Autobiography: The Reverend Kenneth M. Near Significant Events and Dates: Born, January 30, 1952, Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan Baptized, March 20, 1952, St. Joan of Arc, Roman Catholic Church, St. Clair Shores, Michigan Confirmed, April 21, 1974, Christ Church (Episcopal) Grosse Pointe, Michigan Married, June 22, 1974, St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, Grosse Pointe Woods to Karen Louise Williamson Ordained Deacon, June 17, 1978, The Cathedral Church of Saint Paul, Detroit, Michigan Ordained Priest, December 21, 1978, Christ Church (Episcopal), East Tawas, Michigan

A Brief Narrative:

After World War II my Father finished graduate school in Detroit, Michigan while my Mother worked in various offices.  Shortly thereafter, in the midst of the baby boom, I was born.  We lived on the East Side of Detroit and later in Grosse Pointe, Michigan.  Initially my father was interested in academia but later decided on a more practical career as an elementary school principal.  He died very suddenly in 1975 at age 48 after suffering a heart attack.  I was 23.  The whole community mourned his death.  He was a kind and gentle man.  When I was about 7 years old my Mother returned to University studying mathematics.  She looked after my siblings and me, worked part time as a substitute teacher, cared for my Grandparents (one with Alzheimer’s disease, the other with crippling rheumatoid arthritis), and took care of the domestic needs of our household.  She became an educator.  I truly admire her.  Sadly, now she too has Alzheimer’s disease. 

I have a sister and a brother (both younger than me).  My parents were always proud of their children.  My sister is a physician and research scientist at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.  My brother is a professional musician and a professional photographer in the Detroit area. 

Like many young people my career goals changed as I matured.  Sports played a large part in my early years.  Sadly, my athletic career was truncated when I broke my right leg three times, my left leg once and my left hand once in competitive sports.  Later, my interests evolved.  By the age of 14 I had become a proficient French horn player.  I played the Mozart Horn Concerto No. 3 and did well in state competitions.  My love of music became quite intense and I fervently believed that I was destined for a career in music.

Early in life I did not think much about religious life.  Both of my parents were very bright, gentle, and highly ethical.  They espoused the Christian faith, but were not churchgoers.  I recall many lively discussions around our dining room table with family and friends concerning the events of the day.  My parents were particularly concerned about civil rights issues and the morality of the war in Vietnam.  They imparted many gifts to me - a keen intellect, artistic sensitivity, ethics, and a deep passion for justice.

Much to the chagrin of my parents I dropped out of college after my freshman year.  It was 1971 and the war in Vietnam seemed endless.  My parents were concerned when I withdrew from college because of the draft.  However, I was restless.  I auditioned and landed a job playing the French horn in the pit orchestra of Jesus Christ Superstar.  During this time period I discovered one significant thing.  I was not called to be a musician.  I was called to be a priest.  I returned to Wayne State University and finished my Bachelor’s degree in History and Art History.  Later, I attended seminary at Trinity College, University of Toronto.

Music has always been vitally important to me.  I vividly recall one cold, misty, and raw autumn night spent listening to Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony - The Pastoral.  At 3:00 A.M., I knew that God was calling me to be a priest.  I even woke my parents to tell them!  I remembered a friend in high school who had attended Christ Church, Grosse Pointe, and so for that reason alone, went there.  The preaching was substantive.  The music was glorious.  The building was stunning and the beauty of the liturgy overwhelmed me.

My interests continued to evolve.  I eventually transferred to St. Michael’s parish in Grosse Pointe Woods.  There, the warmth of a deeply caring Christian community nurtured me.  Shortly thereafter I went to work at Crossroads, an emergency assistance program located at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Detroit.  It was while working there, in the midst of the extreme poverty and violence of the Cass Corridor, that my deep passion for beautiful worship became wed to servant ministry.  I vividly remember a sermon preached by my mentor and friend, the Reverend Canon James A. McLaren entitled The Altar and the Alley that summed up this theology.  In the context of the beauty of the church, which involved every one of the senses, I heard of the glory of God and the call to servant ministry with the poor.  It was a powerful moment in my life.

Family life is important to me.  While attending college I became reacquainted with a wonderful woman named Karen Louise Williamson (now a middle school teacher).  We eventually married and we have two children - Martin and Lydia.  Martin has attended the New England Conservatory, and the Juilliard School.  He is a talented composer and recently won a competition sponsored by the Boston Composer’s Guild.  Lydia is a truly extraordinary human being.  She has volunteered in the emergency room at St. Luke’s Hospital, Harlem.  She recently graduated from the Pre-Med. program at Rutgers University and is now applying to medical schools.  During an illness a few years ago we discovered that Lydia has Cystic Fibrosis. She is doing well now and we are very grateful.  She is planning to be married soon and we are all very happy.

I have served the church in a wide variety of settings.  For six and one half years I served as Rector of a small town parish, Christ Church, East Tawas, Michigan.  During my tenure substantial growth occurred.  Later, I became Canon Liturgist and Adult Christian Education Director at St. John’s Cathedral, Denver.  This Cathedral is set in an urban environment with a large staff and a substantive program life.  The Cathedral assumed parochial responsibility for a small failing urban Anglo-Catholic parish, St. Andrew’s, which housed Central Denver Community Services.  I was appointed as Vicar and oversaw a significant building program.  We moved to Englewood, New Jersey in 1991.  I have now served for the past fourteen years as the Rector of St. Paul’s Church, Englewood.  St. Paul’s has a diverse and dynamic membership of ca. 525 communicants.  Over one half of our members are persons of African descent. 

I am a good administrator and am committed to effective management and dynamic leadership.  In 1997, I completed a course: Becoming a More Effective Manager with the American Management Association, in New York City.  In November 2003, I took another class with the AMA; Preparing for Leadership: What It Takes to Take the Lead.  In February 2004, I completed yet another course: The Voice of Leadership: How Leaders Inspire, Influence, and Achieve Results. 

St. Paul’s, Englewood has a very large facility, and we have tried to be good stewards of the resources that God has entrusted to us.  We have opened our doors to the community.  In addition to our own worshipping community we also house a large Korean Church, an energetic Conservative Jewish Synagogue, a small Ethiopian Orthodox Church, a Montessori Early Learning Center, and a wide variety of 12-step and other programs.  I have provided an administrative structure for our own parish, which has better organized our ministry.  We have greatly increased our outreach ministry and our education programs.  We have also grown.  In 1993 our average Sunday attendance was 112.  In 2000 it was 164. 

I am committed to sacrificial living and I have a wealth of hands on life experiences.  I have served as a chaplain with the Red Cross after an airline disaster in Denver and at Ground Zero in New York City.  In September 2002 I traveled to Palestine to participate in a delegation of the Christian Peacemaking Team in Hebron (West Bank).  Outreach and pastoral ministry is not theoretical to me.  I believe prophetic ministry is vitally important in order to bring about systemic change in our institutions of church and society.  All of this work however is grounded in my commitment to an active prayer life and to beautiful and thoughtful worship. 

I am well connected in the arts, entertainment, political, and business communities.  I bring a wealth of experience and real passion to my ministry.  I am an excellent communicator and an articulate preacher.  I work hard and am committed to effective teamwork with my staff and vestry.  I am a good manager but more importantly I offer goal-oriented, articulate, unambiguous, healthy, and strong leadership.