Jan. 3, 2025
Beloved of God,
Happy New Year! I am excited for all the ways which God will reveal how we are called to be the Church together in 2025. I pray that it will be a time when we draw together to share energy, imagination, and resilience.
I am very pleased to announce that I have called the Rev. Marissa Stuart Rohrbach to be our next Canon to the Central Region of our diocese, beginning by mid-March. Marissa+ comes to us from the Diocese of Connecticut, where she serves as Rector of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Wilton. She has rich experience as a rector for over 11 years, both in Wilton and in Meriden, as well as extensive leadership at the diocesan level. You can read more about her below.
I am very grateful to the Regional Canon Search Advisory Committee for their hard work on this process: Canons Kelly O’Connell, Greg Perez, and Jean Baptiste Ntagengwa, and Edward Rewolinski and the Rev. Christen Mills. I am also grateful for all who applied for this position. The quality of our candidate pool made me excited not only for the Diocese of Massachusetts, but the whole Church!
As we head into a season of yet more transition, I give thanks for the whole diocesan staff, for their dedication to God and to every worshiping community in this diocese. Welcome to our team, Marissa+!
Blessings, and New Year’s joy,
The Rt. Rev. Julia E. Whitworth
Bishop Diocesan
The Rev. Marissa Rohrbach
From Canon-elect Rohrbach: “I am honored by this call from Bishop Whitworth to join her team, and I’m so looking forward to working with her, with my immediate colleagues, Canons Kelly and Greg, the rest of the staff, and the clergy and people of the Diocese of Massachusetts. I am especially looking forward to getting to know all of you in the Central Region as we share this next season of life and ministry together. I can see that God is up to new and wonderful things among you. I can’t wait to get to know you, to learn with you and from you, and to journey together as we seek to do the work that God calls us to do. I am grateful for the trust that Bishop Whitworth has placed in me, and I will work to earn your trust, too. I am filled with hope and joy, and with a sense that the Spirit is leading us into this new season together. Until our work together begins in March, you are all very much in my prayers.”
Biography: The Rev. Marissa S. Rohrbach is a graduate of Yale Divinity School and Berkeley Divinity School, where she earned an MDiv, an STM, and a Diploma in Anglican Studies. She is also a graduate of George Washington University, where she studied French literature. She is currently a candidate in the Doctor of Ministry program at Drew University.
Marissa has served on a variety of committees and commissions in the Diocese of Pennsylvania and the Episcopal Church in Connecticut. She has been privileged to serve as a mentor, transition and congregational consultant, and Chair of the Commission on Ministry. She has been involved in clergy care, led retreats and workshops, and was recently a member of the Presiding Bishop’s Delegation to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW66).
Ordained in 2011, Marissa has loved and served three very different parishes. As a parish priest, Marissa has loved serving with God’s people in times of joy and challenge, helping to discern the path forward, working through difficult seasons, and bringing new ideas and new ministries to fruition. In all her work, Marissa is inspired by Jesus and the kingdom he calls us to build, where there is love, belonging, and justice for all people.
Marissa has been married to Lyn for more than a decade. They have two young children who light up their lives and keep them on their toes. When time allows (which is rare!), Marissa loves to cook and to travel. As a family, they are particularly happy to be by the sea whenever possible. Marissa maintains a love of French literature and all things French, though most of her free time is taken up by two tiny loves who call her Mama.