Ex-NJ Gov McGreevey training to become Episcopal priest

By ANGELA MONTEFINISE
The New York Post
http://tinyurl.com/yg3v49c
November 15, 2009

"Gay American" Jim McGreevey is spending his Sunday mornings with a new man -- Jesus.

The former New Jersey love gov has gone from Turnpike rest stops to the church rostrum as part of his training to become an Episcopal priest, working each weekend at All Saints Church in Hoboken. McGreevey -- who resigned from office in disgrace in 2004 -- isn't far enough along in his seminary studies to actually give sermons, but he assists the Rev. Geoffrey Curtiss at three Masses on Sunday and participates in parish programs, donation drives and activities.

Former New Jersey "gay American" Gov. Jim McGreevey bears a cross and works as an assistant to the Rev. Geoffrey Curtiss at a Mass in Hoboken as part of his training to become an Episcopal priest. During services last week, McGreevey, wearing a white robe, carried the cross during the processional, helped Curtiss bless the Eucharist and helped baptize a group of babies and young children.

A beaming, bespectacled McGreevey -- himself the proud papa of two girls, Jacqueline, 7, and Morag, 17 -- took photos of the newly christened kids and their families afterward, and hugged and chatted with members of the congre gation while sipping coffee between Masses. The noticeably graying ex-gov, 52, also welcomed parishioners with an enthusiastic "Good morning."

The churchgoers know him simply as "Jim," and he knows many of them personally.

McGreevey enrolled in a master of divinity program at the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church in Chelsea in 2007. As part of his education, he started an 18-month training program at All Saints in April and is expected to stay until his graduation next spring. Seminarians like McGreevey are offered such courses as "The Poetry of Ancient Israel" and "Loving Thy Neighbor: The Church and Human Rights."

McGreevey once described his quest for a third master's degree as a "spiritual journey," and said that "at different points in my life, I had grappled with the idea of going into the priesthood," according to The Star-Ledger of Newark. "I'm grateful for my brokenness," he told the newspaper. "I'm grateful for my humility. It's a blessing."

Episcopal priests can be married, whether they are male or female, straight or gay, unlike in the Roman Catholic Church, which used to count McGreevey as a member.

McGreevey declined to comment on his new calling.

END