Transition in Dean of Students Office

In an email to the community on January 10, the Rev. Spencer Hatcher ’16 informed the community she has accepted a position as Executive Director of the Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center in Southern New Hampshire, a ministry of the Diocese of Massachusetts. Her last day will be January 31, 2022.

She continued,

I am writing with both excitement and a tender heart to inform you that I have accepted a position as Executive Director of the Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center in Southern New Hampshire, a ministry of the Diocese of Massachusetts.

Many of you know that I was formed as a Christian, a priest, and a person in very significant ways through Episcopal camping ministries. I have had the good fortune, alongside and sometimes as a part of my roles at CDSP, to stay involved with the tight-knit community of ministers who lead our Church’s camps and conference centers.

Like our seminary community, Episcopal camps are thinking creatively about how to serve God and God’s people in a fast changing society and religious landscape, how to live and imagine into what Willie James Jennings in his book, After Whiteness, refers to as “urgent questions about the why of a world gone mad.” My ongoing discernment during this time of pandemic has led me to accept this position that is so well aligned with my vocation and passion.

As I prepare to make this transition, I want to express my sincere gratitude for the CDSP community and for our students in particular. Thank you for everything you have taught me and for the many ways you will continue to form me into the future. You have expanded my imagination of hope and possibility and I am so grateful for that. I very much look forward to being colleagues with you in this Church we serve together.

My last day at CDSP will be January 31. Our planning is well underway for providing interim leadership in the Dean of Students Office during this season of institutional transition.

The Rev. Judith Lyons ‘20 will serve as Interim Dean of Students. Jude has been a member of the pastoral care team here at CDSP since August and is a graduate of the low-residence program at CDSP.

Jude brings a wealth of experience along with passion and a sense of creativity that I believe will be a gift to the CDSP community in this time of transition. For the remainder of the spring semester I will be available to Jude for consultation and assistance in some administrative tasks.

Every blessing,
Spencer