Integrity Board Elects Richardson as VP National Affairs

Integrity USA is pleased to announce that the Board of Directors have elected The Rev. Jon M. Richardson as Vice President of National Affairs, in accordance with the bylaws. Richardson is Priest-in-Charge at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Jersey City, New Jersey, and will fill the unexpired term of the Rev. Canon Albert Ogle, who resigned to work full time with Bishop Christopher Senyonjo of Uganda.

"We are delighted to welcome Jon Richardson to the Board of Integrity," said the Rev. Dr, Caroline Hall, President of Integrity. "I personally enjoyed working with Jon at two General Conventions and during our witness at the Lambeth Conference in 2008. I can't think of a better person to be picking up the reins of our national and international work as we head towards General Convention next year.

"Jon has vast experience and expertise in two of the key areas of our General Convention team: the nerve center and the legislative team. He was greatly appreciated for his quiet and calm efficiency as well as his friendly approach-ability. Jon also brings great pastoral and administrative gifts to our work. I am thrilled to have someone of his caliber as our Vice-President for National Affairs."

Richardson is a native of Louisiana and earned his Bachelor's Degree from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA. He then moved to New Jersey in 2004 to study at the Theological School at Drew University. While at Drew, Jon studied abroad in Ghana (African Indigenous Roots of African American Spirituality), France (The Monastic Community at Taize'), and Jerusalem (Orthodox Liturgies of Holy Week and Easter). He is a 2006 graduate of the Episcopal Preaching Foundation's Preaching Excellence Program and has studied Benedictine spirituality practices as they are used in local congregations. Additionally he earned a certificate in Anglican Studies from the General Theological Seminary in New York. Since seminary, Jon has worked as Director of Youth and Family Ministries at St. Peter's in Morristown and as Associate Rector at St. Paul's in Chatham.

"I am deeply honored to have this opportunity to serve the Episcopal Church through the work of IntegrityUSA," said Richardson. "For more than 30 years, Integrity has been the leading voice in the church calling for the full-inclusion of LGBT people, and it is a joy to stand on the shoulders of those many others who have been the persistent voice of the Holy Spirit calling the church into that heritage. 'The Episcopal Church welcomes you!' has never been more true than it is today, yet we still have more work to do before all people know and feel that welcome. I look forward to working with the Board of Directors and other Integrity leaders and volunteers throughout the church to make it truer still."