Beloved St. Matt’s Pastor Departs Wilton For Mass., After 7 Years of Building Community Based on Gratitude, Kindness and Connections [PHOTOS]

After close to seven years in service as rector at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, Rev. Marissa Rohrbach departs this week for Massachusetts, where she’ll become canon to the Central Region of the state diocese.

“I have loved serving the wonderful, kind, faithful people of St. Matthew’s,” she said. “It has been a privilege and a blessing.”

On Sunday a special celebratory service was held at St. Matthew’s to honor Rohrbach’s legacy in Wilton and to wish her a bon voyage as she heads north for the next chapter in her life.

“Marissa is one of the best preachers I have ever heard,” said Steve Hudspeth, longtime chair of the Wilton Interfaith Action Committee and St. Matthew’s member. “She often begins with a personal observation about something going on in her life with often witty overtones, and then links that observation to a profound and inspiring reflection on one or more of the scripture readings for the day.”

Holding two separate master’s degrees from Yale Divinity School, in sacred theology as well as divinity, Rohrbach said once that she knew at age 11 that she was meant to be a priest.

“I remember being in church with my family and having that feeling like I was supposed to be up there,” she said.

Hudspeth admired her ability to offer such powerful sermons week after week.

“She also has a great heart and cares enormously about the building of community, which she regards as central to the purpose of a faith institution,” he said.

Born in Philadelphia, her first language was French, with periods of time also spent in that country when she was growing up. She attended Episcopal school for much of her primary education, ultimately getting her undergraduate degree from George Washington University in French literature, with a minor in religion.

At age 25, in 2012 she began as an assistant to the rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Philadelphia, joining St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Meriden in 2014, before coming to Wilton in June of 2018.

“She has been effective at supporting our strengths as a congregation and challenging us on our areas of weakness,” congregant Elizabeth Baker said. “Her leadership has helped us to maintain our usefulness to the Wilton community beyond our doors and to deepen our connections within our parish.”

Baker said Rohrbach has focused on making the church a safe and welcoming space for everyone, implementing best practices for all who are part of the community.

“She often encouraged us to accomplish more than we thought was possible,” Baker said, “and so St. Matt’s now offers forums and book study groups, programs for children, youth and families …”

Rohrbach noted that her church has been a welcoming place.

“St. Matt’s is a place of authentic welcome, of great kindness, of connection, belonging and deep love,” she said. “It is a rare place in the world we live in now — a place where it’s safe to be yourself, a place where you can make friends and find community, a place you can come to no matter where you are on your spiritual journey.”

Rohrbach expressed particular appreciation for the work she has been able to do serving on the board of Wilton Pride, citing its commitment to making Wilton a safe and welcoming place.

“That work is so important right now,” she said. “As is the interfaith work that Wi-Act does and the work of my interfaith colleagues. We need to be connected, to learn more about each other, and to stand beside each other now more than ever.”

Pamela Ely, a longtime parishioner and Wilton Board of Education member, shared strong praise for Rohrbach.

“Marissa has taught us to be better Christians,” she said, “helping us to find a deeper faith. We are certainly a more faithful parish because of her.”

“While we had to say goodbye today, we are nourished by what Marissa has taught us,” she said. “As Marissa follows her call to Massachusetts, she will be sorely missed here, but we will continue her work.”

“She left us with an inspiring example to follow,” Ely said.

Rohrbach, whose outside interests include cooking, travel and country music, will be making the move with her wife, Lyn, and their two children.

“I have loved serving the wonderful, kind, faithful people of St. Matthew’s,” Rohrbach said. “It has been a privilege and a blessing to be their priest, pastor, and partner in ministry for these last seven years.”