When a fuel barge crashed and spilled over 200,000 gallons of oil off the Washington coast in 1988, Rev. Carla Pryne, who recently took over as priest at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit, felt called to action.

Though she had no experience in environmental activism, and her position as priest associate at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle certainly didn’t require it, the images of oil-covered birds Pryne saw on the news motivated her to take a small group of parishioners to Ocean Shores to help with the cleanup effort.

“It moved me. It broke my heart,” she said.

The experience of scrubbing oil off the surviving birds and seeing those that didn’t make it opened Pryne’s eyes to a new reality about the world around her and set into motion a new track of ministry for the young priest.

“It was a very powerful experience of recognizing the preciousness of all life God has made and that we have reached the end of treating the Earth as if it were infinitely renewable,” she said.

Four years later, Pryne co-founded Earth Ministry, a Christian non-profit environmental advocacy organization. Now, Pryne brings her wealth of experience, both as an environmental activist and in ministry, to Church of the Holy Spirit.

Julia Lakey, who has attended Church of the Holy Spirit for over two decades, said her jaw dropped when she heard that Pryne would lead the small Island parish beginning in July.

“She has a national reputation. She could go all kinds of places,” Lakey said. “To have her come to Vashon was incredible.”

Jack Stewart, who has also been part of the congregation for a number of years, expressed similar delight that Pryne, who now has over 25 years of experience at half a dozen Seattle-area parishes, chose to come to Vashon.

“We’re excited and hopeful about what she’ll contribute, not only to Church of the Holy Spirit but to the whole Island,” he said.

Stewart said the church is also relieved to find a permanent priest, as it has felt a bit leaderless since Rev. John Thompson, who served as priest at the Church of the Holy Spirit for over 15 years, retired from the position two years ago.

The past couple years have been challenging for the congregation, Stewart said, as they went through two interim priests and experienced some bumps in the road while searching for a permanent replacement.

“Those two years have been difficult in some ways, and yet energizing for the community, and it drew the community together,” he said.

Now, Stewart said, everyone is pleased at the outcome of the long search.

“People are both relived and very, very excited to get somebody with Carla’s experience, qualifications and character,” Stewart said. “She is better than your average bear; everybody knows that.”

Pryne, a petite and energetic woman with curly reddish hair and a warm smile, grew up in Manhattan but spent summers on her uncle’s farm in Michigan and at an Episcopalian summer camp in rural Connecticut. While she loved growing up in the city, Pryne said, those rural summers gave her a deep appreciation for nature that would later fuel her nonprofit work.

“I learned that you cannot separate human life from the rest of life on the planet,” she said.

Pryne described her decision to attend Yale Divinity School in the late 1970s as somewhat of an experiment

“I knew I was drawn to the study of scripture and the practice of prayer and how it could change people’s lives, because it had changed mine. … I went there as a seeker, not sure where the road would lead me professionally,” she said, adding that many who knew her well had encouraged her to go into ministry.

Though she had gone to Yale considering teaching, Pryne said she quickly realized she would rather share the message of scripture with others than teach students about its Greek grammar.

“I recognized I was more of a preacher than a teacher,” she said.

Pryne took a short break from full-time priesthood when she founded Earth Ministry, which she is still involved with on a limited basis. The organization sprang from her desire to motivate people of faith to play a part in protecting the Earth.

“For me it was a real eye-opener to recognize that church had a role that no one else had,” she said. “We simply were not part of the conversation.”

Since then, Earth Ministry has blossomed into a successful and well-known nonprofit that provides educational resources to the religious community, facilitates both inter-denominational and inter-faith conversation about what it means to steward the Earth and advocates for legislation that aligns with its mission.

“Whatever your faith background or denomination background, we all share the same Earth,” Pryne said.

Pryne, who clearly feels a deep connection with the natural world, said she has always wanted to serve and live in a rural community — a place where she can see horses or hear roosters crow. “I want to eat vegetables that were grown by my friends,” she said.

Though Pryne currently lives in Seattle with her husband, Eric Pryne, a reporter at the Seattle Times, they hope to one day move to Vashon.

Pryne, who is also the mother of two college-aged sons, describes both the congregation at Church of the Holy Spirit and the Vashon community as welcoming, intelligent, caring and having a quality of neighborliness that she believes is rare in today’s society.

“As a newcomer, it feels like a place we can set down roots,” she said.

In return, the congregation at Church of the Holy Spirit has nothing but praise for its new rector.

Stewart was impressed that Pryne immediately took steps to get to know the church members on a personal level. “That said a lot about her depth as a person and as a priest,” he said.

Rex Stratton, who heard Pryne preach years ago at St. Mark’s and returned to the Church of the Holy Spirit when she accepted the position there, described Pryne as extremely intelligent and said he has long appreciated her thoughtful sermons.

“A lot of people just preach about the Bible,” he said. “She is able to take the lessons that are coming out of the Bible and personalize them with her own experiences and give them in a much more meaningful way. … You really have a sense of the work of the ministry in your life.”

Lakey said Pryne is a great fit for the Vashon parish in part because of her ability to relate with and appeal to a diverse group of people, from longtime Episcopalians to new believers. “She has this ability to unite people from many different backgrounds. That’s one of her strengths.”

Mark Yelken, who chaired the search committee that unanimously recommended Pryne to the church’s board, said that ability to unite the congregation was something the committee looked for in a new priest.

“She’s understanding and a great listener,” Yelken said. “She seems to be able to identify with and embrace diversity on Vashon.”

Already, Yelken said, Pryne’s presence has been attracting newcomers to the congregation, which hopes to see its numbers grow in this time of transition.

For now, Pryne said she is enjoying the process of delving into her new community and discovering how she can serve it best.

“I’m there to get to know the people and appreciate the way they worship God together and figure out how I fit in there. … I couldn’t be more happy any other place than on this Island,” she said.