On Aug. 6, the congregation of St. Thomas a Becket Episcopal Church in Morgantown welcomed its new rector, Father Michael L. Delk.
Father Delk, who was ordained a priest in 1997, is a native of Kentucky and has served in various ecclesiastical positions in the Episcopal Church in Kentucky, Georgia and Virginia. Most recently, he had been rector at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Anchorage, Ky.
Father Delk was awarded his Bachelor of Arts degree in religion, graduating magna cum laude with departmental honors, from Transylvania University in Lexington, Ky., in 1994. Three years later he received his Master of Divinity degree, with Honors, from the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Va. During his study at the Virginia Theological Seminary, Father Delk also studied at Oxford University in England. In addition to his seminary studies, he completed his clinical pastoral education at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in West Philadelphia.
Among the ways in which Father Delk will seek to advance the mission of St. Thomas a Becket Church will be to build upon its strong foundation in reaching out to serve others, while bringing the message of Christ’s love to them on their ground.
In presenting his vision, Father Delk stated, “We need to innovate or identify and emulate effective models of going beyond our normal boundaries and into places where people are. Waiting for people to come to us not only isn’t working, it’s not the Gospel. Jesus met people where they were, even when doing so was considered scandalous by most of his contemporaries, and Jesus continues to meet people where they are, through us, if we will let him. If we do that, we witness a love that heals, a love that saves, and perhaps we might entice some people to walk in faith with us, so together we might arrive at the place God wants us to be.”
St. Thomas a Becket Episcopal Church, 75 Old Cheat Road, was founded in 1978. It is widely recognized as a faith community of love, inclusion and action. The church celebrates the glory of God through traditional worship from the Book of Common Prayer and is known throughout the area for its extraordinary commitment to outreach and community service.
Bishop Matthew D. Cowden of the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia will formally install Father Delk as rector at 1 p.m. Saturday at St. Thomas a Becket Church. Childcare will be available. A reception will follow and the public is invited to attend.
