Christ Episcopal Church, located at 50 South St. in the Village of Warwick, welcomed its thirtieth Rector, the Reverend Amber Carswell, on June 1. A 2014 graduate of Virginia Theological Seminary, Rev. Carswell comes to Warwick from Calvary Episcopal Church in Memphis, TN, where she was Associate Rector of Formation. Prior to that, she served as Canon and Director of Program at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Little Rock, AR.
In reaching out to Christ Church during its nationwide search for a new Rector following the December 2019 departure of Rev. James (Jim) Erwin, Rev. Carswell told the church’s Search Committee that “working in large, multi-clergy parishes has been a gift in terms of giving me a diversity of experience, but I’m ready to put that to work in some place a little more intimate.”
Rev. Carswell hails originally from Kansas, the eldest of four sisters. She attended the University of Arkansas, graduating with a B.S. in Information Science, before turning her sights on ministry. Joining Rev. Carswell in her move to the northeast are her wife, Melissa Wilkinson, who is a Chicago native, artist and, until recently, Professor of Painting and Drawing at Arkansas State University, and their two dogs, Frank and Rowlf.
Rev. Carswell’s first services will be on Sun., June 6 at 9 a.m. (in-person and live-streamed) and at 11 a.m. (in-person).
A Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, which comprises Manhattan, Westchester, Staten Island, Orange, Ulster and Putnam counties, will formally install Rev. Carswell as Rector in a special service later this year.
Christ Episcopal Church in Warwick welcomes the Reverend Amber Carswell is its new Rector.
