A message from the Wardens: Announcing our Interim Rector

The Vestry and Wardens are pleased to announce that we have called the Rev. Francis Thomas (Tom) Crittenden to be our Interim Rector. Tom will begin his ministry with us on July 18th and will reside in the rectory until we call our new, full-time rector.

Tom is currently completing a year-long interim with All Saints’ Church, Virginia Beach. This marks Tom’s third congregation for whom he has served as interim rector. Prior to committing to interim ministry, Tom’s most recent experiences were as the Rector of Grace Church in Lexington, Virginia for ten years and the Rector of Holy Comforter Church in Tallahassee, Florida for 13 years. Tom earned his Master of Divinity at The Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Berkeley, California and holds a Bachelor of Arts from Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin.

While we considered several candidates, we were drawn to Tom as the best candidate for Christ Church during our transition from Christopher’s time with us to our next rector. Tom has a wealth of parish leadership experience from his 38 years of ordained ministry. Perhaps most important for us at this time is his interim rector experience; we will be the fourth parish in which he has served in this role and the beneficiary of all that comes from his being formally trained for interim ministry. It is clear from our conversations with Tom that he will work collaboratively with our staff and vestry to lead the church through this short, but important, time in our life together. He will intentionally honor our traditions and culture, endeavor to offer insights and ideas based on his experiences, and help us prepare for our next rector in a calm and thoughtful manner.

Tom and his wife, Christi, have three young adult children and a middle school daughter, Sarah. Christi is the director of a private elementary school in Staunton, Virginia. She and Sarah hope to visit Tom and Christ Church several times during his interim.

We are delighted that Tom has accepted our call and look forward to welcoming him to Christ Church and Winnetka in July!

Molly Hufton & Robin Anstaett