Watertown Church Welcomes New Priest, Returns to In-Person Services

The Church of the Good Shepherd provided the following piece:

On July 18th the Church of the Good Shepherd held its first in-person worship service since the pandemic began. The Reverend Andrew Goldhor officiated at the service, which included communion and was characterized by mask-wearing, socially distanced seating, and humming to hymns rather than singing. 

Rev. Goldhor, who prefers to be called Andrew, was appointed Priest-in-Change at Good Shepherd in October of 2020. He succeeds The Very Rev. Amy McCreath, who left Good Shepherd in 2018 to accept the position of Dean of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston.

Andrew has been leading Zoom services at 10 am on Sundays since his arrival. Current in-person services are also streamed online and can be found at www.goodshepherdwatertown.org.

Andrew reflected that “one of the big challenges over the last year and a half, as a church, is that our tradition is based on the importance of the Incarnation. Touch, smell, taste, as well as the sounds and sights, are essential parts of our worship. That’s hard to convey on the computer. We’ve worked hard to find new ways to offer prayers and music and liturgy online, but being back in-person makes the sensory experience a lot richer.”

Andrew Goldhor grew up in Belmont and has lived in Watertown since 2014. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder and received his Master of Divinity from the General Theological Seminary in New York. Andrew previously served for seven years at the Church of Our Redeemer, Lexington.

He is married to the Rev. Jacqueline (“Jack”) Clark, who he met during their year in the Episcopal Service Corps. Believing people of all ages have rich spiritual lives, Andrew has worked extensively with youth in a variety of settings. He is also a lifelong baseball fan and animal lover.

Founded in 1888, Good Shepherd is Watertown’s Episcopal parish. The distinctive stone church located on the corner of Mt. Auburn Street and Russell Avenue is a well-known hub for local twelve-step meetings, artistic events, family celebrations such as weddings, baptisms and funerals, and community gatherings of all kinds. 

Major ministries of the congregation include religious education, a young-ish adult-ish group, an anti-racism initiative, several community service projects including service to the homeless, contemplative worship, and growing produce for the Watertown Food Pantry. A Haitian congregation, the Baptist Church of the Tabernacle, is led by Pastor Jean Clerveau and holds services in the same space at 1 p.m. on Sundays.