A Letter from the Senior and Junior Wardens

August 1, 2025

It is with immense joy that we announce the call of the Seventeenth Rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, The Rev’d T.J. Freeman SMMS.

We are deeply grateful to the Search Committee for their faithful and diligent work, and for their commitment to a transparent and Spirit-led process. Under the capable leadership of co-chairs Liz Patterson and Bill Powel, the committee listened closely to the hopes of the congregation and discerned the qualities most important in our next Rector. Their holy work led them to a joyful consensus, and the Vestry unanimously affirmed their recommendation.

We invite you to join us in warmly welcoming T.J., his wife Annie, and their children, Ellie and Jack, to the St. Paul’s community. We look forward with great hope and anticipation to this next chapter in our shared life—and to continuing our journey of faith together.

Faithfully,

A Letter from The Rev’d T.J. Freeman SMMS

Dearest St. Paul’s Episcopal Church,

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

It is a great joy to introduce myself as your next Rector—and introduce my family, Annie, the Chief Financial Officer of a medical physics company and my wife of fifteen years, and our two children Ellie, a rising sixth grader, and Jack, a rising third grader. It is the honor of a lifetime to be called to such a wonderful, inclusive, and vibrant parish. I cannot wait to begin our pilgrimage together.

Earlier this year, a friend texted to ask if I would prayerfully consider the opportunity to become the next Rector of St. Paul’s. From the moment I began to read your parish profile, something was stirring in my heart. Over the intervening months of prayer, conversation, and discernment I have fallen in love with St. Paul’s and with your mission of Seeking. Serving. Loving. Together. 

During my 11 years of parish ministry, I have had the pleasure to serve two wonderful parishes, first as a Curate, then Associate Rector, at Calvary Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh, PA, and most recently as the Rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Fort Wayne, IN. Throughout my ministry, I have served widely within the Episcopal Church, the Dioceses I have been in, and in the local communities where we have lived. 

Last year, I began a Doctor of Ministry program at Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. I am passionate about ecumenical and interreligious relations, and this program was the perfect opportunity to challenge myself academically and personally—and to work towards Jesus’ vision that we all may be one.

Beyond the Church, I enjoy hiking, reading, painting, and theatre—recently I was given an old film camera, and I am loving taking pictures with it. As a family, we love visiting friends, walking in the woods, cuddling up and reading, travel, and board games. Twelve years ago, I made the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, walking the Camino Francés. In 2022, I walked the Forth to Farne pilgrimage route from just east of Edinburgh, Scotland, to Lindisfarne in northeast England.

There is so much more to say, but that will have to wait for now. I will close by reiterating how much of an honor and a privilege it is for me to have been chosen to be your next Rector. My deepest prayer is that our ministry together will be a time of worship, learning, and play, where we fall ever more deeply in love with Jesus, with our neighbors, and with one another.

Be assured of my prayers, and please hold me and my family in yours. My family and I cannot wait to be with you!

With a brother’s love.

I am your servant in Christ Jesus,

The Rev’d T.J. Freeman SMMS

Let Us Pray

Spirit of Wisdom, we give thanks for your guidance that flows through us like a river, life-giving and eternal.

As we rejoice in your abundant blessings, help us prepare our minds, hearts, and spirits to welcome The Rev’d T.J. Freeman, our new rector, and all the sacred unknown and precious opportunities that await us.

All this we pray in the name of God: giver of all Life, Love, and Wisdom.

Amen.

Biography of The Rev’d Freeman

After spending more than five years in the US Army running away from his call to ministry, T.J. came home to Indiana to discern a call to the priesthood in the Diocese of Indianapolis. He attended seminary in Austin, Texas, at the Seminary of the Southwest, and served as Curate and Associate Rector at Calvary Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh, PA. In July of 2017, T.J. became the nineteenth rector of Trinity Episcopal Church. During his rectorship, Trinity experienced steady growth in membership and involvement, becoming a parish not only in downtown, but of downtown—a parish at the heart of its community.

He has served the Episcopal Church in ecumenical and interreligious ministries, the Diocese of Northern Indiana as a Deputy to General Convention, Area Dean, President of the Standing Committee, a member of the Becoming Beloved Community commission, and in the local community as a founding member of the burgeoning Fort Wayne-Area Interfaith Cooperative, and a member of the city commission to honor the 1963 visit of Dr. King. This resulted in a beautiful sculpture being installed near the auditorium where Dr. King spoke.

In 2024, he began a Doctor of Ministry program at Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in New York. T.J. believes strongly that, “The Church, if it is to be the Church, must be the revelation of that divine Love which God poured into our hearts. Without love, nothing is valid in the Church because nothing is possible. Love alone creates and transforms.” – Alexander Schmemann.

He also currently serves as Assistant Superior of the Sodality of Mary, Mother of Priests (SMMS), an inclusive, international fellowship of Anglican clergy committed to prayer, study, and holiness.

T.J. and his wife of 15 years, Annie, have two school age children and a golden retriever named Lucy. In his free time, he loves being out of doors, hiking, taking pictures with his 35mm camera, backpacking, occasionally painting with watercolors, riding his bike, and going to the theatre.