Who We Are
Parish Life
Home
Current
Location / Map
Mission
Resource Links
Sermons
Services
Sunday School
Worship
Clergy
Contact Us
Tell a Friend
Webmaster
D o n a t e
   
                                                                

 
The Venerable James T. Payne, D.D.,Mdiv, M.A. ,BA, AA
Third Rector of St. Thomas of Canterbury (1996-     ) 
 
Father Payne was ordained Deacon in 1989 and Priest in 1990.   He was called as interim Rector in 1995, and elected Rector of St. Thomas of Canterbury in 1996.   Prior to his call to St. Thomas he assisted in the planting of several mission churches and taught at St. Nicholas Christian School. He previously was employed in the banking industry for fifteen years prior to his ordination.

Fr. Payne holds degrees from Cummins Theological Seminary, located in Charleston, South Carolina, an Institution of the Reformed Episcopal Church, and is also an alumnus of St. George's School of Theology, San Antonio, Texas, (now located in El Paso), the University of Houston, Houston, Texas, and Lon Morris College , located in Jacksonville, Texas. Fr. Payne has also been awarded a Doctor of Divinity Degree by the Theological Commission of the Reformed Episcopal Church.

In addition to his duties at St. Thomas, Fr. Payne serves as Archdeacon [a senior assistant to the Bishop] of the Diocese of Mid-America, and as one of the Examining Chaplains for candidates for Holy Orders. Prior to his appointment as Archdeacon, he served as Canon to the Ordinary and Secretary of the Diocese of Mid-America from 2000-2007.

He also serves the Reformed Episcopal Church at the national level as chairman of the Committee on Constitution and Canons. He is a member of the regular faculty at Cranmer Theological House, the diocesan seminary, where he teaches Church History.

Archdeacon Payne has been published in the U.S. Anglican, The Christian Challenge, and DEUS Reformed Episcopalians magazine. He is also the author of "Old Paths Restored" a history of the Episcopate of the Reformed Episcopal Church, has written several published tracts and together with Bishop George Fincke, co-authored "A catechism for Our Children". Fr. Payne and his wife, the former Deborah Ashley have been married for thirty-five years and have two grown children. He is active in Rotary and other civic and heritage organizations.

 
 

Fr. Eric K. Harvey, Assistant Priest (Curate)

Father Harvey was ordained a Deacon in 2009 and Priest in 2010. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Coast Guard Academy and a Master of Theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary.

Prior to entering the ministry, Father Harvey served six years as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Coast Guard. He was an engineering officer on the USCGC Mackinaw, a Great Lakes Ice Breaker, stationed in Cheboygan, Michigan. He was then transferred to Marine Safety Office, Houston where he was responsible for enforcing federal port facility, vessel, and pollution prevention regulations.

In 2000, Father Harvey left NASA to pursue seminary education at Dallas Theological Seminary.(DTS) It was at seminary when he met fellow students who were pursuing orders in the REC. He also had the opportunity to listen to Bishop Sutton, our Bishop Coadjutor, as he gave several "brown bag lunch" talks on Anglicanism. This exposure to Anglicanism and the REC eventually led Father Harvey to follow in his classmates' footsteps and likewise follow the Canterbury Trail and seek ordination in the REC.

Father Harvey currently lives in southeast Houston with his wife, Vanessa and their two sons, Benjamin and Ethan. He works as a contract systems safety engineer for Barrios Technologies at NASA Johnson Space Center.