Welcoming words with Reverend Richard Easterling
Meet the new priest-in-charge of St. James Episcopal Church
Helen Farrell
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Reverend Richard Easterling and his husband
David Wohlgemuth. Richard is the new
priest-in-charge of St. James Episcopal Church, who is settling into the role after six years as the rector of St. George’s Church in New Orleans.
This must be an odd time to begin a new assignment. When did you arrive in Florence and what were your first impressions?
Richard: We arrived on December 23 on one of Delta’s inaugural quarantine-free flights. It was great to be here for Christmas. The Bishop had been tending to the church, so we worked together for the Christmas Eve service and he, very generously, gave me Christmas Day off. Our experience of transatlantic travel is that usually we would hit the ground running and just exhaust ourselves during the day, but because of the lockdown measures jetlag was more difficult than it’s