The Very Reverend Neal P. Longe began his ministry at St. Ann's on January 1, 2012. Prior to being called to serve at St. Ann's, Father Neal was the associate priest at St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Colonie, NY. He also served a one year Deacon internship at Christ Church, Schenectady prior to his ordination as a priest. Fr. Neal was born and raised in Johnstown, NY not far from St. Ann's, and sponsored for ordination by St. John's, Johnstown.
In November 2013, Fr. Neal was appointed by Bishop Love to serve as the Dean of the Western Mohawk Deanery. He also serves as a member of, and Secretary for, the Board of Trustees of the Diocese. Bishop Love has also appointed Fr. Neal to serve as a member of the advisory board for Christ the King Center in Greenwich and Priest-in-charge for St. Peter's by the Lake Summer Chapel in Old Forge.
In addition to these ministry responsibilities, Fr. Neal also serves as a Deputy Fire Coordinator - Chaplain with the Montgomery County Fire Service and Office of Emergency Management, as well as Chaplain to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, Amsterdam Fire Department, Amsterdam Police Department, and the Capital District Fraternal Order of Police.
Fr. Neal and his wife Lisa have been married for fifteen years and they have two children Maria (age 14) and Noah (age 12). Fr. Neal holds a Master of Arts Degree in Theology from St. Mary's Seminary and University in Baltimore, MD and a Diploma in Anglican Studies from Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, PA . He also holds a Bachelor of Music Degree in Music Education and Psychology from the Crane School of Music College at Potsdam, as well as an Associates degree in Nursing from Fulton-Montgomery Community College at Johnstown, NY. Fr. Neal is a Registered Nurse and has worked in the Emergency Department, the Intensive Care Unit, and Occupational Health. He also enjoys training in Taekwon-Do and was promoted to third degree black belt (III Dan) in November 2019.
Mtr. Sally Heiligman grew up in Amsterdam, but spent most of her adult years in Webster, NY where she met and married Ed Heiligman and where she raised her family. She joined the Episcopal Church there and was ordained in the Diocese of Rochester. She served her Diaconate as a Chaplain at RIT and serving in the Tri-Parish Ministry in Hornell. Dansville and Canaseraga. She was ordained a priest in Hornell in June of 2000
She served as Rector of St. James, Pulaski and Grace Church, Cortland, both in the Diocese of Central NY.
After her retirement from full time ministry she and Ed moved back to the Amsterdam area to be close to their camp on Galway Lake. She has served as part-time Parish Priest at St. John’s in Whitesboro and as Priest-in-Charge at Grace Church, Mohawk from where she has recently retired.
Her husband, Ed, who was the Episcopalian who brought her into the Church and was so supportive of her ministry, passed away in March of 2018. Together they have six children and ten grandchildren.
Mtr. Sally is so very pleased to be a part of the ministry team at St. Ann’s.
Deacon Alan Hart lives in West Glenville with his wife, Deacon MaryCarol Hart, who also serves at St. Ann's. They have four children and eight grandchildren. Dcn. Alan, 73, for 34 years was a sportswriter at the Albany Times Union. He is the author of four books of non-fiction dealing with local history.
He was ordained as a deacon in June of 2006 and served most recently for over three years at St. Mary's of Lake Luzerne. Dcn. Alan previously had a tenure as deacon at Christ Church in Schenectady. Dcn. Alan is a big fan of sports and recreation. He enjoys bowling, running in local 5k and distance races, and he loves golf and fishing. Dcn. Alan loves music, especially singing and playing guitar and banjo. In recent years Dcn. Alan has enjoyed sketching and painting with acrylics. He is an amateur songwriter and enjoys performing his own work at benefit concerts and family gatherings.
Personal: Born, Ellis Hospital,
Schenectady, NY. Cradle Episcopalian and lifelong Scotia resident.
Married to the Rev. Alan R. Hart @ St.Andrew's, Scotia, May 22, 1994.
Education: 1974 graduate of Scotia-Glenville High School.
Education For Ministry @ St George's Church, Clifton Park, NY.
Deacon School @ St. Andrew's, Scotia.
Ordained June 10, 2006.
How God Called Me: Since childhood, I have felt the need to be a caretaker and to be of service to others. (My childhood idol was Eleanor Roosevelt.) The call to the Diaconate seemed to me an extension of this feeling. Even so, it was while Rev. Mary Chilton was Priest-in-Charge at St. Andrew's that the process actually began. She encouraged me and recommended that I read the Acts of the Apostles to learn more about the ministry of deacons. After much prayer, time, and thought, I felt the nudge to move forward, and was very pleased and humbled when the Vestry agreed to present me as a candidate. Their support, and the support of the entire congregation, continues to be invaluable; the ministry of the Diaconate is an ongoing process. While reading and studying Holy Scripture helps me to grow and mature in faith, I find that those to whom I minister have much to offer me in knowledge and in the sharing of their faith with me.
Don has been serving the parish as Sexton since 2013.
Vestry Members
Wardens: Gary Sorensen (2021) and Kitty Newell (2022)
Clerk of the Vestry: Kathy Hazzard
Class of 2021 - James Bryant, Bonnie Riedell
Class of 2022 - Kathy Hazzard, Donald Tatro
Class of 2023 - Ismael Santiago, Lee Lamka
Wardens and Vestry
Qualifications, Expectations, and Terms of Office
Qualifications
Vestry Member:
- Professes Jesus Christ as Lord and believes in the fundamentals of our faith as expressed in the Creed.
- Age 18 or older.
- Member of St. Ann’s for greater than one year.
- Regular attendance to church services (multiple times per month).
- Pledged financial contributor that support the Biblical mandate of tithing and are either tithing or working towards the tithe.
- Active in at least one ministry of the church.
Warden:
- Meets the qualifications of a Vestry member.
- Active in multiple ministries of the church.
- Previous experience as a Vestry member.
Expectations
Vestry Member:
- A witness to our faith.
- A shepherd for the congregation.
- A leader in the congregation.
- Active participation in Vestry committees
- Attendance to Vestry meetings mandatory except for occasional excused absences.
- Attendance at church functions.
- The term of office for a Vestry member is 3 years.
Warden:
- Same expectations as a Vestry member.
- Lay leader for the congregation.
- Legal representative for St. Ann’s
- In the absence of the Rector, serves as a pastoral and faith leader for the congregation.
- The term of office for a Warden is 2 years.
