Finding a church home is challenging. You want a place where you can be yourself, where you can bring your doubts, questions, and concerns, where you can be inspired and uplifted, and where you can find a greater purpose. Hickory Neck Episcopal Church does that and so much more. After you’ve taken some time to get to know us through our website, I hope you’ll come and meet us in person. You are welcome here!
The Very Reverend Jennifer Andrews-Weckerly
What should I expect?
We want you to come just as you are. When you walk through our doors you may see people in suits and ties, but you will also see people in jeans and t-shirts. We want to make sure when you visit you are comfortable and that is all that matters to us. As long you come through our doors, we want to make sure you feel loved and welcomed. If you ever need anything, always feel free to connect with us. We love to hear from our new visitors.
Worship, spiritual direction, pastoral care, and Christian formation are primary responsibilities of our priests. In addition, all baptized persons are ministers in the Church and we enjoy a strong partnership between ordained and lay persons at Hickory Neck. This passion for leadership thrives in our Vestry as well.
We are a group of dedicated individuals passionate about serving the Lord.
Worship, spiritual direction, pastoral care, and Christian formation are primary responsibilities of our priests. In addition, all baptized persons are ministers in the Church and we enjoy a strong partnership between ordained and lay persons at Hickory Neck. This passion for leadership thrives in our Vestry as well.
We give thanks for your presence among us!
We would be honored to have you join Hickory Neck Episcopal Church. We hope that the following information will be helpful in understanding membership at Hickory Neck Episcopal Church.
“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”
2 Corinthians 9:7-8
Hickory Neck parishioners pledge to the General Fund which supports our annual operating budget. Our annual operating budget allows us to provide weekly worship, education, fellowship, pastoral care, and outreach to our community on a weekly basis. This weekly offering can only happen when we financially support the costs of administration, buildings and grounds maintenance, supplies, and salaries. We at Hickory Neck Church support working toward tithing, so the annual budget can be fully funded, providing support for our growing, thriving congregation.
Stewardship is about being grateful, responsible stewards of the gifts we receive from God. The tradition of giving back to God and to the church comes from the Biblical practice of “tithing,” which means to give back a tenth of our earnings to God (Numbers 18:26). The Episcopal Church sees stewardship as more than simply contributing money to the church; it’s also about contributing time and talents and volunteering for ministry and mission. It’s about reaching out to build relationships from a perspective of abundance instead of scarcity.
In addition to supporting the general operating budget and ministries, there are other ways to contribute to Hickory Neck so that future generations can enjoy the blessing of our property and facilities. Check out the various funds that you can support.
A team of volunteers provides refreshments, makes coffee/punch, picks up food at a local grocery, does setup and cleanup for special events, such as concerts, fundraisers, and funerals on an as-needed basis.
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Robin Axness joined Hickory Neck Church as the Parish and Communications Administrator in August 2021. She moved to Williamsburg in 2019 where she worked as a marketing and development consultant for a local nonprofit before joining Hickory Neck. Robin has had two careers, first as a Marketing Director for luxury hotels and then entered the non-profit sector working in marketing and fundraising. Back in her hometown in Connecticut, Robin was very active at her church serving on various committees and is a Stephen Minister. After a year and a half with HNC, Robin moved back to Connecticut, taking Hickory Neck with her. She continues on in the same role and capacity working remotely in the HNC Connecticut office!
Jim joined Hickory Neck in the summer of 2022. He and his wife have been worshipping at HNC for about four years since Jim’s retirement from Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Norge. In his 48 years of ordained ministry, he has served in multiple parish settings and had a long career as a Navy Chaplain. In addition to his Masters in Divinity, Jim has multiple masters degrees in Communications, HR Management and Christian Spirituality.
Brina Riendeau has recently joined Hickory Neck as the Parish Administrative Assistant. With a passion for organization, she is excited to support the church’s administrative needs. Originally from Colorado, Brina has called Virginia home since 2016. She studied psychology in college and brings valuable experience from her previous administrative roles. Brina enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter at the beach and reading in her spare time. You’ll see her around the office with her service dog, Lola. Brina’s hours are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Please stop by to say hello and welcome Brina to Hickory Neck!
Hickory Neck welcomes our Minister of Music, Stephen Pruitt to our community. With over 35 years of experience in the music ministry, Stephen grew up with a love of music. A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University and Concordia University Wisconsin, Stephen has spent most of his career in Lutheran and Episcopal Churches, with an expertise in both traditional and contemporary music. Much of his career was spent in Colorado before relocating to the Hampton Roads area to tend his aging father. Though he served locally at King of Glory Lutheran Church, Stephen comes to us most recently from Redeemer Lutheran Church in Richmond.Â
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Stephen is looking forward to supporting the parish choir and Choral Scholars, as well as eventually building up a children’s ministry program, of which he has extensive experience. As Stephen settles in, he is also looking forward to serving in the community where he lives, hoping to engage the wider community in the music ministry of Hickory Neck.Â
Charles joined the Hickory Neck community in the summer of 2022. He served in the Navy before attending seminary in 2001. Charles was rector of Saint John’s Episcopal Church in Suffolk, Va., and served as Vicar, Bruton Parish Church for nearly nine years. In 2016, he joined the Diocesan staff as Canon to the Bishop Diocesan, retiring from that office in 2019.
The Very Reverend Jennifer Andrews-Weckerly is a native of Atlanta, Georgia, and was raised there and western North Carolina. She received her undergraduate education at Duke (Political Science cum laude) and holds Master’s degrees from Virginia Theological Seminary and the University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Business. She was ordained to the priesthood in 2010.
After serving a curacy at Christ Church Christiana Hundred in Greenville, Delaware, Jennifer was named Rector of the Episcopal Church of St. Margaret in Plainview, New York.In her five-year tenure on Long Island, Jennifer guided the congregation through a period of steady growth and became President of Planview’s inter-faith clergy group.She was elected Rector of Hickory Neck Church in 2016.
In service to the wider church, Jennifer has served on the Diocese of Long Island’s Commission on Ministry and social ministries board of trustees; college ministries task force and General Convention deputation in the Diocese of Southern Virginia; and as an officer of the Virginia Seminary Alumni/ae Executive Committee, serving a term as President in 2022-2023, with an ex officio appointment to the seminary’s Board of Trustees.She was also named Dean of her Convocation in the Diocese of Southern Virginia in 2023.Jennifer began her professional life as an AmeriCorps VISTA and Habitat for Humanity affiliate Director of Volunteers.
Jennifer is married to Scott, whom she met while serving as U.S. House of Representatives Pages in high school. Despite that unique and auspicious start, their proudest achievement is the two school-age daughters they share.
