LEADERSHIP
Pastors care for those placed in their charge, help facilitate spiritual growth, and oversee the care, protection, and spiritual feeding of the church. Our Pastors are mutually responsible for each other, together they form our Pastoral Council. The Rector (Lead Pastor) is charged with setting our vision, keeping us on mission and overseeing the operations of the church; while the Curate (Assistant Pastor) focuses on our outreach initiatives.
If you want to be mentored and equipped in loving God and each other more, if you seek to find your place in this local church, contact one of these individuals today.
Bishop Kenny von Folmar
(He/Him)
Rector (Lead Pastor)
Bishop Kenny and his husband, Bryan, reside in Glendale, just a short distance from where our parish meets. They are passionate about radical hospitality and have welcomed many sojourners to stay in their home to get back on their feet.
Bishop Kenny was raised in an nominal Christian home, with no allegiance to any particular denomination or tradition. In his early teens, he became enamored with the Pentecostal Church and realized his calling to ministry early on. Countless church leaders recognized his call and entrusted him to carry out ministries (including outreach and youth) for the church. After receiving the endorsement of his Pastor he was received as a student into a Bible College. His studies were cut short when he revealed to school leaders that he was in fact a gay man and was subsequently sent home. As he had not reconciled his faith and sexuality he underwent a guided process to seek God's hand in changing his sexual orientation. During this time he felt deeply that God was responding to his pleas with a simple "Why, I made you the way are." Recognizing the voice of THE shepherd, Bishop Kenny abandoned his efforts to change his sexual orientation. Subsequently he was outed and had to leave the church - being an openly gay man was not acceptable according to their teachings.
After spending some time away from organized religion, he was able to reconcile his faith and found a predominately gay pentecostal church in Phoenix. He served this community for a couple years as Media Minister. During this time he began to look more critically at many of those beliefs that he long held as unquestionable. During this time he went through a period of spiritual deconstruction, resulting in him taking some time away from ministry leadership. He was blessed to land in the Episcopal Church, where he was encouraged to more critically exam the Christian faith. After 7 years away from ministry he was called to join the ministry team at Solomon's Porch (then known as the Anthem Phoenix). He and the ministry team established a vision for a faith community that would be a visible convergence of Christian traditions. These same leaders founded the Convergent Christian Communion to extend that vision beyond Phoenix in 2014.
Father Kevin Daugherty
(He/Him)
Curate (Assistant Pastor)
On November 22, 2020 - the Feast of Christ the King of the Universe - Fr. Kevin was called to be the Curate (Assistant Pastor) of Solomon's Porch. Fr. Kevin and his husband Cody completed their relocation to Phoenix in September of 2021.
In addition to his work with our Parish, Fr. Kevin serves as the Abbot of the Companions of the Holy Spirit, a New Monastic order, and as an Archpriest and Moderator in the Convergent Catholic Communion.
Before coming to the C.C.C. in 2017, Fr. Kevin served in a variety of churches and religious orders. He became a non-denominational minister and a Franciscan in 2013, and formally entered the Catholic priesthood in early 2020. He studied and interned in the Mennonite Church for four years while participating in the Pastoral Studies Distance Education program at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. He also holds a theology certificate from Biblical Training.
Fr. Kevin and his husband reside in Glendale, where they share their home with two dogs and other members of Solomon's Porch.
Like all of our leaders, he has a full-time secular job to support his ministry.
In Loving Memory..
Very Rev. Father Tom Weller
Associate Curate (Associate Pastor)
Father Tom was a founding member of Solomon's Porch and began his walk with us as our Teaching Elder. In June of 2014, he co-founded the Convergent Christian Communion (then known as the Anthem Network), a progressive network of ministers, ministries and churches and has served them as Moderator (Vice President) beginning in October 2016. Tom was ordained in August of 2014 and was appointed Associate Curate (Associate Pastor) of Solomon's Porch in December of same year.
Tom's ministry took many forms - from counseling and benevolence to lively discussions and debates about social and theological on social media. In 2019, Tom organized his personal ministry activities under the Good Shepherd Ministries name, a ministry he launched in partnership with Solomon's Porch.
In December of 2020, Father Tom fell victim to COVID19 and transitioned to his heavenly reward. Although he is not physically with us, Tom remains with us in spirit. Because we truly believe in everlasting life, we know that Tom continues to pray with and for us.