I was born July 5, 1953, in Los Angeles, California.
I am a graduate of Glendale High School, the University of California (A.B. English Literature, M.A. English and Medieval Studies), the Church Divinity School of the Pacific (M.Div.), and the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (D.Min.). In June, 2018, I completed the three-phase Interim Ministry Training Program of the Interim Ministry Network.
For several years after graduate school and before seminary and ordination I worked as an agent for A.J. Fritz & Co., a Customs House Broker and Freight Forwarder in San Francisco. For two years I also taught English Literature, World Civilizations, United States History, and Civics at East Nicolaus High School, East Nicolaus (Sutter County), California.
I was ordained as a Deacon and Priest in the Diocese of Northern California of the Episcopal Church. In the years following I served in ministry first in the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania--as Curate of St. Andrew's Church, State College, and as Rector of St. Paul's Church, Bloomsburg. Then in 1994 I came to the Diocese of Pittsburgh and began service as Rector of St. Andrew's Church, in the Highland Park neighborhood of the city. I have also held adjunct faculty and Field Education Supervisor positions at Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, and at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Over the years I have contributed essays, book reviews, and poetry in various church-related publications.
On January 1, 2020, I concluded my ministry at St. Andrew's Highland Park and entered Retired status in the Church Pension Fund. At the beginning of 2020 I was asked to share Sunday clergy supply ministry at All Saints Church in the North Side Brighton Heights neighborhood. A few months later I was appointed by the bishop to serve that congregation as part-time Vicar, or Minister in Charge. In January, 2021, I was also appointed to serve the Church Pension Fund and the Bishop of Pittsburgh as Diocesan Chaplain to Retired Clergy and their Wives and Husbands, Widows and Widowers.
In our Diocese of Pittsburgh I have served twice on the Standing Committee--and with various stints along the way on the Committee on Constitution and Canons, the Ecclesiastical Array and Disciplinary Board, the Compensation Committee of Diocesan Council, and numerous other committees and task groups. I have also twice served the diocese as a clerical Deputy to the General Convention of the Episcopal Church--and additionally I have served twice as a clerical Deputy-Alternate. I was for many years in leadership in our Pittsburgh diocesan Clergy Association and at the national level with the National Network of Episcopal Clergy Associations. I am a Confrater of the Benedictine religious community of St. Gregory's Abbey, in Three Rivers, Michigan, and a Priest Associate of the Community of the Transfiguration, Glendale, Ohio. I am also a member of the Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion, United States of America (EFAC-USA).
Theologically I perch on the more conservative Protestant and Reformed low-church branch of our Anglican and Episcopalian tradition, with a special fondness, I often smile and say, for the 1552 Book of Common Prayer. I have lived out my vocation as best I could as something of an old-fashioned parson: someone who loves the Lord and the Lord's Word and the Lord's people and all the daily routines of parish ministry.
My wife Susy and I were married on May 23, 1980. We have two adult children who both live in the Pittsburgh area: Daniel (b. 1982) and Linnea (b. 1985). In the spring of 2019 Susy retired after a long career in non-profit administration. Daniel works in the area of sales and technology. Linnea is a veterinarian based at the Banfield Small Animal Hospital in the East Liberty neighborhood.
I am a student of history and an avid reader of biographies, poetry, and Scandinavian detective fiction. I also think, read, talk a lot about contemporary issues affecting church and society. I was for many years, since high school days, a semi-serious long-distance runner, completing numerous road races (including 8 circuits with the Pittsburgh Marathon). Lower back issues have kept me off the track recently, alas, but I continue even in these my senior years to manage some low-impact cardio with daily sessions on my elliptical and with a midday 5-kilometer walk as a part of my regular routine. Susy and I have been subscribers for many years to the Mellon Grand Classics series of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. And I cheer with sometimes astonishingly loyal enthusiasm for the University of California football and basketball teams and for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Steelers, and Penguins. In my spare time I also very much enjoy puttering around the house and yard . . . .
Contact me by e-mail: [email protected]