The Rev. James Hudgins has been known to take the stage, from delivering sermons to performing in theater productions. He arrived at St. Luke's Catholic Church in McLean in June from All Saints Catholic Church in Manassas, where he appeared in productions of "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Honk!" as part of his work with the youth program.
His active involvement with young parishioners impressed Rob Tessier, All Saints' Director of Youth Ministries. He remembered Hudgins' throwing on old clothes and helping the young people build scenery immediately upon his return from a month's vacation. Hudgins also volunteered with the group during its annual week of work camp.
At St. Luke's, Hudgins is "off to a wonderful start," having "hit the ground running," said Mark Ruge, President of the Pastoral Council, which represents the interests of the church's members. Ruge anticipates great teamwork between Hudgins and St. Luke's longtime pastor, the Rev. Martin McGuill.
"Father Hudgins leaves you thinking and is very high energy," said Ruge.
UPON HUDGINS' ARRIVAL, he regaled the assembly with his condensed life story, and he noticed that one detail seemed to be everyone's favorite. He and his brother, a priest based in Michigan, co-officiated at his mother's wedding ceremony four years ago. Wondering how many sons can say they married their own mother, as he jokes, he relished the celebration.
Hudgins plans to contribute to education, from spending time in St. Luke's School's classrooms to his interest in adult education. Writings of Catholic saints intrigue him as a teaching topic. Favorites include St. Francis de Sales for his "specific, real-world examples" of living one's faith, and St. Teresa of Avila for showing "how one can grow
close to God through performing the ordinary, nothing fancy, what you can do from your living room." He brings three years of adult education experience from Seton School. Beyond the priesthood, Hudgins spends his spare time playing guitar and piano. His repertoire includes "anything from Bach to Pink Floyd," Hudgins said, laughing. As for athletics, his favorite sport is tennis, but he will settle for running. He plans to use his amateur cartooning skills to create the spiritual equivalent of an op-ed in the weekly church bulletin.
NO STRANGER to the McLean area, Hudgins attended St. Agnes School, then Bishop O'Connell High School from ages 10 to 18. He chose Dartmouth College for his further education, earning his B.A. in history in 1992.
Joining the priesthood was "the last thing I thought I would do," Hudgins said. He saw himself becoming a doctor, taking pre-med courses throughout college. He thought he might follow in the footsteps of his opthamologist father who died when Hudgins was a boy.
However, it was a final project from a 20th century history class at Dartmouth that showed a subtle pull toward his career in faith. Hudgins' professor asked that he try to summarize in a thesis what went wrong in 20th century Europe. Hudgins presented his belief that abandonment of Christian principles by Europe's leaders led to problems. His professor's told him the thesis would be difficult to prove.
"'One thing going for you is that you're right,'" Hudgins remembered the professor saying. The paper propelled him to an "A" in the class. He views the achievement as a great example of going out on a limb for your beliefs and seeing a positive outcome.
AFTER COLLEGE, Hudgins first worked as a reporter for NBC Newsradio. Soon he began to feel an intangible yet "soul-deep calling" to become a priest, which led him to attend Philadelphia's St. Charles Seminary.
Hudgins was ordained by the Catholic Church in 1998, at which time he began work in the Catholic Diocese of Arlington. Earlier, he also worked at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Vienna.
"You're told where to go, and you go," he said, explaining how the Arlington Diocese shifts its priests after they spend four years at a church. At All Saints, the Rev. Bob Cilinski was an inspiration to Hudgins. He admired "Father Bob's" wordless preaching accomplished through maintaining a gentle and kind demeanor with everyone he spoke to.
Looking to the future, Hudgins aspires to be a pastor in five to 10 years. For the moment, he is enjoying the people of St. Luke's and all of McLean, whom he sees as "remarkably educated, insightful, experienced, a treasure of knowledge and talent."