning in the Episcopal Church even in the face of the larger decline in ALL mainline faiths. Further, I think the outright condemation and quoting Paul is closer to pharisee than a contextual analysis of what Paul said. Who's got the sound doctrine on their side? What our bible says about Jesus's inclusiveness is clear don't you think?
Susan Wyman
Sun, Nov 29, 2009 : 6:18 p.m.
It seems Formerpiskie has a problem with priests and congregations who are inclusive, as well as with the English language. It is sad, Formerpiskie, that you can't accept the fact that Susan McGarry, like millions of other Episcopalians, tries to live each day as Jesus would have us all live, welcoming everyone, no matter what their lifestyle or appearance. The money raised on her behalf will help those in need--and what have you done lately, Formerpiskie, to make the world a better place?
Been There
Fri, Nov 27, 2009 : 11:30 p.m.
@formerpiskie -- It seems to me that the general movement of the Episcopal church in a progressive direction is a more plausible explanation of St Aidan's membership woes. With that trend, there is less demand for a small, out-of-the-way congregation that specializes in being liberal. If First Pres ever gets its act together (or, miracle of miracles, the PCUSA as a whole), I'll worry about St Aidan's sister congregation, Northside Pres. A major distinguishing mark of both congregations is being a prophetic, Christian voice for social justice. I would be interested to hear your theological arguments opposing churches whose mission is to feed the hungry and house the homeless....maybe not interested, maybe more like entertained.
annarbor
Fri, Nov 27, 2009 : 7:10 p.m.
I have met few people that are as dedicated to the teachings of Christ as Rev Susan McGarry. Susan is a true servant of Christ. Congratulations on 30 years of service, Rev McGarry!
Edward
Fri, Nov 27, 2009 : 9:03 a.m.
Well deserved congratulations to a hard working priest. We members of Northside Presbyterian share more than a a buiding with St. Aidan's. Over the years, our ecumenical enterprise at 1679 Broadway has benefited from Susan's energy and commitment to church and community.
formerpiskie
Fri, Nov 27, 2009 : 12:15 a.m.
What is failed to be mentioned in the article is that the parish has underwent steep decline - it had an average Sunday attendance of 85 in 2000 and has fallen to only 40 on a given Sunday with the decline accelerating. That is even faster than the diocese which has lost ~25% in the same time frame. I would not be surprised in the parish wasn't closing in the next year or so. The reality is that the faux "inclusivity" and abandonment of 5000 years of Judaeo-Christian orthodoxy opens the denomination all other heresies (witness the Buddhist bishop wannabe in Northern Michigan). Hear St Paul condemning the likes of Ms McGarry: "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear."