Redeemer Family,
The author of Ecclesiastes reminds us that “for everything there is a season,” and this is certainly true in every space of life, including the life of a parish like ours. Seasons begin, seasons end, and new seasons begin. There are ebbs and flows to parish life.
This letter is off to a bittersweet start; can you feel it? I do.
We have some people who are rolling off our staff team this year. Our season of enjoying their leadership is coming to an end:
Christian Hayes: Has served as our part-time Director of Youth Fellowship for many years and, under his leadership, the ministry has grown and flourished. What some of you may not know is that Christian also works full timeas an ICU nurse at VCU! As you might imagine, with our Youth Fellowship continuing to grow, this arrangement is not long-term sustainable for the Hayes family. We are thrilled that even though Christian will no longer be on staff as the Director, he will still be involved with Youth Fellowship as a volunteer.
Transition Date: June 2025
Kate Ramsdell: Has served as our part-time Youth Fellowship Assistant for the past year under Christian’s leadership. Again, what some of you may not know is that Kate also works full time as a therapist. Again, as you are already imagining, it has been challenging! Kate has agreed to lead the Youth Fellowship through the Summer in Christian’s absence before she rolls off at the end of the Summer. We are so grateful that, come the Fall semester, even though Kate will no longer serve on staff, she will still be involved in the Youth Fellowship as a volunteer.
Transition Date: August 2025
Orlando Palmer: We knew this announcement was coming at some point, we just hoped we had more time! Our beloved Orlando, his wife Doe, and their beautiful boy Shiloh are moving to Nashville this fall at the end of October. With both Orlando’s and Doe’s public music careers growing, this is a timely and strategic move for them. Orlando has served as our Artist-in-Residence for 5 years and has blessed us tremendously with his leadership, skill, and vision for integrating Anglican hymnody, Americana folk, and Gospel music into a unique sound that represents the music traditions of Richmond.
Transition Date: October 2025
While we will feel the loss Christian’s and Kate’s excellent leadership from a staff perspective, we will continue to enjoy their presence in our parish and in the Youth Fellowship. However, Orlando really is moving out of state and we will not only miss his leadership, but also his presence amongst us!
Now, some of you forward-thinkers are already beginning to wonder about how we are going to hire new staff to step into these vacancies. I’m right there with you and have been in deep conversation and prayer with our leadership about how we can recruit new team members to serve and lead us. I’ll send out more communication about these new positions and job descriptions in the weeks to come. Stay tuned.
For now, let’s simply celebrate these three and all the time, energy, love, and hard work they have offered to the Lord and to our parish.
Christian, Kate, and Orlando - THANK YOU and we LOVE YOU!
In the Father’s love,
