Rev. Fr. Aaron Walker

Dear St. Spyridon Church Family,

Warmest Greetings in the Lord Jesus Christ! It has been an amazing blessing to be welcomed as your parish priest, starting on August 1st. With the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios, we are joined together to serve the Lord and each other, as members of Christ’s very Body — the Holy Orthodox Church — Η Αγία Ορθόδοξη Εκκλησία. This is a joyful privilege and serious responsibility.

As we read in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus encountered Peter and his brother Andrew while they we were about their daily work, “…casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.” Like the first Apostles, we all have opportunities to encounter Christ in our daily lives, as we exercise the talents and gifts He has given us — professionally, socially, and in our families. As we learn to use these gifts to glorify Him, He takes our gifts to another level. “Follow me,’ He says, ‘and I will make you fishers of men’ (Matthew 4:19). They were simple fishermen, but God had further plans for them: to become His messengers, to experience and share His love and grace with the rest of the world. It all began with these humble fishermen trusting God, offering what they had, and following Christ.

Likewise, my family and I look forward to offering what we have been given in service to the community of St. Spyridon. Presvytera Amelia has been a certified nurse midwife at Massachusetts General Hospital for twelve years, and is a wonderful mommy for our four children, Lukas, Genevieve, Maria, and Nektarios. I have served three years as a priest in the Metropolis of Boston, and especially working with the youth, both as a lay person and after ordination. Prior to seminary I worked in construction, both in the field as a residential carpenter, and as a commercial construction project manager and estimator. During and after seminary I taught middle school, and high school, as well as teaching literacy and math to kindergarteners. Then, for more than five years I was a hospice chaplain, doing pastoral visitation and grief counseling for hospice patients and their families. I was ordained to the priesthood by His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios, on November 9, 2015, the feast of St. Nectarios, at St. Nectarios Greek Orthodox Church in Roslindale, which had been our parish home for six years, prior to my ordination.

I promise to be your spiritual leader by being your servant. And I ask your prayers that I may inspire us all to answer Christ’s invitation, to “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men!” That means truly following him with everything that we are — bringing ourselves, our families, and many others of our Newport neighbors, into Christ’s Kingdom.

I have chatted and worked with many of the leaders, sunday school teachers, and other faithful parishioners of St. Spyridon, and I am convinced — this parish has many talented people with a desire to know Christ and to be, more fully, His body, His presence, His Church, in Newport.

Please remember I am available to support you and your families in any pastoral needs or special occasions you would like me to attend. I would love to take part in any special events or in times of need of prayer and support for our young people, families, sport teams, businesses or any other organizations to which you belong.

Looking forward to working, praying, and growing together as a church family in Christ in the coming ecclesiastical year, I am

Yours in the Love of Christ,
+Fr. Aaron