Nigel and Rachel Taber-Hamilton are together again on the same coast. And now they even have the same job.

“It’s a wonderful advantage for us,” Nigel said Monday. “Our days off can coincide.”

Each is a rector, or senior pastor, in the Episcopal Church. He has been rector at St. Augustine’s in-the-Woods in Freeland since 2000; she just started as rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Everett.

“All in all, they’re a modern Episcopal, religious couple,” said Harry Anderson, the senior lay person at St. Augustine’s. “But I doubt there are many Episcopal rectors whose spouses are also rectors.”

For certain, there are no others in the diocese of Olympia, which is the Episcopal umbrella organization for Western Washington, he said.

“And I’m almost certain there aren’t any other married rectors whose churches have a ‘family’ history,” Anderson added. More about that later.

The best part for the Taber-Hamiltons is that she’s back home with her husband after two years as a hospital chaplain in Maine.

“We tried to see each other once a quarter,” Nigel said of those days. “I had the most frequent-flier miles, so it was easier for me to go there.”

“With all the technology, we didn’t feel that far apart,” Rachel said. “We texted and Skyped, and talked multiple times every day.”

Now they’re looking for a house closer to the Clinton ferry than their current one at Bush Point. And they’re settling in quickly to their new routine.

“It’s like two doctors being married,” Rachel said.

“We can appreciate the time required and the unexpected needs that arise,” she added, noting that she and Nigel can easily put in an average of 80 hours per week on the job.

For her, returning to Trinity is like returning home. The Everett church sponsored her ordination in 2003.

“It’s a Cinderella story for me,” she said. “It’s like putting on a shoe that fits.”

A member of the British Columbia tribe, the Shackan, she is the only rector of First Nations heritage to be ordained in the diocese, perhaps in the entire church, she said.

Rachel met Nigel when both were in Indiana. They married in 1993.

Nigel took his own winding route to Whidbey Island.

A native of Great Britain, he came to seminary school in San Francisco under the sponsorship of the World Council of Churches. After ordination, he spent 19 years in Indiana before the couple moved to the island in 2000.

“This is a wonderful place to be,” Nigel said. “It reminds me of my Celtic roots.”

He said he marvels at the number of capable members there are in St. Augustine’s congregation of about 200 since he became the church’s second rector, replacing William Burnett, who served for 30 years.

“It’s a little like herding cats with so many talented people,” he said. “This is a warm and friendly place.”

The congregation’s enthusiasm is currently focused on a $1.6 million expansion project, including the addition of a new parish-community hall and church office complex to the campus on Honeymoon Bay Road.

The building project is expected to be completed in May, with dedication scheduled for June 12.

St. Augustine’s also this year is celebrating a 60-year connection with Trinity Episcopal. The Freeland congregation was founded at that time as a small mission extension of the Everett church.

“I feel like we’re coming home to family,” Rachel said.

Meanwhile, the couple is adjusting to their renewed life under the same roof.

“It’s a healthy situation for us, and for our congregations,” Nigel said.

“We’re the Dynamic Duo,” Rachel added. “But he’s the sidekick — I’m Batman.”