Diocesan Staff Transition Teresa & Fr. Nick Phares

Dear Friends,

We want to inform you about a staff change within our Diocesan office and one of our congregations.

The Rev. Nick Phares, who has served as Rector of St. Luke's Bartlesville since January 2021, has accepted a new call as Chaplain at St. Andrew’s Sewanee School in Tennessee. Teresa Phares, Fr. Nick's wife and our Diocesan Director of Children, Youth, and Camp Ministries, will be stepping down from her position to join Fr. Nick in Sewanee.

Teresa will continue to serve fully as St. Crispin's Summer Camp Director throughout the entire 2026 summer camp season. She will conclude her role at the end of the summer.

We will greatly miss Fr. Nick and Teresa, but we are also thankful for their service and are praying for them during this transition. 

Bishop Poulson shared his gratitude for their ministry, "Teresa and Nick have been a real blessing to us in the Diocese of Oklahoma, and will be deeply missed. Nick has been an effective and faithful Rector at St. Luke’s. And Teresa has helped strengthen our camp program not only in numbers of campers and counselors, but also in reinforcing Episcopal identity and spirituality in every aspect of camp. We wish them and their family well as they return to a place that is very special to them."

Below are messages from Fr. Nick and Teresa.