Churches are undergoing a resurgence. With so much disinformation circulating, people are looking for something more authentic. They want to connect with a deeper purpose. These lost spiritual seekers are also looking for institutions with deep histories and strong values. The deeper the better, in fact. They want to come to a rector’s book club. They want to delve into queer theology. They want to feed people experiencing homelessness. They want more out of life, and they are finding it in churches.
I was a bit lost last year, too. Last fall we left Manhattan after seven years. I led a successful communications business there focusing on compelling causes. But Donald Trump’s election meant my clients were less inclined to be proactive about getting the word out, which I understood. A lot of people also think AI can now do what a good communications consultant used to do and best of luck to them. I see that as a failure on the part of communications, PR, and marketing people to adequately sell our value over the years, but it is too late now. The combined impact of those hits meant paying $5,000 a month to rent our apartment was becoming more of a stretch and we decided against re-signing our lease. It was time for the next chapter, but what did that look like?
We decided to move to Norfolk, Virginia, where my wife grew up, and where her father was, sadly, widowed a year earlier. Being down here meant we could be closer to my wife’s family but also, it would give us some room to figure things out. Our five-year-old son has special educational needs, and the New York Public School system is, frankly, atrocious at addressing those, especially as children turn his age. My wife’s late mother, meantime, led Norfolk Public Schools’ special educational program for years, so we knew he would get what he needed down here. He is thriving.
What I was not expecting was to find myself so deeply fulfilled and thriving in our new community, personally. After we had decided to move down here, I saw an ad for a Communications Director position at Christ & St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Norfolk. It was a little strange to see a position advertised that was so perfect for me. I spent three years on the Vestry of Grace Church on Broadway in New York and the Rector there agreed to serve as my willing reference. This church needed somebody with tactical and strategic experience who was willing to help them reimagine what church communications could like in 2026 and beyond. I jumped at the chance, and they bit my arm off. It is the only job I have applied for in the last five years, so I am proud to say my batting average is 100%!
I have served in the role for nine months now and have gotten my feet wet. We have written the church’s first communications strategy and focused in a little more clearly on the audiences we are seeking to reach, and what our goals are. Yes, much of my work focuses on communicating with our thriving parish locally. But there is also a huge audience nationally and even internationally for a reasoned Christian response to the world’s challenges. As I sat down at my desk last week I thought, “I should really tell people why I love this job so much.” Here are a few reasons.
- I loved working with a designer to reimagine our regular ministry brochures, and I love handing them out to parishioners. People like something physical they can take home and stick on their fridge as a badge of their membership in our exciting community.
- I get to take amazing pictures with my Nikon camera every weekend and am enjoying honing my skills and techniques. Parishioners regularly praise my work and tell me how delighted they are by it.
- When my colleagues want to brainstorm, they really want to brainstorm. They like to quote Latin at each other and get philosophical. Imagine!
- For an upcoming conference I worked with a letterpress company I know from London, and we produced a special printed version of a Somerset Maugham short story from 1924. It brings new meaning to the expression “fancy collateral.” Like the first thing I said when I pulled one from the mail was “oh my God, the ink smells amazing.” Then I looked at the ink on the paper and fell silent in awe. This is a place that groks the value of the fancy printed word. We have a xerox printer with a contract so good they come fix it before there is a problem. Then they say, “thank you.”
- It is nice not to have to spend 40% of my time on business development and three hours a month chasing payment for work I did weeks earlier.
- Last week, 10 million people watched an instagram clip we’d posted of a baby slapping one of my priest colleagues during the previous Sunday’s baptism. It is not exactly deep and meaningful content, but it boosted the following for our other valuable narrative storytelling work and has even spawned some amusing conversations in the comments about what baptism is for, and why we do it. Serious jobs do not always mean being serious all the time. Some of the most devoted monks and spiritual leaders have a deep sense of humor. Have you noticed?
- Speaking of reach, our mini-documentary about our church’s safe space for LGBTQIA+ folks attracted the local NPR affiliate’s attention and they called up seeking interviews with the parishioners featured, talking about why queer theology is additive, not just supplemental, to the church’s work. They want to air it before the inaugural Diocesan Pride Eucharist, which celebrates 50 years since the Episcopal church affirmed inclusion for LGBTQIA+ people, and will be happening here on Wednesday night. They are interviewing the bishop. It is nice to turn something spiritually important and reflective into a story with such reach.
- I just repainted the skirting board in my “office,” which is also the church’s choir room. This is the kind of job where if you are prepared to dive in, there is always something impactful for you to do. I am careful to protect my time and am yet to join the choir or the gardening guild, but I also believe in taking pride in a beautiful building and this job certainly provides me with that opportunity. It is also a joy to hear the choir practicing so often.
- We recently hosted Palestinian American Episcopal Priest Leyla King for a class about her experiences, her book, “Daughters of Palestine,” and confronting Christian Zionism. She needed a ride to the airport after the service and given my enthusiasm for playing chauffeur, I got to meet her one-on-one. She signed my copy. It was a pleasure.
I am running out of room but there are countless more examples of how working in a church offers someone with strategic communications experience the opportunity to deepen the church’s impact and broaden its reach. As a consultant, I prioritize working with people I like, and so it is also a joy to work with people who are so kind and interesting, every day. Bluntly, I wish I had thought of this career pivot earlier. The rector and his assistant priests are brilliant, charismatic people and so I do not have to be the engine of the enterprise here, either. Instead, I get to use my skills and experience to help them build their platform, and it is such fun to work with such energetic and talented professionals. They feel called to do this work. It is a pleasure to work alongside people who feel that call so intensely.
I do still take on the occasional freelance client, time allowing, with the church’s permission. So, if you would like to talk, I’m always around for a Zoom call. But for the near future I will be loving my job down here in Norfolk, VA. Let me know if you are ever swinging through, I would be delighted to grab a coffee.
