Fr Robert Hendrickson

Dear Friends in Christ,


Last week, I wrote about the great Christian hope of the Resurrection and our reliance on that reality. It is the foundation of our preaching, teaching, and life together. 


It could have been a piece I saved for today as I have gotten word of the death of one of my predecessors, Fr Roger Douglas.

I have not seen an official announcement yet, and we will share that with everyone as soon as we have seen it and as details of arrangements are made available. 


Every rector leaves an imprint of some kind. Sometimes it’s in the force of their personality, the strength of their conviction, the kindness of their care, the firmness of their resolve, or a thousand other ways they can shape a community.

It is just as true that each priest is shaped by the communities they serve. In each they come with some hopes, a few fears, some sense of possibility, and little knowledge of what actually may change.

Knowing this and not knowing some other things—we rely on what will remain fixed: our shared reliance on the mercy and love of Christ.

Roger wrote to me that he thought Saint Philip’s the most beautiful church in the Episcopal Church. He meant more than the buildings. He meant the many of you he came to love and who came to love him.

I hope you will include his widow, Peggy, and his children in your prayers and him as well, as I know we will be in his as a place he loved well.

Yours in Christ,

—Fr Robert