Rev. Joseph C. Alsay
Rector
The Rev. Joseph C. Alsay
has served as Rector of St. Augustine of Canterbury, Oklahoma City, since July
4th 2010. Fr. Joe possess an uncommon devotion for evangelism, liturgical
renewal, interfaith dialogue and the role that the Church plays in promoting
honest dialogue about ethnicity and culture.
The Rev. Joseph C. Alsay has served as Rector of St. Augustine
of Canterbury since July 4th 2010. Fr. Joe possess an uncommon devotion for
evangelism, liturgical renewal, interfaith dialogue and the role that the
Church plays in promoting honest dialogue about ethnicity and culture.
He received his B.A. in Pastoral Studies from Oklahoma
Baptist University and his M.Div. from the Lutheran School of Theology at
Chicago. On January 15, 2011 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - he was “received”
as a priest into the Episcopal Church, after previously being ordained in the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on August 6, 2005. The ordination of Fr.
Joseph bought to fulfillment the dream of the “Called to Common Mission”
between the Lutheran (ELCA) and Episcopal Churches.
Married to the former Cecelia K. Gray of Philadelphia since
August 6, 2005, the couple have four children: Corinthia Gray (step-daughter),
Zoe, and Zipporah and Caleb. They reside in Edmond, OK.
What made you decide to
get involved in ministry work? “I’ve known since I was seven years old that I wanted
to be a servant-leader of God. I have always felt that I was my truest self,
and who God called me to be when I was helping people to come into a relation
with Jesus. To witness to a real-life change is one of the most rewarding
experiences in life. Those times of transformation in people’s lives certainly
resonate in a most impactful way for me.”
What inspires you? “The
uniquely individual stories that each person can share. Everyone has a story,
and I love having the opportunity to ‘break bread’ with people to hear how
their stories have shaped their lives and those around them. They inspire me to
see how God can achieve the ‘extraordinary’ through ‘ordinary people’ doing
‘ordinary thing.’ And remind me that we are all members of the Family of God, Sacred
Siblings, and Beloved Children of God with gifts to share with the wider world.
Though those gifts we can help, enrich, transform and bless others, thus making
this world a little more like the Kingdom of God. So -- tell me your story!”
What do you love about
SAC? “I love the fact that we are a
community of faith that is daring in its values, honors and encourages
diversity in all form and encourages all to see the Divine at work around us. I
believe that can be seen in the wide range of beliefs, theological
perspectives, political ideologies, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, social
makeup, sexual orientations and various musical and liturgical tastes.”
