News

New Rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church Arrives March 22

A Conversation with David Hodges
by Bob Holtzclaw, Chairman, Mission Action Team, St. Paul’s

Bob: David, we welcome you, Lisa, Burton, Mary Catherine and Philip to St. Paul’s. Obviously, your professional and personal credentials made an impression on the Search Committee. I want to share with the parishioners a sense of who you are and what influences have molded your life. A son of the South, tell us where you were born and where you spent your formative years.

David: I was born in Gastonia, NC where my Dad was the associate pastor in a Baptist church. From there we moved to Tigerville, South Carolina when I was very young when my Dad assumed responsibility for a new congregation. When I was seven, we moved to South Korea for several years and, after returning to the U.S., we lived in Alabama where my dad served as a college chaplain in Huntsville and in Tuscaloosa at the University of Alabama. I’m the oldest of three brothers. One is a managing partner in a venture capital firm and my other brother is a senior vice-president with Bancorp South. They and their families, along with my parents, live in Birmingham.

Bob: You lived in Seoul, South Korea. Tell us about that.

David: My parents were missionaries for almost four years. I attended the second through fifth grades there. I have very fond memories of that experience. I learned to speak some Korean during that time.

Bob: Following your graduation from college at Samford University and the University of Alabama, what career opportunities did you pursue?

David: I graduated from Samford in Birmingham, Alabama with a major in Public Administration and a minor in History. Planning to go to law school, I took a job in law enforcement in Petersburg, Virginia. Following that, I obtained a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Alabama and then worked with the police department in Hoover, Alabama, which is a suburb of Birmingham.

Bob: Tell us how you met your wife, Lisa.

David: Lisa and I met through our work in Birmingham. She was a prosecutor in the District Attorney’s office and I was a police detective. She is the one who brought me into the Episcopal Church. After we were engaged, I began going to her parish which was the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham. We were married there and that is also where I was confirmed.

Bob: Tell us about your call to ordained ministry.

David: I began to feel there was something missing in my life but had no idea what that was. Since I’m not much of a “flash of light on the road to Damascus” person, it often takes me a while to hear and discern what God is saying to me. I had been accepted into a Ph.D. program at Florida State University but declined that and enrolled in one at the University of Alabama. But I gradually felt ?the call? to do something more with my life. I talked with a priest at the Cathedral in Birmingham and sought the counsel of my dad. I had heard about being “called” all of my life, but they helped direct me toward responding to what I was feeling at that time. After going through the discernment process in the Diocese of Alabama, I enrolled in the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas, where I earned a M. Div. Degree. I was ordained deacon and priest by the Bishop of Alabama in 1996 and then served as the Associate Rector of Christ Church in Tuscaloosa.

Bob: What was your parents? response to the revelation that you might study to be an Episcopal priest?

David: My parents have always played an important role in my spiritual formation and were very supportive of my call to become a priest. My mother, one of my brothers, and my sister-in-law are members of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Birmingham.

Bob: After serving as an associate at Good Shepherd in Austin, you were called to Holy Comforter in Charlotte almost ten years ago. What programs were you instrumental in introducing that will be your legacy there?

David: First let me say that whatever legacy I have left at Holy Comforter is a clearly a result of everyone sharing and working in ministry together. We firmly believe in engaging everyone who walks in the door to help recognize the Christ in them. This focus on “radical hospitality” has become an important part of this parish. There have been a lot of things we have accomplished over the past tenyears. If you were to ask me to prioritize the importance of each of those accomplishments, I would say the recent successful capital campaign of $3.2 million to build a new structure focusing on outreach and education would be a tangible resource that will continue to serve the church and the community for years to come. Holy Comforter is neither a “downtown” church nor a “suburban” church. We have positioned ourselves to provide Christian outreach to this community and beyond. Over the years the Vestry has embraced our mutual vision of becoming a parish focused on outreach and mission and have provided the resources, the funds and volunteers to accomplish that vision. People here have gone to other parts of the country to places like El Salvador, Haiti and Costa Rica. For the last several years we have partnered with other Episcopal churches in Charlotte to send mission teams to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi to assist with post-Katrina clean up and rebuilding. This continued after much of the media eye had abandoned the area to provide a hand in restoring that community. Through the work and ministry of our deacon, we brought the ?Stop Hunger Now? food ministry program, which is based in Raleigh, to Charlotte where it has now begun to grow dramatically. Those are just a few of the things I feel privileged to have been part of during my tenure as the Rector of Holy Comforter.

Bob: Having shared a perspective on some of your ministry at Holy Comforter, let’s talk a bit more about your personal life and family.

David: I work out regularly at the YMCA here in Charlotte and I hear the Y in Winston-Salem has a great program! One parishioner told me it was "St. Paul's West." I also enjoy playing golf as often as I can. Both of my sons play so that’s something we enjoy doing together. Most of all we enjoy the time we have as a family. The North Carolina mountains hold a special appeal for us and we take every opportunity to escape there to enjoy hiking, golf and fishing (Philip is the fisherman). We are big sports fans – the Panthers, the Bobcats, the local teams on which our children play (and, of course, the University of Alabama!). Philip, our youngest, likes anything that has to do with a “ball”. He plays basketball, lacrosse, flag football, golf - you name it. He will in the fourth grade at Whitaker Elementary. Mary Catherine has a passion for ballet. Lisa and I spent quite a bit of time in Winston-Salem during the summer, when she was enrolled in a summer intensive program at School of the Arts. Mary Catherine will be a seventh grader at Wiley and plans to continue her dance instruction this summer at the Joffrey Ballet School and, hopefully, at the School of the Arts next year. Burton is a junior and will be attending Reynolds. He’s already connected with Coach Propst and plans to play football. My wife, Lisa, is an attorney and works as in-house counsel with Premier, Inc., which provides group purchasing programs and management consulting services to healthcare providers. Fortunately, she is able to coordinate her work schedule around those of three very active kids. Lisa loves to read and as a runner, makes sure there is time for a regular workout. She’s a great cook - and a seamstress (when she has time)! She made most of the smocked dresses Mary Catherine wore as a little girl and even recently made a wedding dress for a close friend.

Bob: What are some of your basic philosophies about parish ministry and the role of the church?

David: I believe that everything that happens in the church is a ministry. Every task, no matter how mundane, is essential to the overall scope of the ministry. I look forward to the opportunity to share what we are able to do together, as a ministry team. I am energized by the personal relationships of engaging and learning from people that I see on a regular basis at the grocery store, in the gym, at a football game - as well as the interaction I have with people in the parish. Being involved in the community is important to me. I have learned that the people of St. Paul’s share my commitment to that ideal. I look forward to learning more about the various non-profits that St. Paul’s supports. I think as we are visible in the community, we draw people who are not involved to look at us in a new light - to want to become involved in what we do. That visibility takes many forms - Scout leaders, coaches, Summer Enrichment Programs - to name only a few. We are all looking forward to St. Paul?s and Winston-Salem. We have felt a genuine warmth in your welcome and the pride you take in your city - soon to be “our” city. Lisa and I ask that you keep us in your prayers as we close out our ministry in Charlotte and open the doors to new ministry in Winston-Salem. We look forward to seeing all of you on March 22!