The Rev. Louis B. Hays
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Rector |
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The Rev. Louis B. Hays |
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The Rev. Louis B. Hays began his service as Rector of St. Paul’s on October 1, 2007. Prior to coming to St. Paul’s, Lou served as Rector of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Madison, Connecticut. Ordained in the Diocese of Maryland after graduating from the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia, he served as Assistant Rector of St. James’ Parish in Lothian, Maryland before being called to Connecticut. Lou has a passion for helping parishes to grow by becoming more welcoming to newcomers and through innovative worship, music, and programs for children, youth and adults. In his two previous parishes, he developed new services that were particularly attractive to newcomers and families. Born and raised in Southern California, Lou graduated from the University of Redlands and received his law degree from UCLA. He practiced law for the County of Los Angeles where he developed a specialty in social services law and policy. Given the opportunity to work for the federal government in Washington, D.C., he decided that spending a couple of years on the east coast would be fun. The two years turned into a career as a civil servant administering the nation’s child support enforcement program, then the appeals process of the social security program, and ultimately medicare and medicaid. He also received a master of public health degree from the Johns Hopkins University. In the early 1990s Lou began experiencing a potential call to ordained ministry as he was becoming increasing involved in lay ministry at his parish of St. Martin’s-in-the-Field in Severna Park, Maryland. “There was a time that I viewed my work in the church as interfering with my real work. At some point I realized that I was viewing my job as interfering with my work in the church. That was when I knew that I had to explore whether God was calling me to ordained ministry.” After spending several years in the discernment process of the Diocese of Maryland, Lou was able to take early retirement and enter Virginia Seminary. Lou has two sons, Bret and Craig. Bret graduated from Virginia Theological Seminary in May of 2008, was ordained as a transitional deacon in June of 2008, and is currently serving as Curate at St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral in Denver, Colorado. Craig is a recent graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and is living in White Plains, New York where he commutes to his job as a financial analyst in a nearby town. Lou also has a brother and two sisters, all of whom live in California. Lou loves serving as Rector of St. Paul’s, loves living in Mt. Lebanon, loves Pittsburgh, and of course loves the Steelers! |
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