Calvary Church is getting a curate! My role will shift starting July 1st from Youth Minister to Curate. So what exactly is a curate, and what does that mean for Calvary?
The word curate comes from the Latin curare, meaning “to take care of, to look after, or to have spiritual charge of.” The same root gives us the French curé and Spanish cura, which both historically have referred to the priest in charge of a congregation. In modern English, we have the verb “to curate” which means to gather and care for something of value. In the church, that something of value is people. A curate, then, cares for people and their souls. Over the centuries, the meaning has shifted from this broad care of souls. Today a curate is typically a newly minted clergy person who serves as an assistant in a church in order to gain experience and training under a seasoned priest.
In the Episcopal Church, a curacy functions something like a medical residency where newly ordained clergy go through an additional structured period of formation after seminary under an experienced priest. In the Diocese of Southern Ohio, the curacy program is overseen by Canon Meredith Day Hearn, the DSO Canon to the Ordinary, and includes coaching, mentorship, and continued learning. I will join a cohort of other curates during this time to grow and learn together in our new ordained positions.
I will be Calvary’s curate for two years, and I get to continue to learn under Rev. Allison’s mentorship. A curate is expected to take on a role of leadership within their church, and I will continue to lead the youth alongside new responsibilities, especially the new liturgical roles that ordained ministry brings.
For us at Calvary, a curate is a rare gift. Few Episcopal dioceses fund curacies, but the Diocese of Southern Ohio is one of those who supports raising up the next generation of Episcopal clergy in this program. In exchange for this gift, Calvary gets to walk alongside and support me as I grow into the priest I will one day become. I covet your prayers for this journey!
Stephanie
