Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I am thrilled and honored to be the new Director of Christian Formation for St. Martin's, and I look forward to meeting and learning from each of you.

When we meet you will probably detect from my accent that I am new to the area, having been born in Southwest Virginia. My husband, Malcolm, and I have lived in the South, the Midwest, and most recently in New York and Connecticut, and have found plenty to treasure in all of the places we have been. We are parents of two grown children; Mary Beth, 26, a journalist in New York City, and Michael, 21, a senior theater major at Wake Forest University. We are very excited to be settling in Rhode Island, and are looking forward to exploring the area and getting to know our neighbors.

As you may have read in the recent e-news, I have a combined background in theology and education, most recently receiving my Masters of Divinity from the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale. One of my first vocations was as a reference librarian, where I learned that questions are every bit as important as answers, and that the best answer is usually the beginning of a journey, not the end of one. As an elementary school librarian I learned the power that a story could have in a person's life, no matter what age. And as a seminarian I discovered that both of these concepts became united as I prepared for ministry. We all are living the questions, as Henri Nouwen wrote, and we all at some level seek to understand how our own story is woven with God's great Story of love, redemption and compassion.

My approach to Christian Formation is based on two basic concepts: First, we are all seekers and repositories of Wisdom, and we all have the capacity to teach and to learn from one another. Second, we can model our lives as learners and teachers on one of my favorite prayers in the Book of Common Prayer. Near the end of the liturgy of Holy Baptism we pray to God that the newly baptized will be granted "an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and to love you, and the gift of joy and wonder in all your works." These are all qualities and gifts that St. Martin's Christian Formation program will seek to nurture in learners of all ages.

I am looking forward to taking this new journey of learning, teaching and storytelling together!

Peace and Cheers,

Linda Mackie Griggs