Dear Good People of St. Mary’s,

It is with great pleasure that we announce our new Rector, the Rev. Conor M. Alexander, formerly of St Francis Church in Virginia Beach of the Diocese of Southern Virginia. Fr Conor served as the rector there for thirteen years, from 2010 until 2023, ministering to a diverse congregation - racially, economically and politically -  where both the richness and the bruises of the human condition all were present, finding ways to navigate them together with his parish. 

Fr Conor impressed our Search Committee with his liturgical background and musical prowess, his genuineness of character and spiritual path to the Episcopal Church, as well as his commitment to continuing self-education and a contemporary process for consolidating consensus from within his parish rather than with a top-down approach.

In turn, Fr Conor was drawn to St Mary's rich prayer life and committed lay leadership, impressed with the beauty of our church and music.  He is looking forward to continuing a ministry of active prayer life while seeking out innovative solutions for long-term congregational development.  In his current endeavors with Parish Development Ministries he works on storytelling and videos to bring his love of God to a wider audience. He enjoys playing guitar, singing and woodworking.

Fr Conor was baptized as a Roman Catholic, experimented with a non-denomination Evangelical church as a teenager and came to the Episcopal Church in college. He has a B.S. in Biological Engineering from Cornell University and a M.Div from Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria.  While in Seminary, he met his wife, The Rev. Samantha Vincent Alexander while she was working on a Masters Certificate in Anglican Studies.  Almost immediately they realized they both have family connections in Central New York, and had spent time in Princeton, NJ.  They married in 2006, and adopted their son, Joshua, in 2016.  Over those years, they both served different parishes in the Diocese of Southern Virginia.  Last year, Rev. Samantha was called as rector of Christ Church Philadelphia in Old City, which brought them to Pennsylvania.

We very much look forward to introducing Fr. Conor, his wife Rev. Samantha and his son Joshua to you in person in late August and inviting one and all to his first service with us on September 8th. Until then, please continue to remember them in your prayers.

Yours in Christ,
The Vestry of St. Mary's
Neal Fulton, Rector’s Warden
 

​