Following Ansley Tucker’s retirement in October 2022, a cathedral search committee and Bishop Anna undertook an extensive search process to find and appoint a new rector of Christ Church Cathedral and dean of the Diocese of Islands and Inlets. In April of this year, Bishop Anna announced that the search was over and that Jonathan Thomas will take on the role from September 2024.
Jonathan served as a high school teacher before discerning a call to ordained ministry. He has earned a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, a Diploma in Anglican Studies from Virginia Theological Seminary and a certificate in non-profit management from the Kellogg School of Management. Jonathan served in parishes in the Diocese of Connecticut and Chicago.
In his response to the parish profile, Jonathan wrote that engaging with people’s inherent spirituality while giving them Anglican language and structure for living out their faith is a hallmark of his ministry. He believes that we influence the world around us by being in conversations, building relationships and creating a common good. In turn, Jonathan was impressed by how the cathedral’s parish profile reflected a desire to be a church that relies on partnering, connecting and working together with all those around them.
In a video address to the cathedral community and the wider diocese, Jonathan says that when he first applied for the position he was initially unsure about moving to the island. But he says that on visits here he “fell in love with the beauty of the place and the grace of the people.”
Addressing the diocese, Jonathan has the following to says:
“It is a hard time to be and do church in our current cultural context. The only appropriate response is to support one another and be all in on this together. To demonstrate to the world that we are Christ’s disciples by the love we have for each other, and to show that in the face of diminishing resources, there is still a better way if we choose collaboration over competition.
“I’m all in on that work and I hope to partner with you to grow the church and its mission throughout the diocese. And I pray that by working alongside you in this mutual ministry, you might indeed come to think of me as ‘our dean’.”
Jonathan comes to the Diocese of Islands and Inlets from the Diocese of Chicago where he and his wife, Jenny Replogle, have served as co-rectors of St Paul’s Episcopal Church in Peoria. Jenny will also be moving to the diocese and will be working for the Synod office as canon for lay-led parishes and parishes-in-transition. Bishop Anna describes this appointment as “a bit of an experiment.” It is intended to better support parishes that do not have a permanent clergy or are in transition.
Jenny has extensive training and background in congregational development. She sees the heart of her ministry as enabling people to live fully into who God created them to be. Jenny is passionate about working with individuals and communities as they discern how God is calling them in their own unique ministries.
Faith Tides will be catching up with the new Dean and Canon later in the year, once they have had the chance to settle in to their new life here on Vancouver Island. In the meantime, Bishop Anna has asked that members of this diocese keep Jonathan and Jenny in their prayers.
