Baptisms and Baptismal Counseling

The Reverend Diane Britt
Upcoming New Rector

It is with great joy that your Vestry announces the election of the Reverend Diane Britt to be the ninth Rector of St. Ann’s Episcopal Church. Mother Britt has been the Rector at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Katonah, NY since 2006.

She is a warm and energetic person. Her pastoral and outreach skills are very strong. She is in tune with children. The list goes on and on. We are eager to have her come to St. Ann’s; we are eager to have you get to know her.

Updated Biography and photo to be posted soon.

The Reverend Farrell D. Graves, PhD
Mission Associate/Curate
fdgraves@optonline.net

Fr. Graves was born in High Point, North Carolina. He holds a bachelor's in religion from Duke University and a PhD in Japanese Ethics from The University of California, Irvine. Before entering seminary, he taught English as a Second Language in Southern California. He graduated from The General Theological Seminary on May 19 and was ordained a deacon on June 12, 2010. He likes cycling, photography, nature, exploring town and country, hiking, and Baroque and mountain music.

"The only child and the youngest in my extended family, I was born in High Point, an industrial town in North Carolina. Before globalization, High Point was the center of furniture manufacture in the United States. My father and, later, my mother worked in furniture factories. I sensed my initial calling shortly before college and went on to declare a major in religion at Duke University (BA 1986). In college, I started considering whether I would like to get an MDiv, a ThD, or a PhD in religion. Despite my interest in developing a deeper spiritual life and in ministering to others, however, I grew disappointed in the rigid Christianity that I found around me. Ideas were valued more than people, and the Bible was seen more as a rulebook than as an introduction to how the Holy Spirit works in our lives. This Biblical fundamentalism was matched by the institutional fundamentalism of the Roman Catholic Church. Young and idealistic, I left Christianity and turned to Buddhism. I eventually got a master's degree in Buddhist studies, but this did not fulfill my call to minister, to share with others the joy of community and inclusion as taught by Christ. In graduate school, moreover, the competitive and often spiteful atmosphere saddened me, but I persevered until I received a PhD in Japanese Intellectual History from the University of California, Irvine.

I had moved farther and farther from my original interest. I was trying to make academia serve as a vehicle for my calling, but academia is quite resistant to practical applications and to unapproved approaches. Luckily, while getting my PhD, I met a priest who introduced me to the Episcopal Church. I found there a respect for the individual seeker and support for the discernment of the Spirit in our lives. My sense of a calling finally seemed to have found a place where it could be fully realized. I started going through the discernment process as I worked on my doctorate. Once I completed my degree, I had to make a decision, and eventually decided not to apply for fulltime academic positions. I taught briefly as an adjunct, but soon focused on teaching English as a Second Language, which I had begun as a side job while a student. This allowed me to continue to live in the Diocese of Los Angeles while I went through the process. I eventually went to study at the General Theological Seminary in Manhattan, where I graduated in May.

I enjoy teaching and writing, music (especially mountain and Baroque), going to the gym, cycling, and exploring cities (people, food, and architecture) and the countryside (plants and critters)"