St. Joseph’s Rector Leaves a Legacy

The Rev. Dr. Ethan Ferguson Returns to the Bahamas

Mentone is losing one of its most important citizens, although the Rev. Dr. Ethan Ferguson has actually resided here only a few months. The popular rector of St. Joseph’s on-the-Mountain Episcopal Church ends his nearly two-year tenure in that capacity soon, with his final sermon on September 1.

Father Ethan is a remarkable man and an incredibly gifted speaker. He will be missed, and all who know him are fortunate that our paths crossed.

I have no need for a watch when he is preaching. There’s never a need to scratch my wrist so I can sneak a peek at my timepiece during his sermons. Oh, there have been many times I looked down, but that was because Ethan touched a nerve – one that needed to be touched.

He preaches from the Good Book each week, of course, but the passages he chooses from the selected scripture always surprise me. They are neither the obvious ones I might have chosen nor are they so obscure as to be stretched to make a point.

Ethan hears the word of God in those scriptures and is always inspired to spread the message he hears. I admire his courage, as he’s never afraid to speak out on the social issues that are important for the congregation to hear.

His tenure has been a short, albeit very important one. While studying for his Doctor of Ministry Degree in Christian Leadership and Homiletics at The University of the South, Ethan came to St. Joseph’s a couple of years ago as a supply priest, following the retirement of the beloved Father Bill Winters’ tenure of about seven or so years.

The church had a search committee doing its work looking to replace Father Bill. After one of Ethan’s first sermons, I hear the consensus was, “why look any further?”

I’m told the interview went well and, at its conclusion, the committee asked if Ethan had any questions of them. He had one. “I’m a big, black man from the Bahamas. Do you think that will be a problem? Will I be accepted here?”

How might one measure acceptance? Attendance has grown by perhaps 400 percent. Routine attendance hovered around 25-30 following Father Bill’s departure. Nowadays, a “routine” Sunday crowd often tops 100, and we’ve had more than that. We have often filled every seat in every pew and we’ve even been forced to bring out chairs to the parish hall for people to watch on our television. It has been like the Easter Sundays of my childhood Methodist upbringing.

Another quantitative measure? New members go through the official ceremony of joining the Episcopal Church once annually, when the bishop visits. It’s a sacred ceremony, one my Mary and I took part in back in 2023. This year, our membership grew by 19 people. I bet there was no other Episcopal church in Alabama that took in that many new members on their special day.

There is no measure for love and joy and spirituality, but St. Joseph’s exudes each of those elusive qualities. All people – everyone – is welcome at our church as we try to demonstrate what Jesus exemplified. He taught us to love everybody, with no exceptions. Father Ethan lives that, as well.

Now he’s off to the next big step in his career, returning to his native Bahamas, where congregations are much larger than the entire population of Mentone. A new search committee is already at work.

God sent Ethan Ferguson to be our rector and he was an ideal fit here. It’s important to point out that our congregation was perfect for Ethan, as well. It’s critical that all at St. Joe’s remember that. We can’t succumb to the temptation of being absent from church because Ethan is gone. Ethan helped make our congregation grow and flourish in every way. Our congregation helped Ethan flourish as well. He will be missed, and our parish should continue to excel.

Godspeed, Father Ethan. You have been a great blessing in so many ways. You and Mentone and St. Joseph’s are fortunate to have been able to love on one another during your time here.