The Wardens and the Vestry are pleased to introduce Father Sean Wallace, our new interim priest for St. Paul’s.

“I seek to make God present in people’s lives through worship, community, and the sacraments; and to preach, teach, and walk with people in their journeys with Our Lord Jesus Christ.”
– Fr. Sean Wallace

Fr. Wallace comes to us from the Church of the Resurrection in Manhattan, where he served as curate and parish administrator since 2009. Earlier this month, several parishioners and members of the Vestry attended services at Resurrection and were able to hear Fr. Wallace preach and celebrate the mass. For the last few years, he has also been a part-time assisting priest at St. Thomas Fifth Avenue, also in Manhattan. He is experienced in the Rite I, traditional High Church, and Anglo-Catholic tradition, which is integral to our worship at St. Paul’s.

He describes himself as “very much a people person, so I try make to myself available to every one I know as much as I can–from the waiter at my favorite diner to parishioners and fellow clergy–to walk with them in their life journeys. Good pastoral care also changes from person to person. It can be as simple as knowing someone’s name and asking about his/her life or as complex as long-term spiritual direction with a directee. Sometimes pastoral care means just listening without judgment and sometimes it means speaking the truth in love and saying ‘No.’ However it may appear on a practical level, it is always relational and part of our Christian duty to ‘love one another as we love ourselves.’”

Fr. Wallace has extensive, professional music experience, both in music education and as a director and conductor of a wide-range of choral organizations, professional and religious. He still maintains a voice studio for seminarians and clergy who want to work on their singing ability. He serves on the board of the National Episcopal Historians and Archivists (NEHA) as vice-president. He is also a member of the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church (HSEC), the Episcopal Women’s History Project (EWHP), the Hymn Society, the Guild of All Souls, and a priest associate at the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham.

He received a Master in Sacred Theology from General Theological Seminary in 2010, as well as a Master of Divinity in 2009. He holds a Masters in Choral Conducting from the Eastman School of Music, and a doctorate in Choral Conducting and Masters in Musicology from Michigan State University. His undergraduate degree is from John Brown University in Arkansas.

As our interim, Fr. Wallace will be living in the Rectory and will be joined regularly by his two teenage daughters.

We will all benefit from his extensive knowledge, considerable talents, and deep, sustaining faith. Please welcome Fr. Wallace to our parish.