Rev. Cathlin is taking a Sabbatical

a letter to the congregation

September 3, 2026

Dear Beloved Congregation,

It is time for Sabbatical!  We are very blessed to have a pastor like Cathlin Baker among us.  Every 5 years, we covenant with her so she can take a Sabbatical for 3 months to renew her strength and spirit.  We will be with her to see her off on October 4 as she prepares for this time of reflection, study and rest.  We will welcome her back in the new year on January 10.  A great deal of preparation has been underway for us to continue our work and mission. A wonderful team of four pastors will be filling in for Rev. Cathlin during this period.

These pastors are all well known to us, as members and as having served as Sabbatical pastors before. We are excited about the blend of talents that they bring to our church.  Each pastor will be preaching for three or four Sundays and will have responsibility over different aspects of our church life.  In order to ensure a smooth collaboration, we will be meeting weekly as a team.

Please join us on October 4 when we have a “Passing of the Torch” worship service.  Please extend a warm FCCOWT welcome to our new team.

Helen Porter, Church Council, Chair

Ellen Wingard, Pastor-Parish Relations Committee, Pastor’s Rep.

Molly Conole, Church Administrator for Operations and New Media

SABBATICAL TEAM SCHEDULE & RESPONSIBILITIES

During Rev. Cathlin’s Sabbatical, Rev. Vicky Hanjian will be working with Melissa Knowles and the Congregational Care Team to ensure pastoral care coverage for the congregation. Anyone in need of these services should contact the church office. Jennie Isbell Shinn will be leading us through our Fall Stewardship and facilitating weekly Sabbatical Team meetings. Woody Bowman will offer ministerial support to the Community Meals Program. Julie Johnson Staples will be working closely with the Beloved Community Keepers.

The following is a schedule of when the Team Members will be leading worship services:

Sunday, October 4 – Rev. Cathlin and the Sabbatical Team Covenant Together in Worship

Sunday, October 11: Rev. Julie Johnson Staples

Sunday, October 18: Rev. Julie Johnson Staples

Sunday, October 25: Rev. Julie Johnson Staples

Sunday, November 1: Rev. Julie Johnson Staples and Jennie Isbell Shinn

Sunday, November 8: Jennie Isbell Shinn

Sunday, November 15: Jennie Isbell Shinn

Sunday, November 22: Jennie Isbell Shinn

Sunday: November 29: Rev. Vicky Hanjian, First Sunday of Advent

Sunday, December 6: Rev. Woody Bowman

Sunday, December 13: Rev. Vicky Hanjian

Sunday, December 20: Rev. Woody Bowman

Sunday, December 24, 5pm Pageant & 10 pm @ FCCOWT: Rev. Cathlin Baker

Sunday, December 27: Rev. Vicky Hanjian and Jennie Isbell Shinn

Sunday, January 3: Rev. Vicky Hanjian and Rev. Woody Bowman

Woody Bowman, his wife, Susie, and their son, David, moved to Martha’s Vineyard in 1987 to deepen his work at the FOCUS Study Center on Lamberts Cove Road which he served as director for thirty years. In 2019, Woody retired from fulltime work with FOCUS’ ministry in the independent schools after forty years, to the day, in multiple positions of responsibility. He continues his deep ties to the ministry as an emeritus member of the FOCUS staff.  A graduate of Lawrenceville School, Trinity College, and Princeton Theological Seminary, Woody was ordained in the United Church of Christ in 1980. He and Susie have been members of the First Congregational Church of West Tisbury since 1987, and he has been involved in the life and ministry of the congregation in multiple and varied ways over the decades. A particular passion and pleasure is the Men’s Bible study.

Vicky Hanjian is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church. She and Armen celebrated 32 years of year-round life on the Island this summer. Vicky became a member of FCCOWT on March 26, 2023. She has served as co-chair of the Spiritual Nourishment Circle and continues as an active member of the circle. She leads the Kairos Bible Study group in weekly studies corresponding to the seasons of the church year. She has also served as chaplain for Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard, as interim minister for the Chilmark Community Church and currently serves as minister for pastoral care and monthly preacher for the Unitarian Fellowship while they are without a minister. She and Armen have three sons and two daughters-in-love, all of whom live on the island. Two grandchildren have flown the nest and now live in Somerville (Ellie) and Montreal (Robert). She has had a long-time relationship with FCCOWT and takes great joy in being able to serve the congregation during Cathlin’s sabattical.

Jennie Isbell Shinn first visited Martha's Vineyard in late spring of 2015, and moved here with her family later that year. The Isbell Shinns, members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), found their way into the extravagant welcome of FCCOWT through Christmas and Easter celebrations at the Ag Hall, and after years of sojourning, joined the church as associate members. Carrying ministry roles in many contexts over the last 25 years, Jennie presently serves as director of the two-year Franciscan Spiritual Direction Training Program at St. Anthony Shrine in Boston. A professional massage therapist since 2001 and practicing spiritual director since 2007, Jennie has an abiding interest in the overlapping edges of spirituality and the body, healing and prayer in community, and discernment in daily life. She is a graduate of the University of Virginia and Hollins University, and holds an M.Div. from Earlham School of Religion. She is the author of two books, including Finding God in the Verbs: Crafting a Fresh Language of Prayer (IVP, 2015).

Julie Johnson Staples, J.D. first visited Martha’s Vineyard in 1996 and became an associate member of First Congregational Church of West Tisbury in 1997. She was first ordained in 2012 at Plymouth Church in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y., a church she joined at the recommendation of the Rev. Jim Martin, who pastored here from 1982-2000. Julie has served in ministry at Judson Memorial Church; The Collegiate Church of New York, where she was the 57th installed senior minister; The Riverside Church in the City of New York; Flatbush-Tompkins Congregational Church, and joyfully served FCCOWT in pulpit supply and on the previous sabbatical clergy team. Later ordained in the United Church of Christ, with standing in the Barnstable Association of the Southern New England conference, Julie also holds ecclesiastical standing in the American Baptist Churches of Metropolitan New York. She is a graduate of The University of Kansas, Georgetown University Law Center, Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, and Harvard University, where she studied multi-cultural religious life in 17th Century Massachusetts, including on Martha’s Vineyard.