Profile of St. Paul's Interim Rector
The Rev. Mariann Babnis
From the time a rector leaves a parish and a new rector is installed, there is a passage of perhaps up to a year and a half. During this time an interim rector serves the parish, allowing for continuity of pastoral care and leadership while transitioning from one rector to the next. Our interim rector will be The Rev. Mariann Babnis.
Mother Babnis has served as a supply priest throughout the Diocese of Washington, D.C. From 2004-08, she was the assistant rector at Holy Trinity Parish in Bowie, Maryland and served a summer as deacon at St. Alban’s Parish in Washington, D.C.
She was graduated from Virginia Theological Seminary with a Master’s degree in divinity. As a student (2001-2004), she was a member of the first group of seminarians trained by Habitat for Humanity’s Global Village Program to lead international mission teams.
The Rev. Babnis will not be available until late October of this year, however. She is currently the interim rector at St. Mary the Virgin Church in Pocomoke City, Maryland until late October, when St. Mary's is expected to install its new rector. Until then St. Paul's will be very ably served by Fr. Larry Hofer, confer below.
Profile of the Associate Priest at St. Paul's
The Life and Times of Larry J. Hofer, as told by himself
Born shortly after noon on September 9, 1939 in Toledo, Ohio, my parents named me Larry John. A week later, I was taken home to meet my sister, Shirley who was a 
year and a half older. After spending a short time with their infant son, the parents determined not to have more children.
Following an uneventful childhood and youth, I went to Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. Founded by Bishop Philander Chase, Kenyon was and remains a college related to the Episcopal Church. Indeed, it was founded in 1821 to educate clergy for the Church on the frontier.
In 1964, I graduated from Trinity Lutheran Seminary and was ordained a pastor in the Lutheran Church in America. My first parish was Trinity Lutheran Church, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, where I was an associate pastor for three years responsible for youth work, parish visitation and some aspects of Christian education.
For eight years (1967-1975) I was pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Paxtang, Pennsylvania, a suburb on the east side of Harrisburg. It was here that I met Susan. We were married and our children, Kristen & Eric were born.
In 1975, we moved to Hyde Park in Chicago where I became pastor of Augustana Lutheran Church. After a few years, Augustana became responsible for Lutheran campus ministry at the nearby University of Chicago. It had been a tradition for many years for Lutheran and Episcopal ministries to work together. Father Brown and I continued that tradition and strengthened this cooperative relationship. Augustana was a lively and vibrant congregation with a strong orientation toward the university community and ministry to the surrounding neighborhood.
After seven years in the city, Susan and I thought a more bucolic benefice in rural Pennsylvania would be good for our children. We moved to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. It was there that the decision was made, after prayer and reflection, to seek ordination in the Episcopal Church. In 1986, I entered The General Theological Seminary in New York for a year of study. I was ordained a deacon in June 1987 and a priest in October 1988.
Bishop McNutt, who had been unerringly supportive, appointed me curate at St. Andrew’s, Harrisburg where I stayed until 1990 when I accepted a call to St. Alban’s, Reading, Pennsylvania. After four delightful years at St. Alban’s, Susan and I went to State College, the home of Penn State and St. Andrew’s Church.
St. Andrew’s is the only Episcopal parish in State College. About 85% of the parish is related to Penn State. It is notable for its liturgical life, a Christian education program that included over 100 children on most Sundays, a strong youth ministry centered in "Journey to Adulthood," pastoral care utilizing Stephen Ministers and Lay Eucharistic visitors, outreach to the community through the State College Food Bank which was founded by members of St. Andrew’s and for many years was housed in the parish’s facilities, and by cooperating with social agencies in the neighborhood. For many years, the parish sponsored an Integrity Chapter which supported gays and their families in their quest for justice and understanding. Sunday attendance in 2007 averaged 416. St. Andrew’s has sponsored five persons for Holy Orders since 1994.
In March 2008 Susan retired as an administrator at Penn State and I concluded my ministry with St. Andrew’s in May. We became permanent residents of Lewes in June.
Both Susan and I are delighted to have found St. Paul’s. We enjoy the hospitality and graciousness of the parishioners, the fine sermons and the thoughtfulness of the Rector and Jean, the emphasis on issues of peace, justice and outreach.
