Clergy & Staff
The Rev’d Joseph A. Wallace-Williams
The 9th Rector of the Church of Saint Luke and The Epiphany
Originally from New Orleans, Fr. Joseph is a graduate of the University of the South's School of Theology, Sewanee, TN. He was ordained in 2011 and served as a Associate Rector at Grace-St. Luke's Church in Memphis, TN, where his primary responsibility was to facilitate ministries with youth and young adults.
Having sensed a call to the monastic life at the age of 18, Fr. Joseph entered Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY to join the Order of the Holy Cross in 2015. As a member of the monastic community, one of his roles was Guest Master where he supervised programs and retreats for 4,000 guests each year. It was during his time as a monk that Joseph developed a love for iconography and hospitality. It is these two passions that drive his purpose, which is to facilitate an environment where individuals and communities can experience the hospitality of God and be transformed.
In 2018 he left his monastic community in order to return to parish ministry, where he could combine Benedictine Spirituality and active ministry. Fr. Joseph served as the Associate Rector for Christian Formation and Evangelism at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Saint Louis, Missouri. In the 150-year history of Saint Peter's Episcopal Church, Fr. Joseph was the first African-American and openly gay clergy person to serve this congregation. Following the murder of George Floyd and the political unrest that summer, Fr. Joseph was integral to forming an antiracism core group at Saint Peter's.
Fr. Joseph moved to Philadelphia to become the 9th Rector of The Church of St. Luke and The Epiphany on March 5th, 2021. He is the parish's first African-American and openly gay Rector. According to a parishioner, Fr. Joseph is "what the church needed: a new voice, and new and diverse perspective, grounded in the spiritual traditions of the Episcopal Church." His goals for his ministry here include expanding membership and helping this congregation discern how God is calling the community to serve the least of these in Center City and Philadelphia today.
Maddy Bishop
Seminary Intern
She / Her | maddybishop@slatechurch.org
Will be serving alongside us this academic year! Maddy is a postulant to the Priesthood in the Diocese of Kansas studying for a Master of Divinity at Princeton Theological Seminary and has an undergraduate degree in Psychology from Friends University.
Throughout this academic year Maddie will be engaged in the life and ministry of the parish: preaching, teaching, planning, and implementation of liturgies, occasionally attending vestry meetings and other subcommittee meetings, in addition to regular supervision and mentoring meetings with our Rector.
Jonathan Bowen
Organist & Choirmaster
Jonathan M. Bowen has been Organist and Choirmaster of the Church of Saint Luke and the Epiphany of Philadelphia since September 1991. He pursued a B.M. degree in church music at Westminster Choir College, studying organ with Robert Carwithen and choral conducting with Melanie Jacobson.
Mr. Bowen has been a substitute organist with the Philadelphia Orchestra in the past and traveled with them on their U.S. Tour in the autumn of 2001. Jonathan was Organist and Choirmaster at Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel from 2004-2011.
Mary Campbell
Finance
Gabriela Thomas
Parish Administrator & Media Coordinator
she/her | administrator@slatechurch.org
Gabriela (also known as Gabi) works as our Parish Administrator and Media Coordinator. Gabi is a 2019 graduate of Temple University with a B.A. in Film and Media Arts. Her tasks in the office help keep the Parish up to date and functioning smoothly.
Since joining SLATE’s staff in November 2019, Gabi has made it a point to build the Church’s presence online and through various social media platforms. She hopes that the parishioners and overall community around Philadelphia can stay better connected with the Church through YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and this site.
An accomplished rower, she is training for big things on the Schuylkill every morning before the start of her weekday shifts in the office-- which are Monday - Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Michael Doyle
Custodial Sexton