Above: Long Beach Island as viewed from Barnegat Lighthouse. Photo credit: Fletcher. Used under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
At Pittsburgh Seminary, we seek to participate in God’s ongoing mission in the world by seeing and getting to know people as our neighbors. Challenged by Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan and inspired by Mr. Fred Rogers ’62, who sang, “I have always wanted to have a neighbor just like you!”, I am writing this blog to introduce you to some of my neighbors—students in our Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) Program, for which I am honored to serve as the director. They work with diverse populations, whom they have come to see as neighbors and care for lovingly. I hope by the end of this series, you will get to know our Doctor of Ministry students, their ministries, as well as see those whom they serve as siblings in Christ, as neighbors near and far.
–The Rev. Dr. Donna Giver-Johnston, Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
A New Neighborhood
This February, I began a new call as the rector of Holy Innocents’ Episcopal Church in Beach Haven, N.J. I grew up in New Jersey, and was excited to be moving closer to my aunts, uncles, and cousins who live in the area. Holy Innocents’ is a small church, typical of parishes in the Episcopal tradition. I have slowly been connecting with the local fire department, boat club, history museums, and arts organizations. Beach Haven is located on Long Beach Island, a barrier island that is 18 miles long and four blocks wide, six miles off the coast of the mainland. There is only one road on and off the entire island. Each end of the island is an undeveloped, protected natural area. During the summer months, the population swells with people coming to enjoy the beach. In the winter, though, the island is a quiet place. The stoplights on the main road are turned off and the speed limits are raised. The community of people who live here year-round is small and deeply connected. I am getting used to ending meetings with parishioners with discussions of how we both have dentist appointments or need to go to the grocery store, only to arrive at my next stop and see that we were both headed to the same dentist, or Acme.
Joining Rooted Neighbors
A major reason I took this call is Holy Innocents’ commitment to being a resource for, and being connected to, the local community. One of my first connections on the Island was Rabbi Michael Jay, the clergy at the local Jewish Community Center. Our church has a longstanding relationship with the JCC, and we are excited to be planning an interfaith worship service on the beach this summer. Rabbi Jay helped me bless our community garden for Earth Day. We also have a connection with the St. Francis Community Center, which is a ministry on the island connected to the Roman Catholic tradition. They offer many senior and family support services such as a large food pantry, and food delivery. (I recently participated in their annual polar plunge fundraiser, and I was grateful that the younger swimmers around me also screamed because the ocean was so cold.)
Despite our distance from the mainland, we are connected to our neighbors there as well. Even though New Jersey is densely populated, the Pinelands, which are located on the other side of the bridge, are surprisingly rural. And its population centers, like Toms River, have a long history of being under-resourced, and struggle with a high degree of economic inequality and homelessness. At Christmas, our parish organizes an Angel Tree to provide toys and other needed items for children and families in the Pinelands. We are also excited to be planning a shared summer service and picnic with Christo Rey, a Spanish-speaking Episcopal congregation located in Trenton.
During my interview process for this call, the search committee asked me about serving our local Latinx neighbors. I admit I was unprepared for this question, as official census data I’d seen suggested that there was not a large local Latinx community in this area. But as soon as I arrived in person, I realized that these statistics were inaccurate. There are a large number of Latinx people who work in the robust hospitality and construction industries in the community. While I was interviewing, a fire broke out in an apartment building, displacing a number of Latinx people who lived there. My parishioners immediately began discussing how they could support these folks, as individuals and as a parish, and began chasing down Facebook posts to find out where to drop off men’s pants. As I watched this unfold, I felt my sense of call to this parish affirmed!
Welcoming Transient Neighbors
I am still adjusting to this new context. I also know that the influx of summer visitors is just around the corner, and I will be seeing a LOT of new neighbors soon! In meeting with the town manager, I learned that a major problem is the large numbers of visiting teenagers who have no place to gather, and are sometimes treated as a nuisance. So, we are exploring the possibility of having the local Parks and Recreation department use Holy Innocents’ space for Teen Nights, where restless young people can gather to listen to music, play gaga ball and cornhole, and scroll through their phones together.
My parents and sister live in East Tennessee, and I am an avid fan of Dollywood. Dollywood has a chapel, with weekly Sunday services, led by the park’s chaplain. I once expressed to a colleague that I dreamed of serving as Dollywood’s chaplain. (They quickly pointed out that this role would probably just be performing a constant stream of weddings at the park, which deflated my idealism.) But I realized recently that God has brought this dream to life. There is an arcade where I play skee-ball down the street from my home. My favorite frozen custard stand will be opening any day now. I planned a Bible study on the beach for Earth Day, in the hope of making this a regular event once the summer begins. I believe God has called me to be not just the clergy for this parish, but to be a chaplain in this vacation destination for our neighbors who have come to experience the natural beauty and fun of my new community! In my discussions with local clergy, I have come to understand this can be a serious and sacred task when visitors die unexpectedly, and their shocked and grieving families need support. This is the kind of work I have been trained for as a clergy person, however, and I have experience in that kind of care. What I do not know yet is how I will engage with the happy neighbors playing skee-ball, eating frozen custard, and trying to build sandcastles while defending their snacks from seagulls. I don’t know how to show up for these folks, and care for them, yet. But I am VERY excited to follow how and where God is calling me to be with my neighbors in the months ahead!
The Rev. Erin Morey ’22 is rector of Holy Innocents’ Episcopal Church (Beach Haven, N.J.). An ordained minister in the Episcopal Church, she previously served as assistant rector at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (Mt. Lebanon, Pa.), where she supported the ministry of the pastoral care, social justice and antiracism, and outreach commissions. Erin is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law (2022) and has served as an assistant public defender in Allegheny County, an advocate at Women’s Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh, and a volunteer attorney with Neighborhood Legal Services, a service she provided alongside her work at St. Paul’s. She has also served as one of the Episcopal Church’s delegates to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Erin is pursuing a Doctor of Ministry as a part of PTS’s Reformed cohort.
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