Saint John’s Episcopal Church in Tulsa announced this week it has selected a new rector as head of the parish. The Very Rev. David S. Bumsted accepted the call to serve last week and is anticipated to begin his ministry and church operational leadership in early February 2021.
Media Release
Contact: Mary Waller, (918) 521-7564 Dec. 20, 2020
Tulsa, Okla. – Saint John’s Episcopal Church in Tulsa announced this week it has selected a new rector as head of the parish. The Very Rev. David S. Bumsted accepted the call to serve last week and is anticipated to begin his ministry and church operational leadership in early February 2021.
Bumsted will be the church’s seventh rector. He is preceded in the position by the Rev. Samuel Colley-Toothaker, the church’s interim priest-in-charge (March 2018 through October 2020) and the Rev. Irving Taylor Cutter IV, the church’s sixth rector (October 2006 through December 2017).
“On behalf of the leadership, staff and parishioners of our church, we express our delight and extend a warm welcome to Father David and his wife, Rebekah,” said Saint John’s Senior Warden James R. Hicks. “His ministry, energy and vision will be a tremendous addition to our parish family, the neighborhood and our city.”
Most recently, Bumsted was the rector of Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Orlando, Florida. Prior to ministry and business leadership at Emmanuel, he was the Priest Associate for Youth Ministry at Sarasota, Florida’s Church of the Redeemer. His career experiences also include serving as a case manager at Covenant House, a residential care program and drop-in shelter in Orlando, and as a teaching assistant at Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Nashotah, Wisconsin. He was elected Dean of the Central Deanery for the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida in 2018.
“Father David’s experience in family ministry, community engagement and communicating through technology will be incredibly valuable as our Saint John’s community explores the direction God is calling this church to in the decade ahead,” said Hicks. “This is especially important during this unusual time of social distancing and as we grow worship and educational offerings through digital platforms.”
Hicks noted that the Saint John’s church vestry and search committee, after prayerful discernment, were led to call Bumsted due to his energy, career experiences, sermons, theological dimensions, enthusiasm for youth, spiritual depth and confidence in the face of the challenges modern culture and a global pandemic bring to growing a healthy parish.
“Beka and I are so excited to join the team at Saint John’s,” said Bumsted. “Having spent time with their search committee, vestry and staff, we feel welcomed and simply delighted to begin a new chapter of ministry in our lives.”
In his role as senior rector of Saint John’s Church, Bumsted will lead the parish ministries of worship, pastoral care, Christian formation, community outreach, program development and strategic planning, as well as oversee staff and vestry leadership.
“During our time in Oklahoma, my wife and I were bowled over by the beauty and vibrancy of Tulsa,” said Bumsted. “We believe that our previous experiences have prepared us extremely well for the opportunities ahead. And, I can’t wait to leverage them with the community at Saint John’s.”
Bumsted earned his master’s degree in divinity from Nashotah House and received a bachelor’s degree in international affairs from Florida State University in Tallahassee.
About Saint John’s
Saint John’s Episcopal Church is located in midtown Tulsa at 4200 S. Atlanta Place. The parish is home to 800+ individuals in and around Tulsa, Okla. and a growing community across the state and country participating through digital ministry and education. The church campus was established in 1951 and features a stone gothic-style main sanctuary, connected parish hall, gift shop, community/reception space, commercial kitchen, classrooms, young children’s playground, library and history archive, rectory (house built for the first parish leader and used for many outreach activities), labyrinth, parishioner parking and church business office.
The congregation believes it is important that persons of faith with different backgrounds and viewpoints unite to serve Christ in a spirit of mutual love and respect. For more information about this community, visit – www.sjtulsa.org, @sjtulsa on Facebook, @sjtulsa on Twitter, and/or @sjtulsa on Instagram. To learn more about the Episcopal Church USA, visit www.episcopalchurch.org.
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