Serving the Harvard community as the Episcopal Chaplain is a sort of homecoming for me, as I grew up in Boston/Cambridge and was once an undergraduate here myself. I lived in Thayer North as a freshman and eventually ended up in Adams House, concentrating in English. After college, I taught and traveled in Southern Africa, before returning to work for two years at the Memorial Church in Harvard Yard. Having previously sworn I would never go to graduate school, I then found myself on a Fulbright to study Irish literature and history at Trinity College Dublin. This was the start of twelve-year stint of living abroad, mostly in the UK. My work in Dublin led to doctoral study in Modern History at Merton College Oxford, which I still think of as my English “home.” So much for avoiding graduate school!

It was during my time at Oxford that I was accepted for ordination training in the Church of England, which for Episcopalians and other Anglicans across the globe remains in some ways the “mother church.” As a lifelong American Episcopalian participating in the Church of England, I learned some valuable lessons about what we as Anglicans on either side of the Atlantic still share in common and what we do not. I did my ordination training at a theological college in Cambridge (the other one, that is!) called Westcott House, accompanied by a second BA in theology at Emmanuel College. Emmanuel, or “Emma,” as it’s known among students, is where John Harvard studied before coming to New England in the seventeenth century as a young Puritan minister. As part of my ordination training, I also spent time working at Belmarsh Prison in London, St Philip’s Interfaith Centre in Leicester, and at Manchester Cathedral. Most recently, I served as a curate (an assistant priest) for a group of Anglican churches in the town of Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, outside of London.

As the Episcopal Chaplain, I’m here to lead our community in the treasured forms of communal worship that constitute such a vital part of our Anglican tradition. I’m also here to encourage the sort of intellectual inquiry and learning that our tradition has long endorsed as central to a full and balanced Christian life. Through our various forms of study, our acts of service, and our wide-ranging discussions, we as Episcopalians work together to discover the connections between our Christian discipleship and the busy lives we lead in the world. Whether you’re already an Episcopalian/Anglican looking for your tradition in action here at Harvard, a Christian seeking a community that welcomes your questions and doubts as well as your commitment and faith, or someone who is simply exploring and wants to learn more, you are welcome. Our weekly Eucharist on Sundays at 5.30 p.m. at Christ Church is always followed by a home-cooked meal that makes a welcome change from the dining hall. I’m also available anytime for a chat about the Christian faith, the state of Anglicanism, and whether the Red Sox are going to win the Pennant this year (of course, they are!).