Following the relocation of a popular associate rector to Paris, All Saints By-the-Sea Episcopal Church of Santa Barbara recently welcomed the Rev. Sandy Casey-Martus to its clergy leadership team.
Casey-Martus, who joined All Saints in May as the new associate to the Rev. Jeff Bullock, the church’s longtime rector, has worked throughout the United States and has held numerous senior positions, including that of rector, vicar, and executive director of the Alta Retreat Center in Wyoming’s Teton Range.
All Saints’ newest clergy member said she has only gratitude for the positions that prepared her to become the preacher, teacher, pray-er and parish priest she is now.
“I absolutely love what I do,” Casey-Martus said. “I’ve been a teacher, campus minister, taught theology, ran a nonprofit in Texas; none have been as fulfilling.
“I really believe this is what I was intended by God to do from the time I was born.”
Bullock, responsible for hiring clergy members under the church’s canon, created a committee to assist him with the search for an associate rector to succeed the Rev. Liz Hendrick, now the canon pastor of the Episcopal American Cathedral in Paris. The committee spent a number of months conducting interviews, hopeful of discovering an individual who possessed the attributes they sought.
“One quality (we were looking for) is that they have to be a self-starter, someone who, given a job description, could take it and do it well without a lot of oversight,” Bullock said. “We wanted to hire somebody who could take what we could do and develop it.”
Previously rector of a large suburban parish, Casey-Martus considered it the right time for the next phase in her life. She heard about Bullock’s search to find a new associate rector from a mutual friend, the Right Rev. John Thornton, retired bishop of Idaho, who had ordained Casey-Martus at the start of her consecrated career.
Bullock told Noozhawk that Casey-Martus has the experience and background to fulfill exactly the search committee’s needs. He added that two of her gifts stood out: her prayer life and her ability to teach prayer, especially considering her extensive background in spiritual guidance.
“She has a long track record of leadership, she’s had her own parishes and retreat center, and she knows how to take leadership and provide responsibility to staff,” he said. “That was a really welcome resource because we haven’t had anybody who had that kind of experience at all.”
Casey-Martus came to Santa Barbara from her position as rector at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Corpus Christi, Texas. She has a certificate of Anglican studies from the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas, as well as master’s degrees in theological study from the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio and education, counseling and psychological services from Springfield College in Massachusetts.
A native of New Rochelle, N.Y., Casey-Martus said that from her childhood she knew she wanted to devote her life to teaching, writing about God, and sharing her journey of faith.
“I had an ongoing personal relationship with Jesus ever since I can remember,” said the new grandmorther. “I have had very intentional formation and preparation for the work I do since I was 7 years old.”
Also a published writer, Casey-Martus co-authored two volumes with her spiritual mentor, Carla Mancari. The first, The Lessons: How to Understand Spiritual Principles, Spiritual Activities and Rising Emotions, is a manual for contemplative prayer.
“The book is the basis and foundation of all of my teachings,” Casey-Martus said. “The lessons are my lessons, based on years of conversation between Mancari and myself, but they are applicable to anyone who seriously commits and wants to follow a spiritual path.”
Christ-Centered Prayer — a distilled form of Christian contemplative prayer — calls attention to, supports and facilitates one’s personal relationship with God, and Casey-Martus has been a devoted teacher and practitioner of contemplative prayer since she was in her mid-20s.
The co-founder of the Contemplative Invitation Teaching, Casey-Martus said she aspires to acquaint the All Saints community with her spiritual background and to continue fervently spreading God’s message.
“I hope to introduce Christ-centered prayer and share years of contemplative experience and teaching with others seeking an intimate relationship with God,” she said. “I want to empower, invite and equip people to realize their infinite goodness and how deeply they are loved by God, so that they might come to know what I trust and what I feel.”
Experiencing acceptance and respect during the interview process, Casey-Martus said she felt a “sense of rightness” about her transition to All Saints By-the-Sea, 83 Eucalyptus Lane in Montecito.
“The co-naturality of what they are and what they want, and who I am and what I have to offer, is really the work of the Holy Spirit,” she said. “I felt (their) genuine hospitality and enthusiasm for what I might bring.”
According to Casey-Martus, similarities between the outlook of the rector, committee members and herself were assurance that she belonged at All Saints.
“I see the parish poised for growth, formation and transformation as it genuinely opens itself to the promptings of the Holy Spirit to deepen its relationship with Jesus through prayer and sacrament and then serve the world in His name,” she said.
Later this month, Bullock, Casey-Martus and the Rev. Hank Mitchel, the church’s assisting rector, will be joined by another addition to the All Saints staff: Elizabeth Beall. Filling the newly established position of parish family coordinator, Beall’s goal is to bring families more fully into the church’s community life.
The position was created in response to the retirement of Leslie Huber, the longtime staff member working with families and children. Bullock said Beall’s track record, with almost 20 years of experience, and her creative facilities made her an ideal candidate.
“(Beall) has a real facility for not only getting children involved in the programs, but getting parents of children involved in the community as well,” he said.
Feeling that life is too short to get wrapped up in today’s demanding lifestyles, Beall said she wants to help families and their children become more aware of God’s daily presence.
“I firmly believe God is everywhere, but a lot of us have trouble realizing it,” she said. “I’m hoping All Saints can be a place of joy and wonder for these families, and help them open their eyes to the fact that God is all around them — even on the soccer fields.”
Beall, who begins work Aug. 21, received her Ph.D. in religion from Drew University in New Jersey, has participated in missionary work in Latin America, and held the title of family ministries director at Christ Church of the Ascension in Paradise Valley, Ariz., prior to her move to All Saints.
One who loved church even as a young girl, Beall thinks her desire to work with children is an effort to get back in touch with that immediacy. According to Beall, her work at the core is about listening “to the souls of children,” and she is taking a unique approach to how she listens.
“It’s easy to jump to (the mindset of) OK, what curriculum do we use and getting the details lined up,” Beall said. “I want to focus on the vision of what we want these children to become and what can be the ups and downs of their daily lives — what is our visionary but humble role in that.”
Looking for a new church was based on Beall’s need for a climate change, and she admitted that she was leaving behind a life that she loved. In spite of her fondness for her position in Arizona, she felt an immediate connection with the clergy at All Saints.
“When they interviewed me on the phone, the first question they asked was something along the lines of ‘tell us what you’re most passionate about,’” she said. “The nature of their questions told me what kind of people they were, and that they care about a person’s spirit.”
All Saints parishioners require an active clergy and community, according to Bullock. Knowing this, he said that both Casey-Martus and Beall will thrive in the parish’s environment, given their past experiences and abilities to flourish in a variety of situations.
“As a parish, they have very high expectations: they expect to work with people and not for people, and to have an intelligent exchange of ideas and of faith,” he said. “Sandra and Beth will do very well here.”
Click here for more information about All Saints By-the-Sea Episcopal Church, or call 805.969.4771.
— Noozhawk intern Kristin Crosier can be reached at kcrosier@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.