I was ordained an Episcopal priest in 2007. Since then, I’ve served as a full-time associate at two different parishes (one in Dallas, one in Seattle). I’ve also spent time in chaplaincy, both hospital and hospice, and have served as an extended supply and/or part-time transitional priest in three different parishes around the Diocese of Olympia. For the last five years, while my Ph.D. work has been the primary focus for my time and energy, I’ve had some opportunities to engage in pastoral work, particularly in summer 2015 when I served as interim sabbatical rector at All Souls, Berkeley.

Presiding in liturgy, and planning together for the liturgical life of a community, is something I am passionate about both doing and teaching. Preaching is also an integral part of liturgical presiding, and although I’ve missed doing it more regularly as a parish priest I’ve been glad to be able to preach in various places during this Ph.D. season of my life. You can read a few of my sermons here.

I’ve come to believe that the primary task of church leaders–lay and ordained–is to nurture congregations into more and more faithful communities that live, teach, and practice the gospel. In 2011 I completed the Diocese of Olympia’s College for Congregational Development and have served as a trainer for the College since 2012. In 2014 I was engaged by the Diocese of California to co-design and lead a pilot program in congregational development for the Diocese of California. That blossomed into a full two-year program, the Collaborative for Church Vitality, which we ran in partnership with the Diocese of Northern California. The program is now continuing in Northern California as that diocese’s College for Congregational Development.

Helping to create faithful, transformative liturgy and healthy congregational life that shapes Christians further into their baptismal identity is at the heart of my pastoral ministry. I’d love to talk more about any of these things, so please leave a comment or contact me to get in touch.