The Rev. Dr. Janet Whaley Zimmerman will be joining Grace Church in September. Janet comes to Grace from St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church and Day School in Washington, D.C. where she has served as Chaplain and Associate Rector. At St. Patrick’s she planned and led Chapel services, served as the Chair of the Religion Department, taught classes in religion, and supported the spiritual and pastoral needs of the children, families, faculty, and staff. In addition, she worked with the children in their many community service projects and participated as a member of the parish’s partnership with St. Etienne Episcopal Church and School in Buteau, Haiti.
Before coming to St. Patrick’s, Janet worked as a teacher of children and later a university professor in Maryland and Texas training undergraduate and graduate students to work with children and youth with disabilities. Following her ordination in 2009, Janet served as Curate at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Austin, Texas where she preached, lead worship and provided pastoral support to the community. She also served as Director of Children and Adult Christian Formation, taught adult formation classes, developed and supported small group ministries, and organized and trained lay pastoral ministers.
Sey and Janet have three adult sons. Patrick and his wife Katherine Carroll live in Morristown New Jersey with their two children, Luke and Beth. Patrick is in the second year of his Medical Residency in Emergency Medicine at Morristown Medical Center. Katherine is an architectural historian with a Ph.D. from Boston University. Thomas lives and works in New York City for the Center on International Cooperation, a diplomatic organization working with countries in crisis and conflict. Frank lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he is pursuing a Master of Architecture and Urban Planning from the University of Wisconsin. All three sons and their daughter-in-law graduated from Williams College.
For fun and revival, Janet loves to travel, bike, sing, read, and laugh with friends. She cannot wait to meet all the wonderful people of Grace Church.
Her message to us:
Dear Friends in Christ,
It is with great joy, that I accept your invitation to join you at Grace Church as together we learn how to love God, love each other, and seek and serve all God’s creation. You are in my prayers. I cannot wait to meet each of you.
It is with deep appreciation that I thank the wondrous people who faithfully served as your Search Committee. They are inspiring workers in God’s kingdom. I praise God for giving me this time and I look forward to learning about and joining in the good work God is doing through your church community.
May God bless you and give you peace.
Janet