After six years of being an integral part of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, the Reverend Winston Welty has stepped down, having conducted his last service this past Sunday. As the church’s priest since 2010, Welty says half jokingly, “I’ve tried to retire three times, and each time I failed.” Now, his retirement appears to be the real deal.
St. Andrew’s Church has been a fixture in the Lakeside area since the mid 1940s and has been at its present location in Riberas del Pilar since the early 1990s. Welty and his wife Mary have been members of the church since 2007. When the last reverend retired in 2010, Welty immediately stepped up to the pulpit.
Around 2006, the church experienced a large growth in membership. With churches continuing to lose members, has St. Andrew’s been able to keep its congregants from drifting away?
“Since 2006, I haven’t seen any decline, and membership has stayed fairly consistent,” says Welty. “During the low season, membership averages around 120 members; at the high season, it reaches as high as 200.”
To appeal to the Mexican population, a portion of their Sunday service is in Spanish, and one Sunday a month bible readings are in Spanish. “We have seen a membership increase in Mexican nationals,” he confirms.
Welty received his religious start early in life. “I was almost born into the faith. My parents were from a Southern Baptist fundamentalist background in Texas. My mother came from the Church of the Nazarene. My father began working as pastor at the Church of Nazarene. We moved a lot and lived all over the place: Texas, Oklahoma, New York City, the Virgin Islands.”
In 1966, Welty began attending the Episcopal Seminary in Philadelphia. He points out that “both my father and I were ordained on the same date, December 17. My father’s ordination was in 1948; mine was in 1966. Not only that, my father died on that same day in 1999. This year, I am coming up on my 50th anniversary ordination to the priesthood.”
Every December, St. Andrew’s hosts the wildly popular, one-day bazaar, Regalorama (regalo in Spanish means gift.) Welty is happy to boast that this bazaar is the largest of its kind in Lakeside. “Every single peso that we raise goes to local registered charities around the Lake.” He mentions that lots of folks – many who aren’t St. Andrew’s church members – volunteer at the event. “Perhaps 50 percent of the volunteers are not even members of our church.” The church is proud of how much money they have been able to contribute to these various charities through the years.
Yet another feather in their cap: Last fall, St. Andrew’s partnered with Mr. Hammer and together they opened Todo Bueno, a retail store in Riberas del Pilar. (Mr. Hammer is the popular local carpentry and cabinetry program for area youth.) Welty feels that this was a good move for both the church and for Mr. Hammer, adding, “We split all proceeds 50/50.”
Will Welty really be able to retire? He pauses, then replies, “I’m a bit ambiguous about what’s ahead, since I haven’t been very good at retiring.” One thing is for sure: He and Mary will continue attending St. Andrew’s – this time as congregants. Says Welty: “North of the border, once you leave a church, you leave a church. Since there aren’t any other Anglican churches at Lakeside, we will return and be very supportive of the new rector.”
Speaking of such, St. Andrew’s is in the process of looking for their next rector. In the meantime, they have hired Robbin Del Nagro as the interim rector. Starting this Sunday, Del Nagro will begin leading worship services. A former Presbyterian minister, Del Nagro has been in the area for many years. Welty is quick to add, “Just last month, she was ordained as a priest.”
Very soon, Welty will embark on a journey that he’s been yearning to do for quite some time. “I’m going to Spain to walk the Camino de Santiago – a 500-mile walk that begins at the southwest corner of France and ends at the northwest corner of Spain.” He will walk an average of 15 miles per day, or 25 kilometers. “I’ll have my backpack, boots, hiking poles – the whole shebang.” Though this is a solo expedition, there will be plenty of other pilgrims walking the long and challenging trek to share the experience with.
“The Camino de Santiago pilgrimage has been going on since 925 AD,” says Welty. He adds with a chuckle, “I’ll return to Lakeside in mid-November, assuming I survive the ordeal! This has been on my bucket list for a long time and I’m just hoping I haven’t waited until I’m too darn old to do it.” We will all look forward to his safe return.