Dear St. Paul’s Community,
I am so happy and excited to be starting as your priest! Some of you have already met me, and some may have read about me in earlier newsletters. But I still have yet to meet many of you, and so I thought I would introduce myself here.
I am a recent graduate of Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) at Union Theological Seminary in NYC and a brand new priest (Sept 18!). I did the first one and a half years of my seminary education as a residential student in the city, and the second half of the three years post-pandemic from my home in Newburgh.
I am a psychiatrist with a career serving people in public institutions and writing and teaching about LGBTQ mental health. Before entering seminary I was the clinical director of Rockland Psychiatric Center, the state hospital serving the Hudson Valley.
My wife, Alleyne Fraser, and I have been members of St. George’s in Newburgh for twenty years. St. George’s raised me up and was my sponsoring church. Our daughters, Kennedy and Trinity, grew up in the church. Kennedy is in law school in Boston, and Trinity is in college at SUNY Purchase.
I am serving half-time at St. Paul’s and half-time at St. George’s in Newburgh. I will generally be seen physically in the office or around the neighborhood at St. Paul’s on the week leading up to a Sunday when I am leading the Eucharist. But you can reach out to me no matter which location I am in. My contact information is below.
Rev. Mary
Priest-in-Charge
meb2195@utsnyc.edu