St. Francis’ Episcopal Church Calls Rev. Laurie Anzilotti
St. Francis’ Episcopal Church is happy to announce the calling of Reverend Laurie Anzilotti as the next Vicar at St. Francis’ Episcopal Church. The hard work of our Discernment Team, their excellent leadership collaborating with the Bishop’s Committee, and many answered prayers have brought us to this exciting point in our parish story. Rev. Laurie will start her tenure with St. Francis on Sunday, November 1st.
Reverend Laurie Anzilotti
Grace and peace to you! My name is the Reverend Laurie Anzilotti. I am humbled and overjoyed that you called me to serve as your next Vicar. As soon as I read the St. Francis profile, the Spirit nudged me to move forward in applying for the position. Your strong, committed lay leadership, your history of moving from worship in a rented space to building your own church, and your desire to grow by moving from a vicarage to parish status within the Diocese all speak of a community with vision and commitment. I want my ministry and leadership to be part of a team like St. Francis.
I have learned a lot about the congregation through your profile, but I look forward to speaking with each and every one of you personally in the coming months to learn about your personal stories, why you chose St. Francis, what keeps you there, and your hopes for the community in the coming years.
I also look forward to you coming to know me. I attended the University of Notre Dame and graduated with degrees in English and Theology. I lived in Puerto Rico for a year after graduation and am still conversationally bi-lingual as a result of my time there. I did post-graduate work in theology at Loyola Marymount and Aquinas Institute. Professionally, I have worn many hats including high school theology teacher, youth minister, political campaign manager and year-round Program Director at Camp Thunderbird in Bemidigi, Minnesota.
After leaving the Catholic Church in 2005, my family and I began to attend the Church of St. Michael and St. George. There I served as Children’s Liturgist for eight years. Leading those liturgies and caring pastorally for those families led me to seminary. I graduated from Eden Theological Seminary in Webster Groves and was ordained to the priesthood in early summer of 2019. I immediately began to serve as Assistant Rector at Holy Communion.
I have been married for 23 years to my husband Craig, who I met at Notre Dame. We have four children: Anna, 21; Liza, 18; Mark, 16 and Kathryn, 14. My parents, Joe and Peg Niemann, live in St. Louis along with a big extended network of family. We have no pets because four children was my limit of God’s creatures to care for!
These brushstrokes of my life and St. Francis’ profile are just the beginning of our coming to know one another. I look forward to journeying more deeply into one another’s stories, connecting them to the shared story of our faith, and weaving them all together into one communal story that bears witness to Jesus’ way of love
In the hope of Christ,
Laurie +
