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.
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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.
Metropolitan JOHN GREGORY [Kenny von Folmar]
(He/Him)
Bishop (Lead Pastor)
Office Hours: 8a - 5p (Wed - Sun)
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.
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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.
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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 COLUMBA [Kevin Daugherty]
(He/Him)
Dean (Senior Assistant Pastor)
Office Hours: 12p - 4p (Mon - Fri)
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 June 2023, Fr. Kevin became Dean (Senior Assistant Pastor) at Solomon's Porch.
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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.
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Before coming to the C.C.C. in 2017, Fr. Kevin served in a variety of churches and religious orders. He was baptized and confirmed in the Presbyterian Church, and later confirmed and married in the Lutheran Church. 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.
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Fr. Kevin and his husband reside in the Curate House in Glendale, where they share their home with two dogs and other members of Solomon's Porch.
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Like all of our leaders, he has a full-time secular job to support his ministry.
Canon IAKOVOS ATHANASIOS [Jake Vogel Miller]
(They/Them He/Him)
Canon Precentor/Curate (Assistant Pastor)
Office Hours: 3p - 10p (Tue - Sat)
On May 7, 2023 - the Feast of the Holy Martyr Acacius - Fr. Jake was called to be the Canon Precentor of Solomon's Porch for the Byzantine Rite.
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Fr. Jake grew up in the Presbyterian Church (USA), as an adult he fell in love with high church liturgies and was confirmed in the Episcopal Church in 2012 (at St. Mary the Virgin NYC). As he felt the calling to the priesthood, Fr. Jake realized that neither the Roman nor Episcopal Church fully resonated with his spiritual path. While exploring New Religious Movements in one of his college courses, he discovered the Independent Sacramental Movement and, after years of personal study and discernment, was ordained on All Souls Day in 2018.
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In 2019, Fr. Jake moved to Texas, becoming co-rector of an Independent Orthodox Church in Dallas. However, due to the COVID pandemic, the church was forced to close its doors. The closure of his parish prompted Fr. Jake to explore new opportunities that aligned with his evolving beliefs, and it was then that he found he found a spiritual home in the Convergent Catholic Communion. During this time he founded Prodigal Son Eastern Catholic Church, and Eastern Rite Parish in The Colony, Texas.
Jake obtained his S.T.L. (Licentiate of Sacred Theology) with the Convergent Catholic Communion in November 2022 and graduated with his Bachelors in General Studies in July 2023.
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In June of 2023, Fr. Jake followed the call to Phoenix, Arizona, where he has set out to complete his master’s in social work, and to serve as the Canon Precentor for the Byzantine Rite at Solomon's Porch.
Father Deacon MAXIMUS [Chris Kennedy]
(He/Him)
Associate Curate (Pastoral Associate)
Office Hours: 10a - 5p (Tue - Sat)
Father Deacon Maximus Christopher, obf - Originally from Washington State, Fr. Dcn. Maximus is devoted to the teachings of Jesus Christ in the Gospels, emphasizing the universal love that calls us to love God and our neighbors above all else.
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During his youth he discovered God's grace and love in his local Eastern Christian Church. This experience led him to be baptized and chrismated in the Antiochian Orthodox Church, marking moments when he first felt a monastic and clerical calling. Sadly, due to his sexuality, Christopher faced rejection from the Church he called home, which led him to take a 10-year hiatus from organized religion. Later, Father Deacon Max found solace and acceptance in a local Episcopal parish known for its inclusiveness. He embraced the Anglican Communion, and during a private moment of prayer at his Episcopal parish, he made a vow to dedicate his life to the service of the Church, if the compulsion to drink was lifted, not knowing the path that would take him on. Dcn. Fr. Maximus [and his husband] eventually became Franciscans with the Order of Saint Francis within the Anglican Communion.
In his pursuit of theological education, Father Deacon Maximus Christopher and his family were received into an autonomous Eastern Orthodox jurisdiction, and with training under his Hierarch, he was subsequently ordained to the Diaconate on the Feast of Saint Patrick the Enlightener of Ireland in 2019. Seeking further theological education, Father Deacon Maximus, his husband, and their family relocated from Seattle to Toledo, Ohio, where they also established the Eastern Order of the Protecting Veil in the winter of 2020.
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On October 2nd, 2021, during the Hierarchical visit of His Beatitude, the Most Reverend Metropolitan John Gregory, tonsured Hierodeacon Maximus Christopher, obf and Father Deacon Uriel Patrick-Joan, obf as Stavrophore/Life Professed and Abbot-elect of the Eastern Order of the Protecting Veil.
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Father Deacon Maximus Christopher cherishes his vocation and faithfully serves the Church with dedication and love living each day by the Grace of God since October 23, 2012.
In February 2023, through the leading of the spirit, Father Deacon Maximus and his husband relocated to Phoenix, where in July he became the Associate Curate of Solomon's Porch.
Father Deacon URIEL PATRICK-JOAN [Dustin Kennedy]
(He/Him)
Office Hours: 3p - 8p (Tue - Wed, Fri-Sat)
Associate Curate [Pastoral Associate]
Father Deacon Uriel Patrick-Joan, obf – Originally from the southern charm of Georgia State to the serene landscapes of the Pacific Northwest in 2013, his profound spiritual journey led him to embrace different traditions along the way.
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In 2015, he found a spiritual home in the Anglican Communion, where he was baptized and confirmed at Saint Mark's Cathedral in Seattle, WA. Before his transition to the Eastern traditions of the Church, Father Deacon Uriel Patrick-Joan lived a devout life as a habited Religious Brother within a Franciscan in the Order of Saint Francis within the Anglican Communion.
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A significant turning point occurred on the Feast of Saint Patrick in 2019 when Father Deacon Uriel Patrick-Joan was chrismated into the Holy Orthodox Catholic Church in Toledo, OH, embracing the richness of Eastern Orthodoxy. Partnering with Father Deacon Maximus Christopher, he established the Eastern Order of the Protecting Veil on the Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles. Their shared vision was to continue their monastic callings and Religious Professions within the Eastern Christian Tradition. In a memorable ceremony at The Falls Retreat Center of Saint Miriam in May 2021, Deacon Father Uriel Patrick-Joan was commissioned to the Minor Orders of Cleric, Doorkeeper, Reader, Exorcist, and Acolyte.
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A moment of great honor came in October of 2021, during the Hierarchical Visit of Metropolitan John Gregory. Both Father Deacon Uriel Patrick-Joan, obf and Father Deacon Maximus, obf were tonsured as Stavrophore/Life Professed Eastern monastics, solidifying their commitment to the Eastern Order of the Protecting Veil.
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The Commissioning to the Subdiaconate followed on March 20th, 2022, presided over by The Reverend Father Iakovos Athanasios in The Colony, Texas, reaffirming his dedication to his sacred duties and seminary studies with the Convergent Catholic Communion. When not immersed in his spiritual pursuits, Father Deacon Uriel Patrick-Joan, obf finds solace near water, indulges in the study of photography, eastern mysticism, and relishes in all things music.
Father Deacon Uriel Patrick-Joan was ordained to the Holy Diaconate on the Feast of St. Hildegard, September 17th 2023.
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 Catholic 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.
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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.
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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.