A New Vision and A New Priest for Emmanuel

— by Stewart Mehlman —

Berto Gándara

Emmanuel Episcopal Parish of Orcas Island is getting ready to welcome their new priest. The Rev. Berto Gándara will begin his ministry on Sunday, August 17^th.

During the last year, under the inspiring leadership of interim priests Kate Kinney and the late Wray MacKay, Emmanuel entered a period of discernment to envision who God is inviting them to be now and in the coming years. The church, faithful to their mission to “love God, God’s creation, and our neighbors as ourselves,” recognized a continued need to be a more open and loving community that makes old stories and symbols relevant to the present. The parish recommitted itself to focusing on outreach to the greater island community, embracing diversity, and accompanying the young and the aging on their spiritual journey.

Emmanuel intends to be a church that embodies flexibility and adaptability, openness to questions and a variety of worship styles, including experimental and innovative ones. With this vision in mind, a search committee of the church, after interviewing several possible candidates, unanimously presented Berto as their first choice to the vestry (board) of the church. The vestry subsequently voted unanimously to elect him as their next priest and pastor, a decision which was then endorsed by The Rt. Rev. Greg Rickel,  Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Western Washington (Diocese of Olympia).

Berto is a native of Puerto Rico and speaks English, Spanish and French. He has been a priest for 22 years and served in the Dominican Republic, Belgium, Spain, Puerto Rico, and most recently at the Church of the Intercession in Harlem, New York City. Berto has a BA in Philosophy and a Masters in Theology. He also obtained four other post-masters degrees from universities in Belgium, Spain, and New York. Berto is passionate about parish ministry, contemplative spirituality, photography, drumming, Native American flute playing, inter-religious dialogue, and outreach, especially to the  LGBT and Latino community.

He has shared his life for the past eight years with his spouse, the Rev. Hugh McPhail Grant, from Atlanta, Georgia who is also an Episcopal priest. Hugh recently served as an associate priest at the Church of St. Luke in the Fields in New York City, and is a licensed clinical social worker, a wilderness spirituality guide, and a stewardship consultant.

Berto and Hugh are no strangers to Orcas Island, which they chose as their home base for a sabbatical year, thanks to the hospitality of close friends. During this time Berto was an English Language Learners volunteer at Orcas School and active in Ecstatic Dance, Bhajan chanting, drumming and meditation groups. Berto and Hugh will be arriving on Orcas on early August and have found a home in the Orcas Highlands neighborhood. They both look forward to continue learning from and contributing to the wider community of Orcas Island.