Trinity Episcopal Church welcomes interim rector
He will fill the vacancy left by the Rev. Dr. Ann D. Normand, who assumed the position of Canon to the Ordinary in Houston, while the church searches for a permanent rector.
“I am looking forward to sharing with all of you during this most important time of transition in the life of Trinity Parish,” Bennett said.
He holds an undergraduate degree from Portland State University where he graduated in 1975 with a bachelor of science degree in history. His specialty included the history of American thought and culture.
He earned his master of divinity degree and an honorary doctor of divinity degree from the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest in Austin.
In 1975, he enrolled at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, Calif. After one semester, he was asked by the dean to take over administration of the seminary, and he agreed.
He served six years as vice president of the school while completing his seminary training. Following that, he spent two years as vice president of the San Francisco Theological Seminary (Presbyterian) in San Anselmo, Calif.
In the fall of 1984, he was asked to relocate to Austin to begin a new position as Provost of the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest.
Bennett continued in this capacity for nearly 12 more years, but found that after nearly 20 years in seminary administration, he needed a new challenge, he said.
In the fall of 1996, he became rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Austin. In the fall of 2007, he took early retirement. Today, he continues to teach at the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest as an adjunct faculty member specializing in parish formation and administration.
The priest and his wife Molly will celebrate their 39th wedding anniversary Saturday.
“You are all in my prayers as we begin this journey together,” Bennett said of his new congregation.
The church is located on Avenue D at RR 1431 East. For more, call (830) 693-2822.