A Letter from our Senior Warden
Dear St. Peter’s Family,
I am overjoyed to announce that The Reverend Kirk D. LaFon has accepted the call as the next rector of St. Peter’s. Kirk comes to us from St. George’s Episcopal Church in Griffin, Georgia, where he has served as rector for the past five years.
During his tenure at St. George’s, Kirk has grown membership, overseen new initiatives for community engagement and mission (both in Griffin and in South Africa), led facilities improvements and enhancements, developed and launched robust children’s and youth programming (this was almost non-existent when he arrived), and expanded his staff.
Kirk will tell you that he has been able to do those things only through the commitment and willingness of his parishioners to try new things and follow where the Spirit leads. I hope that all of you will welcome Kirk with that same spirit – imagine what we can all do together!
Kirk brings with him remarkable gifts for preaching and teaching, and his sermons are Spirit-led and heartfelt. He has a delightful ability to connect with people of all ages and stages of life – he is as comfortable with kids as he is with senior members in his congregations. And when you talk to Kirk, you know he is really listening to you. He is willing to try new things and brings positive energy to everything he does.
Kirk was introduced to the Episcopal Church by a girl in his high school French class (Kristan, who became his wife!). Shortly after they started dating, Kristan invited Kirk to church (he had attended the Methodist church until then), where her dad was the rector. At the time, Kirk didn’t even know what that meant, but look at him now! Kirk earned a Master’s in Theology from Virginia Theological Seminary, and a Master’s of Divinity from Sewanee.
Kirk is, above all, a teacher and community builder. He taught ethics and world religion classes for 10 years at Webb School in Knoxville, Tennessee, served as chaplain for the Episcopal School of Knoxville for two years, and was chaplain at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Jackson for seven years. He spent a little more than a year and a half as chaplain and associate curate here at St. Peter’s, and as vicar at Church of the Nativity in Water Valley (Yes! He’s *that* Kirk LaFon!). He has also been very involved in the Diocese of Atlanta, serving on the executive board.
As Kirk shared in his cover letter to us, “The next rector of St. Peter’s will be tasked with great responsibility in leading the parish forward, while honoring its rich history and legacy, but that will be supported by an incredible community and will serve alongside a top-notch staff. I know that from experience. I also know from experience how wonderful Mississippi is. Having lived there for several years, the place touches your soul…its history (good and bad), culture, the role of the Episcopal Church, the people…it’s a unique and special place that my wife, Kristan, and I came to love.”
Kirk’s first Sunday with us will be February 8, which is two Sundays before Ash Wednesday. We will all look forward to having Kirk lead us through a holy Lent as he begins his tenure as our next Rector.
Faithfully,
Kristen Walker, Senior Warden
A Letter from The Reverend Kirk D. Lafon
Dear St. Peter's Parish Family,
On a cold, blustery Ash Wednesday in 2020, while serving on staff at St. Peter's as Chaplain to the Episcopal Church at Ole Miss, I was in the Grove for much of the day sharing "Ashes to Go." I placed ashes on, and prayed with hundreds of students, staff, and campus visitors, including one alum from Georgia visiting his daughter who was then a student. We had a brief conversation and I thought no more about it until months later, when I received a call from him in which he shared he was on the vestry and search committee at St. George's Episcopal Church in Griffin. He wondered if I might consider being their next rector. With no plans to leave Oxford for quite some time, the Holy Spirit was up to Holy Spirit things.
Now having spent the past 5 years serving a wonderful parish in the Diocese of Atlanta that is growing and thriving, the Holy Spirit is at it again and leading the LaFons back to Mississippi. I am immensely grateful and deeply humbled to be called to serve asRector of St. Peter's. To have the opportunity to serve a parish with such a rich, significant history and legacy of faithful leaders and staff...a parish with strong ties to the University from its very beginning...a parish full of people committed to service and outreach in the local community and beyond...is an honor and a privilege that I am beyond excited about.
A favorite word of mine, the word that best represents my personal theology and approach to ministry, is "ubuntu." Often associated with one of my heroes, Desmond Tutu, ubuntu is a philosophy/theology of African origins that is most easily defined as "a person is a person through other persons" or "I am because we are." In other words, it is the belief that we can only be who we are fully called to be when others can also be fully who they are called to be. We are meant for, and only become who God intends us to be, through relationship. We don't walk alone. I so look forward to walking beside you and serving beside you as together we seek to grow in our faith and commitment to loving God and our neighbor and to be the people God intends us to be.
Kristan and I (along with Ruby and Tilly, our two basset hounds!) look forward to seeing you in February. Until then, we wish you a blessed Advent and a joyous and Merry Christmas. St. Peter's is in our prayers and we would gladly accept yours as well as we prepare to leave Georgia. And one last thing... Hotty Toddy! and Go Rebs!
Peace,
Kirk+
