Dear Friends,
As most of you are probably aware, I will be serving as the Interim Priest-in-Charge of Good Shepherd, beginning on September 1st. Although I may have met some of you in the past when I was engaged in other ministries in our diocese, I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself fully to everyone now and to let you know something about my background and interests.
I was born and raised in the greater Boston area, and not only am I a lifelong Episcopalian, but my father also was a priest who served for many years at one of the parishes in Boston. I have Rhode Island roots, too, because my father grew up in Providence, and my grandmother Shattuck lived there for her entire life. My family roots in this state also influenced my decision to attend Brown University, from which I graduated in 1970.
Following college I studied at General Seminary in New York, and I was ordained a deacon and priest in the Diocese of Massachusetts in 1975. While in Massachusetts I served as Assistant Minister at All Saints’ Church in Belmont and as Interim Rector of Epiphany Church in Walpole. I came to the Diocese of Rhode Island in 1986 when I assumed the position of Rector at Church of the Ascension in Cranston. After leaving Ascension I worked for many years as a supply priest in this diocese, but in 2001 I began serving on a regular basis as Priest Associate at St. Stephen’s Church in Providence (the church I attended when I was a student at Brown).
Besides being a priest I am also a church historian – the other vocational commitment I’ll continue to pursue during my tenure at Good Shepherd. I have a Ph.D. from Harvard University in the field of American religious history, and I’ve published works on a number of subjects, including a study of the religious faith of soldiers during the American Civil War, a history of race relations in the Episcopal Church between 1865 and 1970, and a general history of the Episcopal Church. At the present time I’m working on a book about Anglican missionaries in Jerusalem and how they responded to important events in the Middle East such as the Armenian genocide, the creation of the state of Israel, and the Palestinian refugee crisis. Finally, I serve on the board of directors of the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church, and I’m a member of the steering committee of the African American Episcopal Historical Collection at Virginia Theological Seminary.
Let me also say a few words about my family and nonprofessional interests. My wife Cynthia and I own a house in Warwick, where we have lived since 1990. Though she is not ordained, Cynthia too is a graduate of General Seminary, and she has worked for many years as a publisher and editor of books for Episcopalians – first, at Cowley Publications in Cambridge, Mass., and currently, at Church Publishing in New York. I have a daughter, Rachel, who lives and works in New York and who is engaged to be married in 2010. I’m also passionately interested in sports at both the professional and college levels, especially the Red Sox, the Patriots, and the Brown mens’ hockey team. When we travel Cynthia and I often head to the South, where we have many family members and friends, and we enjoy taking day hikes in rural areas in Rhode Island and other states.
A number of parishioners have already asked me how I would like to be addressed. As far as I’m concerned, there are several options. Anyone who wishes is most welcome to address me as "Tuck," which has always been my nickname – my father’s name also was Gardiner, you see. On the other hand, if you’d like to use a more formal type of address, "Father Shattuck" would be appropriate. And if you want to combine both formality and informality when speaking to me, many parishioners in other parishes where I’ve worked have called me "Father Tuck." Any of these three ways is fine with me, and I hope you’ll do whatever makes you feel most comfortable.
My first Sunday at Good Shepherd will be September 6th. I’m very much looking forward to meeting all of you and to ministering in this parish in the coming months.
Faithfully yours,
Tuck+