The community and its church families are cordially invited to celebrate Father Gary Lawler’s retirement. An Open House with cake and refreshments will be held in his honor, in the Undercroft (basement) on Sunday, July 26, 2015, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m., at St. Anne’s Church, 401 N. Cherry Street, Morrison, IL.
Please join the Parish of St. Anne’s Episcopal Church on Sunday as we celebrate our last Sunday with Fr. Gary Lawler. He will retire from the active clergy and leave Morrison for his new home in Chicago, IL.
There will also be a High Mass at 10:00 a.m. followed by a Parish Potluck Brunch for all those who would like to worship with us.
Father Lawler received his Master of Divinity from Nashotah House in Nashotah, WI. He has served St. Anne’s and the community for nearly 18 years, with official duties starting on February 2, 1997.
Before his arrival in Morrison he served parishes in Baton Rouge and Gonzales, LA, and in New York City, NY. Prior to his calling to the sacred priesthood, Fr. Lawler worked in substance abuse counseling, primarily at Grant Hospital, Chicago, and served in the U. S. Air Force in Okinawa as a Chinese linguist and Intelligence analyst and later in SAC Intelligence in Texas.
Fr. Lawler was active in ministries to our local nursing homes, Alcoholics Anonymous, Morrison Friends Food Pantry, The Whiteside Forum, Messiah performances, the Morrison Minister’s Council, and Odell Public Library programs. He was a supporter of area music and theater organizations.
This year, St. Anne’s Church is celebrating 150 years of worship in Morrison, having been organized informally at the end of the Civil War. The Church building was raised at the current location in 1883, dedicated in 1884, and consecrated in 1888. St. Anne’s operated as a Mission Church until 1986, when it became a full self-supporting parish dedicated to spiritual growth and renewal.