Preparing for Service

For a 21st-century student, Seminarian Intern Kelly Moughty says she's right at home at .

Moughty, 28, originally from Darien, said the church is flexible in its teahcing methods. "This is a place where people are game to try new things," she said.

For example, it recently formed a communications committee, revamped its website and is working on establishing a Twitter account (it has a Facebook page and Twitter Account), said Moughty. The church also started a group for caregivers and instead of mailing out envelopes for its fundraising, sent church members to each others' homes.

The personal touch made the drive more successful than in past years.

She said she felt at home from the start. "This was the only church I came and interviewed at. This is a church that has a great reputation," she said.

She started about two months ago. "Everybody here's super welcoming, super friendly," she said.

Moughty's internship requires at least 13.5 hours a week, but it's something she doesn't mind. She felt the calling since eighth grade. "I had some clarity about going into the ministry," she said. She hopes one day to be a priest and lead a parish.

After high school, she studied other religions at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where she graduated in 2005. She spent a year living in Philadelphia participating in the Episcopal Service Corps and working as a classroom assistant at a school for emotionally disturbed children, according to her biography on the church website, and then three years as a youth minister at St. Columba’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C.

She is in her third year at Yale Divinity School.

In addition to learning about the church and leadership, she is also trying to start new programs. One idea she has is "Yay I Choose This," a program for adult religious education.

The church offers its members the opportunity to write down any questions they have and some of the course could be based on those questions. She doesn't call them classes, but "having a series of conversations."

The parish's small size makes it easier interact with the parishioners. "I have found it easier to be at the smaller congregation. Each congregation has its own personality. [Grace is] such a lovely and welcoming place."

When she is not studying or interning, she is rooting for the New England Patriots, playing guitar, or reading historical fiction and spiritual reflection books.

She said she would prefer to stay in New England. "I love it. I love New England. I am a Yankee girl," she said. "I want to land some place where I have a good rector."