St. Christopher’s Welcomes New Rector: Jennifer Zogg Looks Forward To Being Part Of Parish, Community

CHATHAM – Like many people who end up on the Cape, Rev. Jennifer Zogg vacationed here with her family while growing up, making the annual trip from outside of Albany, N.Y. to Eastham.

 She didn’t spend a lot of time in Chatham, but she will now, after taking over as rector at St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church earlier this month.

 Zogg, who lives in Harwich, said she has been familiarizing herself with Chatham and looks forward to getting to know residents, town officials and downtown business owners. 

 “I’m trying to get a little bit of a sense of place,” she said, seated in the church courtyard on Main Street. She brings fresh eyes to both the town and the church, she added. “Sometimes you see things that people who have been here for decades don’t see.”

Zogg comes to Chatham from Rumford, R.I., where she was rector of the Church of the Epiphany for a decade. She previously served as associate rector at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Rochester, N.Y. 

“I keep making my way east,” she commented.

She first felt what she called “the pull in my heart” toward the ministry while attending the University of Rochester. It was where her “skills and personality met the world’s need,” she said. She referred to Mary Oliver’s famous quote, "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

“This is my one wild and precious life,” she said. “This is what I want to do with it.”

She attended Yale Divinity School and was ordained in 2008, a few weeks before her 25th birthday. She spent seven years as associate rector at St. Paul’s, located in downtown Rochester.

Zogg said she follows the Benectine tradition, which fits in nicely with St. Christopher’s ministries, including its commitment to environmentalism, which the church demonstrates through the solar panels on its roof and the energy- and water-saving measures throughout the building.

“St. Christopher’s is an active place,” she said; the congregation is currently supporting construction of a Habitat for Humanity house in Dennis and hosts the Chatham Food Pantry and the Uncommon Thrift Shop, along with a number of other outreach efforts. She signed up for last Saturday’s Homeless Prevention Council walk at the church even before she arrived. That commitment to community is “one of the things that was attractive about this parish,” she said. “I love the balance here.”

An aspect of that balance that will be new to Zogg is serving both year-round and seasonal communities. “That was intriguing to me,” she said. St. Christopher’s also serves a wide demographic, from children to seniors. 

Zogg’s interest in contemplative spirituality has led her to study group spiritual direction through the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation in Washington, D.C. She also supports the contemplative renewal work of the Center for Clergy Renewal at Holy Wisdom Monastery in Middleton, Wis. She’s also walked the Camino de Santiago, and enjoys kayaking, running and gardening.

 Zogg said she is grateful to St. Christopher’s and is “thrilled” to get to know the congregation and the Chatham community.

“I really see my calling as helping people make meaning in their lives, in light of God’s love,” she said.