Mother Christine Peterson-Snyder was welcomed in August as the first woman priest to serve at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Farmingdale.

The Episcopal Church has been ordaining women for about 30 years and has recently elected a female presiding bishop this July.

"It's going to make a big difference," Mother Christine said with a smile, of the election of Katharine Jefferts Schori.

"People have always been shy about change," she added, acknowledging that the transition has been difficult for some.

She said it had not been much of an issue within the St. Thomas congregation and had heard of only one person leaving the church because of her position. In fact, Mother Christine stated that attendance on Sundays has gone up.

"I think, to some people's surprise, it has not been a problem," she said and explained that being appointed as priest in charge will make it easier for other women in parishes to reach higher positions in the church.

Mother Christine grew up in Brooklyn and met her husband when she was 16. She and her husband have been married for 30 years and have two children.

"As I was considering the call to priesthood, I thought about my sense of nurturing as a mother. I am with people during their hardest times, and my experiences of nurturing from the home really do help."

Mother Christine was raised Catholic, but said she converted to Episcopalian because of her husband. She admitted that the contemporary music of the Episcopalian Church is what first attracted her as a 16-year-old.

She attended the City University of New York where she studied social work, however, she left early to raise her children.

Recently, she went back to school and graduated with honors in 2000, the same year as her oldest daughter.

Previously she had worked at an adult day health center and ran a prayer/bible study group for the Christian clients.

"As my faith grew, I realized I was experiencing a call to serve," she said.

Before coming to St. Thomas, she was the associate rector and chaplain for day school at the St. Peters Episcopal Church in Bay Shore.

Mother Christine said that she likes St. Thomas and the community.

"The people here are really caring. They have a real history here and many grew up in the parish. They have real connections with the community," she said.

She marveled at the fact that church is located in the town and location where there are sidewalks and she can easily walk to the store.

She explained that she wanted to connect more with the people in the surrounding community.

"I should wear my collar out more often, so people know I am the new priest," she quipped and pointed to the white collar that was poking out of her pale pink sweater.

At St. Thomas, Mother Christine is responsible for the spiritual lives of the parishioners, pastoral care, prayer services and administrative duties.

Mother Christine has plans to bring teens back into the church.

"Kids want to talk about their understanding of the world," she said and added that they need a safe place where they can open up and talk about things they care about. She said she would also like for St. Thomas to offer a youth group. First though, she said, they need to get young adults in the door. There needs to be things here that attract them, she said.

She also explained that St. Thomas used to host more activities and have more interaction with the community and that she would like to bring those things back to the church.

Mother Christine said that she is energetic and passionate about her work and that she is more conversational and less formal.

"I try to get rid of that gap people sometimes feel between priest and parishioner."

St. Thomas Episcopal Church is located at 290 Conklin St. in Farmingdale. Anyone interested in church services offered there can contact the church at 752-9259.