January 29, 2000
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Vibrant!
Caring! Compassionate! Humorous! |
Gifted!
Fantastic! Warm! Wonderful! |
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| Those are some of the words offered by members of St. Paul's
Episcopal Church in praise of the Rev. Norman Freeman, the former professional
musician-turned priest, who is leaving the Riverside parish next month
to answer a call in California. The 47-year-old Freeman is scheduled to begin dual duties March 1 as the Episcopal chaplain of the University of California at Santa Barbara and vicar of St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Isla Vista, a community in Santa Barbara where the campus and church are located. Freeman, ordained in 1997, came to Greenwich as curate at St. Paul's after Thanksgiving that year. In just over two years, he has been instrumental in making contributions to the congregation that inspired one church woman to describe him as "a gift from God, and angel in disguise." Among gifts Freeman brought to the parish receiving accolades from parishioners was his musical talent and the inauguration of Jazz Vesper services. Also cited was his work with nursery school and middle school groups, a series of 12-step spirituality sessions, a music and mission class, enthusiastic support and participation in the Stephen Ministry program, which involves visits to the ill and elderly, and the delivery of countless sermons that frequently emphasized lessons his listeners could use in everyday life. Other parish members noted Freeman's love of helping people by listening to them; his teaching the goodness of silence whether it is in music, in sermons, or in the people-to-people conversations; and his joy in giving something without expecting anything back. Freeman returns the admiration and appreciation expressed by parishioners at St. Paul's. In a letter to the parish family telling them of his move to California, he wrote: "Our family's experience in entering St. Paul's has been extraordinary. We have been received with an enormous outpouring of love by one of the warmest and most gracious parishes I have ever known. "Your spirit has formed my understanding of community in ways that will inform the model I carry into the future. You are intentional about how you share the love of Christ with others and you have touched our lives forever." Freeman also paid tribute to the rector of St. Paul's, the Rev. Robert E. Taylor. "Father Taylor is known in the church as one who has a true vocation for working with new priests," Freeman said. "He shares his ministry with care and thoughtfulness, cracking open 30 years of experience with clarity, while dramatically shortening the learning curve of his associates." |
Typically, a new priest spends two to four
years as a curate assisting a rector. Under the guidance of Taylor, Freeman
has been able to accelerate that period. "I could be very comfortable at St. Paul's, but I believe God did not want me to become too content," said Freeman. "Last winter I began to sense that God was nudging me out of my comfort zone. So, I began to listen for another call, knowing that it could take between one and two years." The search moved more quickly than anticipated. The priest who was university chaplain and vicar at St. Michael's decided last summer to return to his previous occupation, journalism. The Bishop in Los Angeles wanted St. Michael's to flourish, increasing its spiritual membership and improving the church's physical condition. "The opportunity to have my own parish and develop my ministry appealed to me and my family," Freeman said. "Being a chaplain for an 18,000-student university certainly will be a challenge. Altogether, this move is a natural and happy event." The school chapel's worship space has theatrical lighting and movable furniture. In the past it was used for very successful dramatic presentations of the Gospel and "I can see doing it again," said Freeman. It interested Freeman that St. Michael's shares a parking lot with a next door synagogue, similar to the arrangement between Christ Church in Greenwich and Temple Sholom. Freeman, his wife, Lori, their daughter, Brady, 12, and son, Chris, 9, will be provided with a house about 15 minutes away from the church. Growing up in New Jersey, Freeman said, his family was not church-going "but I always said my prayers and my father and I usually listened to Billy Graham programs on Sundays." Baptized a Presbyterian, Freeman was received into the Episcopal church in 1990. While continuing his work as a percussionist with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and Broadway shows, he studied for the ministry at the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church in New York. Father Taylor said that "St. Paul's and I will very much miss Norman." As one parishioner put it: "A wonderful gift has been on loan to us and now it is time to pass him along to others who are very fortunate to get him and his family." Author, Tom Abbott, is a retired Xerox Corp. and General Motors
public relations executive who earlier worked for the Chicago-Tribune. |
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