We are excited to announce that our Vestry has called the Rev. Andrew Garnett to be our next rector. He will begin in his new role on Tuesday, August 9th. While we interviewed multiple talented and diverse candidates, Fr. Andrew stood out for his thoughtfulness, established record of community engagement, and humility.
We are thrilled that he has agreed to join Trinity and cannot wait for all of you to meet him!
Fr. Andrew graduated from Chaminade High School after feeling a call to a life of faith from a young age. He obtained both a Bachelors and Licentiate (Masters) Degree in Philosophy from Catholic University in Washington D.C. before moving to Rome, where he got a Bachelors in Sacred Theology from the Universita Gregoriana. Even at this early stage of his career, Fr. Andrew demonstrated the ability to conceive of and execute effective outreach, initiating a program that provided food and clothing for a significant number of non-Italian prisoners in an Italian jail.
A priest since 2015, Fr. Andrew served at multiple Roman Catholic churches on Long Island before becoming an Episcopalian, a transition fueled by his appreciation of the Episcopal Church’s openness to marginalized communities. He notes that “the Gospel is a call to the peripheries of society. It demands that we serve not just those who find themselves comfortably seated in our pews or within the confines of the status quo. We need to be just like the good shepherd who searches and searches to find the lost sheep.” Fr. Andrew has demonstrated his commitment to this principle, engaging and building relationships with underserved or ostracized individuals and groups in his past ministry work.
Fr. Andrew is married and is the father of nearly two-year-old twins and a brand new baby boy. He and his family live in East Norwich.
