After many years of faithful service as the Rector St. Dunstan's Church in Tulsa and various Diocesan leadership roles, the Rev. Mary Ann Hill embarks on a new journey in Los Alamos New Mexico.
After many years of faithful service as the Rector St. Dunstan's Church in Tulsa and various Diocesan leadership roles, the Rev. Mary Ann Hill embarks on a new journey in Los Alamos New Mexico.
Mary Ann has served the rector of St. Dunstan's since 2008, after serving parishes in Indiana and Illinois for seven years. Before attending seminary in Sewanee, Tennessee, she worked for 11 years as an admissions and records officer for the University of Illinois. She has served in countless Diocesan leadership roles such as, Standing Committee President, Member of Diocesan Council, Interim Intake Officer, General Convention Deputy (elected) and Alternate, Dean of the Tulsa Deanery, Plenary Instructor for Liturgy for the Iona School, member of St. Simeon’s Board, member of the Oklahoma Consortium of Episcopal Schools.
Bishop Poulson Reed, shared his thoughts on the transition,“It was with deeply mixed feelings that I heard the news about Mary Ann’s new call. She has served faithfully and well for 14 years at Saint Dunstan’s, a remarkable tenure. She has been an active and effective leader in our diocese in many roles including chairing the Standing Committee, and has been a wise counselor to me in my early years here as Bishop. I am so sad to see her go, but I rejoice at her new call, that will have her closer to family.”
She shared with us some memories and things she will miss from the Diocese of Oklahoma, "The whole bishop search, election, transition and Bishop Poulson’s Covid-tide consecration. It was a huge concerted effort, and then going through the end whilst in the worst part of the epidemic was so unusual. But God pulled us through, and it was inspiring to see the gracious and courageous way Bishop Poulson handled having his consecration under such restrictive conditions. I will miss the warmth of everyone here and the clergy collegiality we have makes this diocese feel like a big family – and that’s a rare thing."
She shared what she is looking forward to on her new journey, "My new town is essentially a big research community. It’s very much like Champaign-Urbana IL, where I lived before seminary when I worked at the University of Illinois. I’m really excited about living in such an intellectually rich (and nerdy!) environment. Trinity on the Hill is the only Episcopal church in town and is very much at the center of things. Also, I will be much closer to my parents, so that will be good."
Lastly she shared what she loves and will miss about St. Dunstan's, "Canon Steve recently described St. Dunstan’s as having “effortless inclusivity,” and that really sums up what I’ve been trying to describe for a long time. Inclusivity is organic here and isn’t something we have to blow our horns about. And it really includes all kinds of people – not just what we normally think of when people use that word. The people of St. Dunstan’s are open-hearted and that’s something that Fr. Daniels encouraged from the beginning. One of our earliest acolytes was a boy with Down Syndrome, at a time when special needs children weren’t mainstreamed. That open-heartedness is why the Latino Mission was successful. We didn’t have any of the typical issues that often happen when you try to combine major cultural groups. I was able to honestly say to the Latinos – “these people see you as their brothers and sisters in Christ and as equal members of this congregation.” And it was true!"
Thank you Rev. Mary Ann for your dedication and faithful service to the Diocese of Oklahoma, you will be missed!