Fr. Kimel has decided to end blogging, his Pontifications [pontifications.wordpress.com] site has been a blessing and inspiration to many here, as well as to many others.

Father, I hope and pray that you are well and that in Christ all sorrows are turned to joy.

From KeanU's (Fr. Kimel's chaplaincy) newsletter [kean.edu], dated 10-23-06:

Works of Faith [view.samurajdata.se]
Catholic Chaplain Lives Christian Beliefs in his Deeds

As Alvin Kimel tells it, in helping others
through their darkest hours, it�s not always
what you say, but what you don�t. �Some-
times it�s more important to be silent,� said
Kimel, Catholic chaplain for the Campus
Ministry. �One of the greatest mistakes in a
time of tragedy is to try and say too much.�
Through more than 25 years of his min-
istry, which included serving as an Episcopal
priest for much of that time before recently
converting to Catholicism, Kimel has seen
firsthand the many ups and downs that life
can bring. But his experiences affirmed his
Christian beliefs that there is a God, whose
mere presence has the greatest impact on
one�s ability to cope with life�s trials and
tribulations. As a minister of his faith, Kimel
believes that means living that message not
only through his words, but in his deeds.

�I still believe
Christianity can
change people�s lives.
I hope that, through
my ministry, others
can see that as well.�
ALVIN
KIMEL


Ironically, there was a time when serving
as a minister wasn�t something that Kimel
could have easily envisioned. Raised a
Methodist in Arlington, Va., he had consid-
ered himself an atheist by the time he attend-
ed Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.
He later transferred to Bard College in Hud-
son Valley, N.Y., where, during his senior
year, he found himself considering the possi-
bility of God�s existence and the validity of
Christian teachings. �It really wasn�t an
�epiphany,� but rather a series of debates and
arguments which led me to question my lack
of faith,� he recalled.
Upon earning a bachelor�s degree in Eng-
lish in 1975, Kimel returned to Arlington,
where he took a job at a local advertising
agency. About that time, he also began to
discover the �high church� tradition of the
Episcopal Church, a form of the religion
which places heavy emphasis on rituals.
�That kind of ritual worship spoke to me,�
he recalled. �It introduced me to the beauty,
the worship and the adoration of God.�
Feeling compelled to serve as a minister,
Kimel spoke with his parish priest, who
mentored him through the two-year Dioce-
san process. During this exciting period,
Kimel also married his wife, Christine, and
the couple had the first of their four chil-
dren, Alvin.
The young family then relocated to
Nashotah, Wis., where Kimel entered
Nashotah House Seminary in fall 1977. As
one of 90 students, Kimel experienced an
exciting time in preparing for the ministry,
which included befriending Michael Ram-
sey, the retired Archbishop of Canterbury,
who resided at the seminary for two semes-
ters. Kimel recalled listening intently to
Ramsey�s learned perspectives as the two
strolled around Nashotah Lake. �He com-
bined in his faith a penetrating intellect, a
love of scripture and a love of the
Eucharist,� Kimel recalled. �It was a faith
that lived out of his heart.�
Upon his 1980 ordination, Kimel
began his ministry as a curate, an assistant
priest in the Episcopal Church, at St.
Philip�s Church in Coral Gables, Fla. In
addition to regular preaching and ministry
of the Holy Eucharist, he visited area hos-
pitals, heard confessions and coordinated
the church�s youth group. At only 28 years
of age, Kimel continued to make the
adjustment of being one to whom others
turned for guidance in strengthening their
faith. �Suddenly, you are a sacred person
and they start calling you, �Father,�� he
said. �It takes time to make that adjust-
ment. You have to live it.�
In 1983, Kimel was named rector, an
Episcopal pastor, at St. Mark�s Church in
Highland, Md., where he served for the fol-
lowing 13 years. It was a formative period
for him, as, for the first time, he contended
with a host of issues that came with leading
a parish. Nonetheless, he rose to the chal-
lenges and the parish grew from around 50
Sunday worshippers, to more than 200 by
the time he left in 1995.
Because of that success, Kimel was then
asked to help grow another small, strug-
gling parish as rector at Church of the Holy
Communion in Charleston, S.C. It proved
to be a difficult time for him personally as
he dealt with being perceived as a �Yan-
kee� outsider, though he hailed from Vir-
ginia. �Roots matter,� he explained. �Out-
siders just aren�t going to be accepted.�
Furthermore, his inability to enact change
in the parish was frustrating and, admitted-
ly, even caused him to question the effectiveness of his ministry.
With a few hard-earned lessons learned,
Kimel moved on to serve as pastor of St.
Mark�s Church in Johnstown, Pa. The
change of scenery brought a new set of chal-
lenges, as the town was in the midst of cop-
ing with a severe economic decline. The
local Bethlehem Steel factory had closed in
the early 1980s, leaving residents desperate-
ly trying to find other means of surviving.
After years of deferred maintenance of the
church, Kimel was still able to coordinate a
successful major capital-funds campaign.
During that time, Kimel also began
grappling with his own personal beliefs and
decided to leave the priesthood to convert
to Catholicism in May 2005. He is now
taking advantage of a pastoral provision in
the Roman Catholic Church that enables
Episcopal priests to become ordained after
completing a transitional period. The
process requires direct permission from the
pope, which Kimel received in July. His
ordination to the priesthood will take place
on Monday, December 3, at 11 a.m. at Our
Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in South
Orange, N.J.
After Father Alex Santora, the former
Kean Catholic chaplain, left the University
to return to church ministry, Archbishop
John J. Myers of the Archdiocese of Newark
assigned Kimel to fill the post in September
2005. Since then, Kimel has hosted lectures
in philosophy and theology courses, as well
as a presentation on the Roman Catholic
Church�s position on stem-cell research at a
symposium in April.
Reflecting on his more than 25 years of
ministry, Kimel�s religion might have
changed, but his belief in God and His
enduring presence has only gotten stronger.
�I still believe Christianity can change peo-
ple�s lives. I hope that, through my min-
istry, others can see that as well,� he said,
adding, �I�ve had success and failures, hap-
py times and sad times. But the miracle is
that I still believe.�

Dear Michael,
Did you know that Father Kimel posted here prior to conversion? I did find his Pontifications site last year and read a few excellent articles.
Thank you Michael for your post and absolutely, all good wishes and blessings to Father Kimel who I recall as being a friendly, knowledgeable, and respectful poster here and excellent writer on his site!
CS

Yes, I remember Fr. Kimel. I found this compilation of the Pontificator's Laws to be both profound and amusing.



http://pontifications.wordpress.com/pontificators-laws/

To me Father's greatest asset was not his pen or his keyboard, but his large and open heart.

He has allowed us in far enough to see his brokenness. I will never forget him and pray that he finds his way back to the words that he has used so well.

Perhaps some day his broken heart will speak.

Mary