The Rev. Karen Matthews is the new priest-in-charge at St. James Episcopal Church, the architectural icon and tourism magnet known as the Red Church at the top of North Washington Street in Sonora.
She is also the new priest-in-charge at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in San Andreas. Formal installation and blessing ceremonies for Matthews are scheduled at 10 a.
m. Sunday, Sept. 29 at the Red Church, and at 1 p.
m. the same day at St. Matthew’s in San Andreas.
Matthews is the first woman priest-in-charge in the history of St. James Episcopal Church, which dates to 1860. The Episcopal Church celebrated the 50th anniversary of the ordination of its first women priests — the Philadelphia Eleven — in July.
Matthews’ installation and blessing in Sonora and the 10 a.m. service will be followed by a potluck lunch.
Her installation and blessing in San Andreas will be followed by a reception. Matthews came to Sonora in mid-July from New Zealand, where she has led five congregations at five different Episcopalean churches, including the Maori Tangi te Keo Rohe of Wellington. The Maori are the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand.
She emphasizes that St. James Episcopal Church in Sonora welcomes people of all faiths and backgrounds, including the LGBTQ+ community. Matthews came to the Mother Lode with her husband, the Rev.
Brian Dawson, who will be serving at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Modesto. Matthews and Dawson and their dog, Wicket, live in Angels Camp.
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