Dear Friends,
New beginnings are always a time for mixed emotions, aren’t they? There is excitement for sure, but there is grieving as well. At Wesley Knox saying hello to me as your new minister means saying goodbye to Rev. Abiel and his wife, Caroline. It means honoring them for their faithfulness to the Wesley–Knox community and thanking God for all that their gifts have meant to us. It means a grieving personally for Rob and me as we leave a church family that we have loved for 10 years, leaving our family, and selling our home. It means letting go of those pastoral ties so that a new pastor can lead them, and I can be fully present with you. To not acknowledge those feelings would seem disingenuous.
Yet new beginnings are also filled with excitement, hope and faith. We are so excited to be in ministry with you and to share in the amazing things that you have built together in this place. I am first and foremost thankful for those faithful men and women, ministers and lay leaders, who have given so much to bring Wesley Knox to this present moment. Saints who have gone before and saints who are with us still. I will always do everything I can to honor their gifts and with you, to carry those gifts forward to bring Christ’s hope and love to the world around us. And I thank you for the trust you have placed in me to share this journey with you. We are excited to be here!
Now for a little about us: I am originally from the Hudson Valley of NY State, about 90 miles from NYC. I attended the University at Albany and the Julian Maximillian Universitӓt in Würzburg, Germany and received a degree in German and Rhetoric. I got my Master of Divinity at Wesley Seminary in Washington DC and then my Doctor of Ministry in spirituality at Princeton Seminary in Princeton, NJ. My husband Rob Apgar (Yes, we are both Rob!) has served as a police officer in Washington DC for 15 years and is excited to pursue a new career path in London. He is from the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania and has a degree in theater so expect him to be involved in local theater once we settle in. We will celebrate our 20th anniversary in February (married 19 years in June).
We have 5 adult children: Siobhan (38), Brittany (35), Kayla (33), Ryan (32) and Chelsea (29). All 5 kids are now married and we have 10 grandchildren (9 living and 1 deceased). We also have a love for animals, having 2 schnauzers (Moira Rose and Benji) a cat (Faith) that we inherited from my mom, and a ball python (Lestat) that came into the marriage with other Rob!
Personally, we love travel, world cultures, movies, TV, theatre, music, and German language/culture.
I hope that gives you a little glimpse into who we are, and we look forward to getting to know all of you.
May God’s richest blessings be with us as we honor the traditions that have come before us and discern the Spirit’s leading in the years ahead!
Blessings!
Rob +