There, they heard about the Challenges of a Diverse Community from Rev. Lynne Washington, Executive Director, PPDC and Rev. Corey Widmer, Associate Pastor, Third Presbyterian Church.

Lynne Washington Lynne Washington feels she's always been a civic-minded healer. It just took her some time to decipher what her intuition had been telling her throughout her whole life. Washington is executive director of Peter Paul Development Center and vicar at Saint Peter's Episcopal Church, both in Richmond's Church Hill. A decade ago, her life was very different. She was very different. Washington was a loan officer, an investment broker and for all intents and purposes, on her way to a successful and financially rewarding life. But she wasn't happy. Her faith had always been strong, and she happily got involved in the communities where she lived, whether with the American Red Cross or some other organization. But during that career, several events triggered thoughts of doing something more with her life. She recalls a customer who'd lost his 2-year-old daughter, but she was unable to help him receive a loan for the child's burial. She also recalls a regular customer who'd been a concentration-camp survivor. The man was wealthy but sent much of his earnings to help the youth of Israel, telling Washington that "money should never be used to buy more things, but rather to help people." Washington was experiencing some health problems when she met a holistic doctor who told her she wasn't destined to be in finance and that as long as she continued in that industry, she would be sick. She found out she had ovarian cysts, but wondered whether her unhappiness in life was manifesting itself through her ailments. All these experiences stuck with Washington. She moved around for her job but eventually returned to Ohio and became involved in her old church. During a car ride with her bishop and a conversation about her faith and ways she could serve her community, the moment hit. "My bishop said, 'Don't you know that God has called you to be a priest?'" She cried. "It was one of those moments where time stops," Washington said. But a female priest? Washington was ordained in 1997 by the Diocese of Southern Ohio. She got married, and after seminary she and her husband moved to Virginia, where she worked with St. Matthias' Episcopal Church in Chesterfield County. From there, she worked in outreach for the Diocese of Virginia. During that time, she served on the board for the Peter Paul Development Center, a place in Church Hill that provides after-school and summer tutoring for the area's children, enrichment activities for children and adults, and sometimes acts as food bank and clothing center for the needy. She also found Saint Peter's Episcopal Church, located near Peter Paul. She had been looking for an urban ministry and that church fit her life. Today she's the center's executive director and a vicar at Saint Peter's "The reward is greater than you can ever imagine," she said of becoming a priest. Washington added: "When you're a part of it, you feel the hand of God in a way that's very hard to articulate."

Rev. (Mrs.) Lynne E. Washington Assistant to the Bishop for Outreach and Witness- Diocese of Virginia

Lynne Washington Assistant to the Bishop