Sunday Mass 10 AM and 6 PM

1031 S. Carrollton 
New Orleans, Louisiana 70118
504-866-0123

As I begin to write this to you, the parishioners of St Andrew’s Church, I find myself filled with excitement. We have experienced lots of emotions these past 11 months. It began with the sadness of many in learning that Fr Jim was leaving St Andrew’s, the fear and uncertainty of being able to get through the time it would take to find our next rector, the struggles and ultimate success of the 2023 Pumpkin Patch and the hopes and expectations of and for the search process.

We have been very fortunate in having some amazing individuals that stepped up to help us maintain our ability to continuously celebrate mass twice each weekend and several holiday masses as well. We owe much to Bishop Brown, Fr Dee Fleming, Fr David Lowry and Fr Seamus Doyle for all they have given to us these past months and to Br Todd van Alstyne for all the preaching and pastoral care he has performed. We would not have been so lucky had it not been for all of them.

To go with that, we can’t forget to thank those who have worked so hard to ensure our various ministries have continued along the way and worked tirelessly to make the 2023 Pumpkin Patch the most financially successful patch to date. And of course to our Parish Administrator, Ben Dubroc who who has not only worked his paid hours, but has put in many more hours in different ministries.

And finally we owe thanks to the search committee led by Olin Parker for 11 months of dedicated hard work to finally bring us a new rector.

And yes, dear friends, we are finally there. It brings me great joy to formally announce that the next Rector for St Andrew’s Episcopal Church is the Reverend Annie Knazs Jung.

Rev. Annie is currently the Associate Rector for Liturgy at Trinity Episcopal Church here in New Orleans. She has been a priest since January of 2022 but also comes with a great deal of experience working with the diocesan youth for years and in her previous career as a professional counselor.

In her profile one item that I felt stood out was in her introduction where she said, “I open myself to be a vessel, set apart for God’s use, to bring healing, hope and joy to God’s beloved, ministering with people and places that are seeking a closer glimpse of the dazzling transformative Kingdom of God”.

In her letter of introduction Rev. Annie wrote of her heart being full of joy and wonder as she began stepping in spirit closer to the formative journey we have been on. She commented on how she was inspired in seeing our hopes and dreams being reflected and grounded in scripture. The one comment that I felt really caught my eye was, “the call that comes to my spirit, of who you are as a people and where you would like to go as a parish is what has tugged my innermost self to apply”. She added that particularly our desire to have a parish that embodies warmth, inclusivity, justice, interpersonal relationships and creative, meaningful worship is one she would be proud to serve and lead.

The Vestry had a couple of opportunities to meet and get to know Rev Annie. She is warm and genuine and embodies a spirit of love and respect. I’ve also had several interactions since those meeting in which she has expressed her sincere joy and excitement in coming to serve here at St Andrew’s. She is so excited to get to know each of you individually and to be present pastorally in our parishioners' individual journeys.

I have no doubt that Annie will bring much of the things we loved about Jim to us but know too that she has many gifts of her own that she will bring to St Andrew’s as she comes to lead us spiritually into the future.

While her official start date will be January 1st, her first day in the office will be January 8th and we will get to experience our first mass with her on Sunday January 14th.

Please join me in welcoming Annie as our new Rector.

In Christ’s Love

Allen Chighizola

Senior Warden