The Rev. Dr. Thomas A. Downs
Rector Emeritus
The Rev. Dr. Tom Downs holds M.A. degrees in church history, theology and education (from Notre Dame), and a doctorate in adult spirituality from the Graduate Theological Union at Berkeley. Originally a Roman Catholic priest, he became an Episcopal priest and became director of the Florida Council of Churches in the late 1970’s, and then a cathedral canon at St. Luke’s Cathedral in Orlando. From there he moved on to assistant to the bishop (“Canon to the Ordinary”) for both Bishop William Folwell and Bishop John Howe in Central Florida. He spent 11 years as rector of St. Paul’s Church in Albany, Ga., where he became founding president of the Flint River Habitat in Albany. In 2003 he returned to central Florida as rector of St. Richard’s in Winter Park. Since retirement there, he has been consulting and supplying in parishes both in the dioceses of Central and Southwest Florida. He was full-time interim rector of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in 2016-17, on Snell Island in St. Petersburg, FL., while living with his daughter and her new little daughter, Alexis. His greatest "claim to fame" and love is his beloved wife Bernice, who has always enjoyed being active at St. Richards.
Last Published: December 22, 2022 3:31 PM
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