Vestry
Our leadership is shared between our priest and our vestry, a team of elected lay people.
Our vestry is currently made up of two wardens and six elected members, including our treasurer. Two members are elected each year, and the two wardens are elected in separate years, allowing for both continuity in leadership and the addition of new voices.
The work and responsibilities of the vestry include setting the mission of the congregation, supporting the mission in words and actions, and managing resources and finances. We are grateful for the work of our vestry in overseeing the ministry and work of Christ Church!
Leadership
The Rev. Shanna Hawks
Shanna (she/her) joined Christ Church as the Rector (priest leading the congregation) in 2023. Shanna is originally from Washington State, having grown up in a city in Central Washington and graduated from Western Washington University, where she studied History, Latin and Greek. Seeking a missional church education rooted in the growing reality of an increasingly unchurched context, she received her Masters of Divinity at Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, California. Sponsored for ordination within the Diocese of Spokane, she came to Christ Church after serving as Curate at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Richland, WA.
Shanna is passionate about forming and nurturing disciples who follow Christ with their heads and their hearts. She loves people of all ages and has a particular fondness for working with youth. Emphasizing God’s desire to be in full relationship with humanity as a part of God’s creation, Shanna welcomes questions and uncertainty, knowing that God can and does work in the places where we are the least sure. She delights in God’s welcome of all people, with no exceptions.
Along with her work for Christ Church, Shanna serves as the priest of Church of the Good Shepherd in Savona, NY. Aside from her work in the church, she is always happy to make new friends as she continues to explore the Southern Tier of New York.
Sunday Service videos are posted weekly at https://www.youtube.com/@christchurchhornellny2084/streams
On June 1, 2023, our new rector, The Rev'd Shanna Hawks, began her ministry with Christ Church, Hornell, NY, and The Church of the Good Shepherd, Savona, NY.
Here, in her own words, Shanna introduces herself to us.
HI,
I'm looking forward to joining you soon as your next rector. I'm delighted to have this chance to begin to introduce myself before I arrive.
My first name can be tricky sometimes. Despite how it looks, it's pronounced Shayna (the first a is long), but I'm pretty patient when it takes awhile to get it right. And it's perhaps not a surprise that I value learning other people's names and saying them correctly.
I'll be joining you from Washington state, where I am finishing up my time as a priest in the Diocese of Spokane. I'm a Washington native; I was born in Ellensburg, a small town in the center of the state, and I've spent the last four years in Richland. Richland was the bedroom community for the Hanford branch of the Manhattan project, and I've enjoyed getting to know more about that history and legacy. I really have spent most of my life in Washington, as I studied history, Latin and Greek at Western Washington University, though my Masters in Divinity comes from Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, CA.
At the church that I've served for the last four years, my ministry has focused some on leading and coordinating pastoral care ministries and working with youth. I fell in love with youth ministry while in seminary, when I spent a summer on staff at the Diocesan camp on Lake Coeur d'Alene in Idaho. In addition, I have experience with adult formation and I've served on diocesan bodies focused on youth, formation, congregational development and oversight of the diocese; and while my first call had some particular focuses, it also included what I sometimes summarize as "a little bit of everything."
Outside of church, my passions include reading and singing, and while I haven't acted since high school, I still enjoy attending live theater. And though both my Latin and my Greek are rusty, I still enjoy the occasional brush with both languages. My cat is making the move with me; Lennon is a domestic short hair who is nearly all black (he has a few stray white hairs) who will be two in May. He's named after John Lennon - the Beatles are my favorite band.
More than anything else, I hope you'll hold onto this last piece: I'm excited to be heading to NY soon and looking forward to meeting and ministering both with and among you all!
In peace,
Shanna+
