The Reverend Rose Anne Lonsway, St. Paul’s new interim assistant rector, had already had a full career in healthcare before she decided to pursue ministry as a second career. However, her mission has always been caring for people, so it wasn’t a huge leap.

Rev. Rose Anne, who was raised Baptist and has been involved in church since she was a small child, said,I got invited to the Episcopal Church in my early 20s and I was just captivated. I fell in love. That was it. The liturgy, the music just spoke to me.”

In 2010, Rev. Rose Anne decided to go to seminary full-time at Bexley Hall Episcopal Seminary while continuing to work part time. “God made the way,” she said. “I joke that God put me on this conveyer belt and I just rode along until the end.”

After graduating, she went on to serve as rector at Grace Willoughby Episcopal Church in Willoughby, Ohio, where she worked from 2015 to 2023.

One of the biggest challenges was dealing with Covid. “It was interesting trying to keep people together as a community when you can’t physically be together,” she said. “I know a lot of people hate Zoom. I saw it as a blessing, because at least we were able to see one another and be together that way. The challenge was to keep people hopeful that there was going to be an end and it was going to be ok, and just dealing with the losses.”

A few months ago, former St. Paul’s rector Jeanne Leinbach approached Rev. Rose Anne about helping out with preaching responsibilities at St. Paul’s, and in June, she was hired as part-time interim assistant rector. She said she’s thrilled to be involved and looks forward to helping with the transition as the church hires a new interim rector and begins a search for a full-time rector.

When Lonsway isn’t working, she enjoys spending time with her daughter, grandson, and three dogs, including a new goldendoodle she describes as “an out-of-control toddler” and “a 65 pound lap dog.”