We are excited to share that the Rev. Jonathan Melton has accepted the call to serve as the Eighth Rector of St. James Episcopal Church. Fr. Jonathan and his family come to St. James from Holy Trinity by the Lake in Heath, where he most recently served as the Associate Priest.
Before joining Holy Trinity in 2019, Fr. Jonathan served as Rector and Assistant to the Rector at Parishes in the Diocese of West Texas, as well as College Chaplain and interim roles in the Diocese of Milwaukee. This wealth of experience, combined with an educational background that includes a B.A. from Wheaton College and an M.Div from Duke Divinity School, were two of the factors that stood out to the vestry in the search for our next Rector.
While it was intentional to expedite the search process, the Vestry of St. James, acting as the search committee, was diligent and thorough in their work. There were many weekends filled with meetings, interviews, and conversations, each helping to discern the best fit for our Parish as we move forward. Throughout all of them, Fr. Jonathan impressed the group with his thoughtful responses, dedication to personal devotion, and desire to make disciples to grow God’s kingdom in the local Church.
We are excited for Fr. Jonathan to begin at St. James in January and invite you to continue to pray for the church. Pray for the Melton family as they adjust and are integrated into the life of St. James. Pray for Holy Trinity as they are losing a valuable member of their community. Lastly, pray for St. James as we move from this period of transition into a new season of our lives.
please read below for a letter from Fr. Jonathan
A Letter From the New. Rector
Dear Friends at St. James I Can’t Wait to Meet,
Grace and peace!
Oh my goodness, I am at once thrilled and deeply humbled to accept your Vestry’s call to serve as the 8th Rector of St. James, and so to be a part of the good work and new thing God is doing in and through you. I grew up in the Diocese of Dallas not far from St. James, and so I know I am not alone in the larger community in appreciating your decades of faithful presence, along with your desire to be a partner to the new possibilities of God in and around northeast Dallas. I cannot wait to see and hear what the Spirit will show and speak to us together.
Rebekah and I can’t wait, either, to introduce you to our family, and for our family to meet you in January. While we wait, please join me in expressing thanks to Kenneth Lawrence and the whole Vestry for the tremendous commitment of time and energy they have given to this season of prayerful discernment. My time spent with them and your remarkable staff has filled me with joy for the journey ahead. I thank God that the Spirit has brought us together.
As we begin this transition, our family prays for you now, and we are so glad for your prayers. Today, please join me in borrowing St. Paul’s words to pray, “Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.”
God’s peace, and every blessing,
Fr. Jonathan
Fr. Melton will begin at St. James on January 1, 2023, with his first service on January 8th. Look for a full schedule of welcome events, including the installation of a Rector, to be announced soon.