Greetings! If you are new to this website, know that I am also new to Christ Church! I’ve been called to serve as their Interim Rector, now that their beloved priest of over two decades has retired. For the time being, the Christ Church family will reflect on where they’ve come from and where God may be calling them. Their ultimate goal is to call a new Rector for their community of faith. My introductory letter to them is found below.

Please feel free to reach out to me to learn more about the good works of Christ Church, North Hills. We are glad you visited our web site, and we hope to meet you in person!

Along with you on the journey of faith,

Fr. Chuck Weiss

Please contact me using the form on my biography page.

Dear Christ Church Family,

Greetings! I am thrilled that your Vestry and Diocese have called me to serve as your Interim Rector, beginning Sunday, March 2, 2025. I will remain with you until your Vestry, after prayerful discernment with all of you, calls your next Rector. While not etched in stone, this process generally takes around eighteen months.

What does this mean? Two things: Some things will remain the same, and some things will change.

In terms of some things remaining the same, I offer you this word: Continuity. It is the word your Vestry shared with me when we discussed my possibly joining Christ Church as Interim Rector. That word, they said, summarized what you are looking for in this time of transition. Continuity can be greatly reassuring.

Practically speaking, this means that you can count on the vital ministries of Christ Church remaining in place. We will go on gathering for worship, education, fellowship, and outreach. Your Vestry certainly hopes that Christ Church keeps offering its multitude of ministries within and outside the parish. Fr. Brandon and I will be available for sacramental and pastoral needs. The work of the Church continues.

In terms of some things changing, I offer you this word: Discernment. It is the word that Bishop Ketlen and Canon Kim shared with your Vestry and me as an essential part of Christ Church’s call in this time. Discernment means prayer, study, and conversation around questions like “Where have we come from?” and “Where is God calling us now?” Canon Kim, in particular, will support your Vestry and you in this holy work. Simply engaging in discernment means that Christ Church is opening itself to change.

Along this line, my very presence is a significant change. While I know and have deep respect for your former Rector, Canon Jim Shoucair, I am not him. I will, without even intending to, do some things differently than he did. I will also do so intentionally at times; this helps the Christ Church family reflect on why it has done things as it has. (Said another way: It allows us to ponder the seven most holy words of the Church: “We’ve never done it that way before.”)

In close contact with your Vestry and Diocese, my first responsibility is to help provide Continuity for the Christ Church family. Change is difficult; and we live in transition best when we know that we can still count on what is essential: worship, education, fellowship, outreach, pastoral care. These are the ways Episcopalians have historically loved our neighbors as ourselves, as Jesus invites us to do.

My second responsibility is to support Christ Church in Discernment. Consider me a cheerleader for your Vestry, Diocese, and all of you in this exciting, unsettling work. I have lived through it in a variety of ways and have seen it be incredibly fruitful. I’ve heard countless people share how much they’ve grown in faith through this process. And I am convinced of Christ’s promise to his first followers: “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

Along with you on the journey of faith,

Fr. Chuck Weiss