Veit says goodbye to congregation after 18 years of service at St. Mark's
Sep. 1—CHEYENNE — The Rev. Rick Veit always wanted to stay close to the Rockies. Veit, a beloved rector at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Cheyenne, is leaving the post after 18 years at the church.
The change, he said, is a bittersweet one.
"We fell in love with Wyoming and Cheyenne," he said. "So, the fact that I'm going to be working in Laramie now is kind of a shift because we thought we'd never leave the church here. ... There's kind of a mix for me. There's grief here. There's joy there. There's excitement, you know, the sky's the limit as I walk into a new faith community."
Veit did not take the decision to leave lightly.
"It's a good group of people that do wonderful work here, so I've wanted to stay," he said. "(But), I was called to apply and become the dean of cathedrals at St. Matthew's Episcopal Cathedral in Laramie now."
Raised in the Denver and Loveland, Colorado, areas, Veit first got an undergraduate degree in economics. His work, and later his pursuit of faith leadership, brought him across the country.
Veit studied at Virginia Theological Seminary and spent four years at a church in St. Louis, Missouri. After completing a Master of Divinity degree and spending time at a church in Virginia, Veit moved to Cheyenne to work at St. Mark's. He wanted to stay close to his home state of Colorado.
Part of what made Cheyenne special to Veit was the impact his congregation could have on people that don't attend the church.
"The greatest movement that we've had here at St. Mark's has been to reach outside of our walls," he said.
"What I mean by that is we aren't too insular. We don't just serve each other, but we serve the community, whether it's the homeless population or whether it's people that have been treated poorly, in the community: women or African Americans or people that are gay or transgender.
"We've worked to reach out to people in love, and that's been a major part of what has happened here over the last 18 years."
Corey Rutledge, a senior warden at St. Mark's, said she, personally, felt like Veit embodied the mission of love from the moment he started at the church in 2005.
"It was clear to me that he represented what I thought the Episcopal mission in Cheyenne ought to be, which is the way of love and caring for not only the people in your congregation, but people outside the walls of the church," Rutledge said. "Father Rick is what I call a quiet evangelist. So, rather than aggressively preaching in an evangelistic way, he acts and shows kindness and caring and giving to all people, regardless of their station in life, regardless of any feature of their personalities or persons. And so, I value that he accepts all people. ... I don't think there was ever a social justice issue that Father Rick didn't pay attention to."
Rutledge also added that Veit was there for her in times of hardship.
"We were going through hard times, my husband was very ill and down in the hospital in Loveland in an emergency situation," she said. "I turned around, and there was Father Rick. I didn't expect him to be there. I think many of the congregants in St. Mark's have had that same experience, and people who are not members of St. Mark's, as well."
John Peacock, who has attended St. Mark's for more than 30 years, was the chair of the search committee that picked Veit to come to Cheyenne.
"You know, different individuals have different gifts," Peacock said. "In a perfect world, you would have a great preacher, you would have a great caregiver and you would have a great community advocate. Rick does a good job of balancing those things and trying to fulfill his calling to St. Mark's to the very best of his ability."
"In a way it's bittersweet, but I'm a firm believer in whatever makes us collectively stronger is a good thing. So, I'm gonna miss Rick, but I know that that God has great things in mind for him, and that he'll do well at the cathedral."
Peacock will also be involved in the search committee for Veit's replacement. In the meantime, Peacock said Janet and Walt Seeley will be interim rectors while St. Mark's goes through the search process for a new, full-time leader.
"If you have a joyful thing or a devastating thing in your life, faith communities can be there for you ... especially in difficult times," Veit said. "... I'm grieving because we do love each other here at the church, and we have worked together for a long, long time."
"For a third of my life, roughly 18 years, I've been working closely with all these people, so it's a grief process."
Samir Knox is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's criminal justice and public safety reporter. He can be reached by email at sknox@wyomingnews.com or by phone at 307-633-3152. Follow him on Twitter at @bySamirKnox.
