The Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Albany, Edward B. Scharfenberger, D.D. (left), stands with Fr. Rendell Torres, Pastor of the Chapel of the Assumption (right) in a previous visit to Huletts Landing in 2014.
Fr. Rendell Torres, the Catholic priest who served at the Chapel of the Assumption in Huletts Landing and Our Lady of Hope in Whitehall for the past eight years announced this week that he has been transferred to a new parish. Below is his letter to parishioners.
June 12, 2021
+ The Immaculate Heart of Mary
Dear parishioners and visitors,
The Holy Spirit brought me to our parishes in 2013, and at the end of this month the Holy Spirit is moving me to another parish, St. Joseph the Worker in West Winfield and Richfield Springs. Their pastor died suddenly this past December, so they lost their spiritual father. My own father died a couple of months later, so it seems fitting that God is joining us together.
On the weekend of July 3-4, please welcome Father Zachariah Chichester, your new resident priest. Ordained in 2018, he will technically be the parochial vicar (or “associate pastor”), while the canonical (“official”) pastor will be Father Busch, who lives in Queensbury at Our Lady of the Annunciation. Father Chichester will live at the priest’s rectory at Our Lady of Hope in Whitehall and minister to your sacramental needs; additionally, he is also assigned to serve St. Mary’s in Granville (where retired priest Fr. Powhida has been the sacramental minister), although the three parishes in Whitehall, Fort Ann, and Granville remain distinct and are not being merged.
I am grateful to God and to you for the eight years that I have been blessed to serve as your parish priest. Please forgive me for my shortcomings, and pray for me to do God’s will always. I will also continue to pray for you.
Peace in Jesus
through Mary,
Fr. Rendell R. Torres