Our Rector
Fr. Rick Roessler+
Episcopal Priest, Rector Holy Trinity
(Introductory Letter: April 2023)
The Church of the Holy Trinity
A congregation of the episcopal diocese of Mississippi:
INVITING, TRANSFORMING, RECONCILING
Dearest Friends in Christ Jesus,
I am thrilled & excited that God has called us into ministry together with you at the Church of the Holy Trinity; I am delighted to be joining you as your next Rector. Over the next few months we are looking forward to getting know you just a little better, so perhaps a little introduction is in order!
Before my call to ministry, I served in the Naval Reserve as an Enlisted Supply Specialist and then in the Army Guard as a Field Artillery Officer. After earning an MBA, I accepted a commission as an Air Force Medical Service Corps Officer. I specialized in wartime and disaster medical planning, retiring at the rank of Colonel after over twenty years of active-duty service.
Following retirement, I attended Nashotah House Theological Seminary, graduating in 2019. My first cure was to the Church of the Cross, in a small town which is also well known for its role in wartime service—that is Revolutionary Wartime service—Ticonderoga, NY.
Tami & I, have been married for over 35 years. We have two beautiful daughters—Allyson and Megan. Allyson, our oldest, refused to get into a suitcase during our military reassignment to San Antonio, and choose instead to attend Louisiana Tech, where she met her husband Wayne Haire. They live in Monroe and her parents are shamelessly following her back this way.
Our youngest daughter—Megan—has accompanied us, at least for a little while. Megan graduated from Castleton University in 2022. She currently worked as a Geriatric Social Worker at a nursing facility in Ticonderoga, New York. She is looking for Social Work employment in Vicksburg or in Monroe, so wish her well in her job search.
Tami is a Deacon Candidate in the Diocese of Albany. Lord willing, she will complete her studies (by Zoom) in May and will be ordained in Albany, New York on Trinity Sunday. She will immediately transfer to the Diocese of Mississippi on that day.
Tami has worked as a Licensed Practical Nurse, as a Geriatric Social Worker, and has served in many capacities especially in the area of Pastoral Ministries. She has coordinated and established Lay Eucharistic Visitation programs in many parishes in the past. She is as excited as I am to be joining you (and to—Lord willing—being called Deacon Tami in the not so distant future).
We are extremely excited to be joining you. We continued to pray for you even while we had been awaiting our return to our southern roots. Though we were raised slightly south of the Canadian border, almost all of our military assignments have been south of the Mason-Dixon, so in our hearts we are returning back to our southern home. We are looking forward to our next gathering together. See Y’all on Sunday at 10:15 for Eucharist! God bless & keep you!
In Christ,
Fr. Rick Roessler, Episcopal Priest
Rector, The Church of the Holy Trinity
In Historic Downtown Vicksburg, MS