Preacher participates with Pride
BRATTLEBORO - The Rev. Lars Hunter, a parishioner from St. Mary’s in the Mountains in Wilmington and a recently-ordained deacon in the Episcopal Church, will be preacher and deacon for Pride Sunday this week at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church.
Hunter is the bereavement program coordinator at Brattleboro Area Hospice. He, his husband, and two children first moved to the area in 1995. In 2001 he completed the diocesan study program, a three-year Christian educational program offered by the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont, allowing him to become a licensed lay minister. In 2010 he completed the Education for Ministry program at St. Michael’s with the late Rev. Deacon Joel Hill.
In September 2019, Rev. Hunter graduated from the New England School for Deacons and early this month he became the first openly transgender person to be ordained in the diocese of Vermont. The Rev. Hunter will henceforth serve as a regional deacon in the southern part of the state.
The focus of Hunter’s sermon on Sunday will be on engendering hope within the LGBTQ+ community and on encouraging acceptance among all. He admits cause for concern and wariness in these days of extreme violence and he notes it is not easy for people, young and mature, coming out as LGBTQ+. Despite it all, he perseveres.
The Rev. Hunter’s involvement with the Episcopal church began decades ago when he found that he not only fell in love with the liturgy and the prayers but also that he felt acceptance.
St. Michael’s Episcopal Church is at the corner of Putney Road and Bradley Avenue. The Rev. Hunter will preach at both the 8 am and 10:15 am services. All are welcome.