A native of East Tennessee, Fr. French became Dean of the Cathedral in June, 2020.
He received a B.A. in English Literature summa cum laude from Sewanee: The University of the South, where he was elected Phi Beta Kappa and was the Valedictorian of the Class of 2010. He also holds an M.A. in English from the University of Virginia and the Master of Pastoral Ministry with honors from Nashotah House Theological Seminary, where he is currently engaged in research in the Master of Sacred Theology program.
He and his wife, Alex, a practicing attorney, were married in 2015. They have a daughter.
Celebrating the Eucharist is the heart of my priesthood. It was through serving at the altar that I first discerned a call to ordination, and the liturgy remains my favorite part of being a priest.
But, my other favorite part about being a priest is blessing things! The act of blessing is one of the central aspects of what a priest is asked to do. Taking the everyday and the ordinary and asking God to translate it into the realm of the sacred. To set it apart from ordinary use for God’s purpose, to translate it into the economy of Grace. One of the great gifts of our tradition is that there is a blessing for everything. Blessing items reminds us of God’s providence in our lives, and also, the whole idea of blessing is deeply connected to the giving of life and the bringing of life, and the flourishing of life. It helps us realize the ways in which God gives us life abundantly through the things of this world, even simple things. For example, the bread and wine of the Eucharist becoming the Body and Blood. The power to share that is one of the most enjoyable aspects of being a priest.
And, I love baptizing people, not only because of what it is – bringing someone into the body of Christ, and bringing the resurrection to them – it’s also such a beautiful liturgy.
Our size. We are growing but are still a relatively small congregation which allows us to know each other and have deeper connections in the parish than in a larger church. One of our strengths as Anglicans is having pastoral sized congregations. Beyond a certain point it is hard to know your clergy, your other parishioners. One of our strengths is that we all do know one another and we have a good mix of young families, and retirees, which creates a community that is active and engaged. Another aspect of a smaller church is that everyone has something to contribute. We have people who are willing to chip in and help out and contribute to the overall “project” of the place.
Easter and Advent. I love Easter. I like coming out of Lent into the joy of Easter Vigil, hearing all of the music celebrating the resurrection. I’m a spring person so Easter is always connected in my mind to spring and everything in bloom. Advent is a time of reflection and preparation. I appreciate how the church balances those seasons of celebration with times of preparation and anticipation – balancing the feasting and fasting.
The Right Reverend Patrick Fodor was appointed as our Episcopal Visitor, succeeding the Right Reverend Rommie Starks, who died in Office in August 2023. Bishop Fodor is the third Bishop of the Diocese of the Missouri River Valley, Anglican Church in America, which along with the Anglican Catholic Church, and the Anglican Province of America, is part of the G3 Synod of Continuing Anglican Churches.
Bishop Fodor earned a B. A. degree from the SUNY at Buffalo, an M. Div. from Brock University, an M.A. from the University of Balamand’s St. John of Damascus School of Theology, and studied at Logos House of Theological Studies in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. His Doctor of Ministry degree comes from Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.
He is a native of Buffalo, New York, and is a full-time tenured professor of Humanities (Religion and Philosophy) at John Wood Community College in Quincy, Illinois. Bishop Fodor and his wife, Crista, have three children.
St. Edward’s is the cathedral church of Diocese of the Midwest within the ACC, and part of Anglican Continuum.