I am delighted to announce that we will have a new priest joining our clergy team in November. Father Mark Daniel Schultz will be joining Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue as our Associate Priest for Pastoral Care. In his new role, Father Schultz will assist the Rector in leading worship, in preaching, in teaching, and the overall ministry of the parish. With specific responsibility for pastoral care, he will work closely with Linda Morfi, our Pastoral Care Coordinator, and the entire pastoral team to faithfully support our common life together.
Father Schultz discerned his call to the priesthood at Saint Ignatius of Antioch on New York’s Upper West Side. He studied at Berkeley Divinity School and the Institute of Sacred Music at Yale, and he was ordained to the priesthood in 2017 at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine by Bishop Dietsche.
While at seminary, Father Schultz was an intern at Saint Luke’s in New Haven, focusing on making pastoral care visits, leading Bible study, and providing seasonal formation opportunities during a time of transition in parish leadership. He credits Saint Luke’s with teaching him how to pray and how to preach.
Father Schultz comes to Saint Thomas Church from Saint Philip’s in the Hills in Tucson, Arizona, where he served as Curate for Children, Youth, and Family Ministries. In addition to having the oversight of the pastoral care, formation, and liturgical life of the parish’s children and families, leading an international youth pilgrimage and organizing various retreats, Fr. Schultz provided liturgical leadership, studies and classes, pastoral care and spiritual direction for parishioners and members of the wider community as well. He is an enthusiastic proponent of what’s been called the English School of Catholic Spirituality and has an abiding interest in Christian mysticism.
Father Schultz tells us: “Saint Thomas Church played a significant part in my discernment to the priesthood and in my growth in the faith. Working in midtown just a couple blocks away, I would spend time praying at the shrine of Our Lady of Fifth Avenue during lunch breaks, seeking guidance and intercession. It was under this title that I truly discovered Our Lady as my own Mother. It was also at Saint Thomas that the power of the Anglican choral tradition to form a soul in the faith of Christ was made beautifully and irresistibly clear. I’m excited to serve and grow with the people of Saint Thomas as we deepen our walk with Jesus, as we live and proclaim the Gospel together!”
Still an active playwright, Father Schultz is a resident of New Dramatists (class of 2022). His work, which has been produced domestically and internationally, has won him both the Kesselring and Newsday Oppenheimer prizes. He has a BA in theater from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television, and an MFA in playwriting from Columbia University.
Father Schultz’ husband, Erich, is a Lutheran and a printmaker. A mildly sentimental Arsenal F.C. supporter, Fr. Schultz is also a pianist and passably proficient at the musical saw. He is also a member of the Society of Catholic Priests.
His official first day with Saint Thomas Church in this new role will be All Saints Sunday, November 7. And he will be our preacher at our 11am service that day. Please join us in welcoming Father Schultz and Erich on that holy occasion!
With every blessing,
Matthew Moretz+
Vicar
