My name is Fr. Rick Morley, though most people around here simply call me “Rick.”
I’ve been married to my wife, Karen, for over 15 years, and we have two young daughters, Zoe and Mattie. We came to Basking Ridge in May 2009, and we love this town and this church.
I don’t think there was ever a time that I didn’t believe in God. I suppose I’ve had many doubts in life, but God’s Presence was never one of those. Growing up, “church” was a big part of my life. I seemed to always be at church—and I loved that. Church was a safe place for me. I felt wanted and loved. It was a community that felt like a real extended family to me. But, what held it all together for me was the abiding Presence of God.
When I went away to college I had whole new experiences of God. Being at a Roman Catholic university I got to experience God in the ritual, art, gesture, and Sacrament in the regular celebration of the Holy Eucharist. It changed my life forever, and that experience helped bring me into The Episcopal Church, where I would eventually hear a call to ordained ministry.
The experiences of marriage and parenthood continue to shape my understanding of God in Christ. And, the experience of being priest and pastor to the people in the congregations I have had the privilege to serve also gives me much.
My life has been framed by my relationship with God, and to me it’s the relationship that matters. I don’t want a pro-forma contract with God. I want to know God, and (most of the time) I want God to know me too, with all my faults and foibles. As a parent I want to raise my children to have their own relationship with God, with Jesus. And, as a priest and pastor, as an author and blogger, I want to help others to desire and delve into their own unique, authentic, intimate relationship with God too.