About the Crone – The Rev.Rita B. Nelson
Rita published her first book Always Kristen (2017), a memoir about her life with her transgendered MTF daughter which is available at Amazon and on Kindle. Her book won 2nd prize in the Delaware Press Association (DPA) writing contest in 2018. Rita also has essays in two anthologies: Rehoboth Reimagined and She Writes: Visions and Voices of Seaside Scribes in which her essay Funeral for a Pronoun also won a DPA second prize. She now has essays in two new anthologies: Scenes (The Secret of Farnsworth House) and Seaside Scribes:Women Writing, Women Rising (Risen from the Dust) which received honorable mention from the DPA. Rev. Nelson’s writing career actually began by writing technical manuals and journals for the General Electric Company in the 1980’s as an internal consultant in their manufacturing management consulting department. After retiring from GE, she and her husband moved to Florida and motored their 43-foot Trawler, Empyrean, 1600 miles from Connecticut down the Intracoastal Waterway to Sarasota, Florida. An article she wrote on a portion of that voyage was published in Offshore magazine (July 1992). While living on Siesta Key, Florida (1991-1996), she wrote a twice-monthly column “Common Elements” on condominium living for the local paper, The Pelican Press. In 1996 Ms Nelson attended Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, VA and had an article titled Church Pews and Parking Places published in the seminary newspaper as well as a poem, Jesus Wept. She also had a reflection on the school’s quiet day published in the Seminary Catalog. Until recently, after her ordination as an Episcopal Priest, Rev. Nelson’s writings consisted entirely of her sermons and this blog Words from the Crone. She is also a favorite reader at the Rehoboth Beach Writer’s Guild’s monthly Songs & Stories and is working on a novel.
She has been active in her community as past treasurer of the Episcopal LGBT advocacy organization, Integrity Delaware, a former Board of Director member of the Laurel Boy’s and Girl’s Club, former board member and treasurer of Primeros Paso Early Learning Center in Georgetown. Appointed by Gov. Jack Markel, Rita served three years on the Delaware Child Placement Review Board that reviewed every foster child in the state once a year. She is a member of St. Peter’s church in Lewes, active in several groups there and celebrates mass from time to time.
The Rev. Nelson holds a BS in Chemistry from Sacred Heart University (1975); an MBA from the University of Connecticut (1981), and a Masters in Divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary (1999). Fully retired from active parish ministry, and concentrating on her writing and her hobby, genealogy, she lives with her daughter, Kristen, and her four-pound Maltese, Loki, who rules the roost in Millsboro.