Introducing Marcy Rudins
Her name is Marcy Rudins. You don’t know her now but you will. Marcy is our new associate pastor for Congregational Life. And starting October 1st., she’ll be spending a lot of time with us.
After 18 months of searching, we, the members of the Associate Pastor Nominating Committee, found the one God was calling to us - Marcy.
As we have gotten to know her, we have grown to both respect and love her warmth, her ability to connect with people of all ages, her thoughtfulness, her creativity, her humor and her devotion to ministry.
On August 10, 2021, the Session voted to hire Marcy and that’s one of the things different about her path to PCW. Marcy is ordained in the Reformed Church of America, has been for four years. Currently, she is an Associate Pastor at the Delmar Reformed Church in Delmar, N.Y. Although there are differences in polity, RCA’s theology mirrors PC(USA)’s theology and there are reciprocal agreements between the two denominations.
Working with the Presbytery of Northeast New Jersey, the committee learned that if an RCA candidate has been ordained for less than five years, she can serve as a Supply Associate Pastor for a Presbyterian congregation but not be installed as one. The hiring of a Supply Pastor only requires a vote by Session on the one-year contract. But when she has passed the five-year mark, the congregation will vote on whether to call Marcy to be our next installed Associate Pastor for Congregational Life. And she will become a member of our presbytery.
After meeting her it will become clear why we chose her. Here is some of what she has to say:
Listening - “Listening requires us to give ourselves fully and to be present to God, a friend, a family member, an enemy, a person who is marginalized or a person who makes us afraid.”
Going - “The people of God need to go beyond the church walls into creation and the community to which they are called. The walls of a church are not meant to contain the people of God, but rather catapult people out of the pews into the world.”
Being Still - “It’s one of my deepest hopes that the church may be a place not only where you come and experience the very presence of Christ who says ‘Come to me, all you who are weary’ but that the church can also be a place where you can simply be, just who you are, who God has created you to be, and know that it is good.”
In the coming weeks we’ll have more to tell you about Marcy but for now, don’t get too caught up on remembering the name Marcy Rudins. On September 25th. she becomes Marcy Ryan when she marries Gene Ryan.
The Associate Pastor Nominating Committee for Congregational Life
Jane Collins, Robin Hoy, Susan Murtishaw, Paul Stierhoff, Tom Walker