The Rev. Regan M. Schutz, director of communications and development for the Godly Play Foundation, will join St. Mary’s Sewanee: The Ayres Center for Spiritual Development as director of programming. For eight years, she was director of training for the foundation.
“Regan brings tremendous energy, talents, and experience to St. Mary’s Sewanee that will benefit everyone who comes to the retreat center,” said the Rev. Andy Anderson, executive director. “Her work with the Godly Play Foundation and her training as a priest give her a rich perspective that will expand and deepen our program offerings.”
“My heart is overflowing with excitement and energy for this call to join the amazing team at St. Mary’s Sewanee,” Schutz said. “With its stunning natural setting and outstanding hospitality, St. Mary’s Sewanee offers a unique setting for God’s beloved children to refresh their innate ability to hear God inviting them closer.”
A native of Oregon, Schutz earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Colorado, Boulder. After time in New York City, she returned to Oregon for 12 years and was involved in lay leadership of Trinity Cathedral in Portland.
She is a 2017 graduate of the University of the South’s School of Theology. Her experience includes serving as curate at Otey Memorial Parish in Sewanee in 2017, where she preached, taught, and developed a Godly Play preschool morning for children from 20 months to five years.
She serves as priest in charge of the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Shelbyville.
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.