About Our Rector
Rev. Rebecca Hansen was ordained to the priesthood in 2003 and was called to serve as Rector of St. Dunstan’s in 2023 and as the Diocesan Ecumenical and Interfaith Officer in 2021. She has served parishes in San Diego as well as in Oregon, Missouri, and Ohio, and as a chaplain at the University of Michigan. She discovered her call to ministry while serving as a missionary in Chiang Mai, Thailand, as a young adult. She is happily devoted to the love of her life, Mark, and three children Charlotte, Graysen, and Brennie. In her free time you will find her with her family, hiking, swimming at the beach, playing with their adorable dogs, reading, making art, dancing, or enjoying live music.
By now, you’ve read about Rev. Rebecca’s (St. Dunstan’s new rector!) impressive academic, religious, and leadership qualifications, so we thought it would be fun to ask her a few questions beyond her resume. She was a great sport and answered every one of our questions. Here are the remaining questions and answers from that chat:
Five Songs on Your Most Recent Playlist?
As far as my playlists – not counting church music, my teenager’s hip hop, or my younger kids “Kids Bop,” my recent playlist includes some Weezer, Billie Eilish, The Smiths, Chvrches. I’m a music lover and huge live music fan – it’s a serious hobby!
Friday night will normally find you…?
On Friday nights you will usually find me eating pizza at Filippi’s and then watching a movie on Netflix or Disney+ with my family. Otherwise I might be at a live music venue or walking the beach to catch the sunset.
Any comforting verse or anything that might help the congregation in this time of transition – for a congregation that has truly had a pretty tough few years?
I think 2 Corinthians 12:9 (my favorite verse) is a very comforting verse and message for the congregation: “My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” In other words, our weaknesses and the difficult times are always the most fertile ground for God’s grace to work most powerfully in and through us. God’s grace is always sufficient and there is always healing and power on the other side (Easter resurrection!). As St. Paul goes on to say, when we are “weak” then we are “strong.” All is grace.
Favorite fiction books or movies?
My favorite fiction includes all of CS Lewis’ writings including the Narnia series, the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings, as well as the Merrily Watkins mystery series (featuring an Anglican priest/exorcist/sleuth in England). I love way too many movies to narrow it down to just a few favorites, but mysteries, historical fiction, and fantasy are some of my favorite genres.
When all is said and done, how do you want to be remembered as a person?
When all is said and done, I want to be remembered as someone who remained faithful to God no matter what. I guess being known as a “joyful servant” would be way up there!