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Community Corner

Cancer Brings Pastoral Changes to 2 Rye Churches

Rye Presbyterian Church and nearby Church of the Resurrection in the midst of changes due to cancer affecting leaders.

The next few days will be a time for pastoral comings and goings at two of Rye’s major churches with cancer playing a dual role in the need for change.

George Hubbard, Clerk of Sessions, has announced a special meeting of the congregation of Rye Presbyterian Church for this Sunday at 11:15 a.m. in the church sanctuary “for the purpose of hearing and acting upon the request of the Rev. Dr. Nancy A. De Vries for the dissolution of the pastoral relationship between herself and this congregation.”

DeVries has been on extensive medical leave of late, according to the RPB annual report, recovering from a double mastectomy and what the report calls a “medical situation beyond her control.”

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Pastor De Vries did not respond to Patch requests for comment. Nor did she attend the Rye Memorial Day Services for which she was scheduled to give the invocation. 

Associate Pastor Dan Love has assumed substantial “Head of Staff” responsibilities along the way. DeVries has been making a strong comeback while re-assuming her pastoral responsibilities. But only she --and God--really  knows what she plans on saying Sunday.

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Rye’s Church of the Resurrection Administrator Rev. Msgr. Edward O’Donnell has made a similar pastoral announcement regarding impending change. He has told parishioners that Resurrection will be getting a new pastor as of July 1 in Rev. Msgr. Donald Dwyer, pastor of the Church of the Assumption in Pelham Bay, the Bronx.

“Thanks for putting up with the old man for the past few months,” Msgr. O’Donnell told his congregation at Masses over the weekend in a kidding reference to his longevity, 59 years as a priest, and counting, which means he is nearly 80.

While ostensibly retired, Msgr. O’Donnell has been officially substituting as pastor since the death of the late Resurrection pastor Patrick Boyle of cancer February 16, 2011. And, unofficially he served as pastor for about a year before that as Msgr. Boyle underwent extensive treatment for his cancer.

Msgr. O’Donnell told Patch the reason for the delay in appointing a new pastor stemmed from the shortage of priests in the church today.

“There are 10 pastoral positions open in the Archdiocese, and there is a domino effect. For every appointment, it means a priest has to be found to fill the vacated place in the parish of the appointee and that isn’t easy nowadays,” he said.

Msgr. O’Donnell certainly knows the territory. He was chancellor for the Archdiocese at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the priests’ intercessor to the bishop for all matters pertaining to the priesthood prior to retiring and coming to Resurrection in 2002 to help out due to the shortage of priests locally. He will remain at Resurrection when the new pastor arrives.

In a similar vein– albeit on a musical note, Dr. William Maul, Resurrection’s director of music for around 20 years, has announced plans to retire. He has been recuperating from the lingering after-effects of surgery.

Resurrection will honor him at the 12:30 p.m. Mass on June 12 –Pentecost Sunday – with a reception afterwards in the Church Hall. No successor has been named as of yet.

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