LYNN — With just over a week under his belt as St. Stephen’s Memorial Episcopal Church’s new priest in charge, Rev. Gregory Perez is still learning which key fits which door in the sprawling South Common Street building.
On the lawn in front of the big stone building, the church sign reads: “Welcome Reverend Gregory.”
Rev. Perez, 60, and his husband, Douglas Flores, moved boxes into their new Swampscott home on Sept. 17 even as Rev. Perez sketched out the first sermon he would deliver three days later at his new faith home.
“St. Stephen’s has a long history and my first year is a time to listen to people. One of the most important things for a pastor is to be here for people,” Rev. Perez said.
Rev. Perez succeeds Rev. Jane Gould, who served as St. Stephen’s senior pastor from 2000-2017. Interim priests ministered to the congregation during the subsequent search for a new pastor.
St. Stephen’s senior warden, Chris Trahan, said the church Vestry, or council, suspended the search and asked the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts to forward a choice for priest in charge.
“The bishop’s first choice was Greg Perez and he was the Vestry’s unanimous choice,” Trahan said.
A Texas native raised in a Roman Catholic family, Rev. Perez was ordained a Catholic priest in 1986.
“There came a point where I was questioning things I was preaching. I said, ‘this is not for me,'” he said.
Rev. Perez completed the priestly orders of the Anglican communion and was named rector at Trinity Episcopal Church in Bayonne, N.J. in 2007.
“With my orientation, I found the Episcopal diocese much more accepting,” he said.
He described his long-time parish as a bedroom community with a less diverse population than Lynn.
But Trinity and St. Stephen’s share similarities that, Trahan said, made Rev. Perez a strong choice to lead the South Common Street church. Perez shared duties as rector and CEO of Trinity’s nonprofit organization. He will shoulder similar responsibilities with his oversight role over Kids in Community program.
“Folks at St. Stephen’s were really looking for a seasoned priest. He’s a good listener. He stops, processes what he hears and then comes up with thoughts and answers,” said Trahan.
Perez “fell in love” with St. Stephen’s during a 2019 tour showing of the church’s Italian mosaic altar, ornate carved-wood ceiling, and the central courtyard where Civil War veteran Charles Redington Mudge is buried next to family members.
“I fell in love with the architecture,” Perez said.
St. Stephen’s Sunday 10 a.m. worship services are held on Zoom, but Perez said a church study committee is examining the feasibility of allowing Perez to begin delivering sermons to his congregation as early as November, providing COVID-19 case numbers allow it.
“I’m so looking forward to giving them a hug and having a meal with them,” he said.
Thor Jourgensen can be reached at [email protected].
