New Curate – The Rev. Adelyn Tyler
More than a year ago, we began looking for a third full-time priest to join our staff at St. Paul’s. When the pandemic hit, we paused that search until our operations and finances returned to something that more closely resembled normal. Today, I am delighted to share that it was more than worth the wait! The Rev. Adelyn Tyler has accepted a call to be our curate, and she and her fiancée Angela Williams will be joining us in Fayetteville in early July.
As I know you will soon learn, Adelyn has a deep faith and deep gifts for sharing that faith with others. This position on our staff is primarily a full partner in the priestly ministry of our parish—preaching, teaching, presiding, and providing pastoral care—but it also includes a focus in two particular areas: our campus ministries at St. Martin’s and our justice and outreach ministries at St. Paul’s. Adelyn’s job is not to come in and take over those ministries but to come alongside us and share them with us in new ways that deepen them and our faith. As a priest, her presence and participation in those ministries offers a sacramental connection between those areas and the rest of our life as a parish, but she cannot do them alone. Instead, she will help us do those things better and do them more fully.
Although we have had several assisting and associate clergy, we have not had a curate at St. Paul’s for some time. Because of that, the term curate is not as familiar to us. Originally, in the Anglican tradition, curates were clergy who were entrusted with the “cure of souls” of a particular parish. In other words, all parish clergy were known as curates. Nowadays, the title curate typically refers to assisting clergy who have recently finished their formation as priests. It may be a historical misnomer, but curates are now thought of as newly ordained clergy who still need some on-the-job seasoning. In this case, however, although I think Adelyn is looking forward to growing in her ministry while she is here, I do not think she needs any more curing to be among us in a full, vibrant, and faithful way. Even in my first conversation with her, she showed me that she will be a gift to whatever parish she serves.
For Adelyn and Angela, almost everything about this move will be new. Neither of them has ties to Arkansas, and this will be Adelyn’s first position as a priest. I hope that all of you will join me in helping them find their place in this community and in our parish. Please help me look for ways to connect them with the wider community. Help them develop fruitful relationships beyond St. Paul’s. For as long as Adelyn is with us—and I hope that will be for several years—her ministry will be a gift to us, and I trust that this parish will be a gift to her and to Angela as well.
I look forward to welcoming Adelyn and Angela to Fayetteville in July and to Adelyn’s first Sunday with us on July 11. At this point, because of the pandemic, I do not know what sort of in-person welcome we will be able to offer, but I hope we will find ways to celebrate her arrival. Until then, join me in praying for them as they finish their time in Austin, Texas, and as they prepare for all that is ahead of them. This is very good news for us indeed!
Yours Faithfully,
Evan
A Letter from the Rev. Adelyn Tyler
Hello St. Paul’s Community,
I am delighted to be joining y’all this summer as a curate!
By way of introduction, here is a bit about me. I am from the Diocese of Atlanta, where I was born and raised. I was ordained as a transitional deacon in the Diocese of Atlanta in December 2020. God willing and the people consenting, I will be ordained a priest in Atlanta!
After growing up in Atlanta, I went to college at Sewanee: University of the South where I earned a BA in Religious Studies with minors in Education and Psychology. Following undergrad, I moved to Austin for seminary. I am now in my last month of seminary at Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, TX.
After graduation I will be heading up the road to Fayetteville, AR. My fiancée Angela and our cat named Mouse will be joining me on this Arkansan adventure. Angela is a Presbyterian pastor working at the intersection of faith and politics.
I love to cook, craft, and do anything that lets me be outside. I am a self-proclaimed foodie, so I welcome your food favorites in the Fayetteville area!
I am looking forward to meeting you all soon and excited to learn about you!
Peace,
Rev. Adelyn Tyler