Reverend Garron C. Daniels, OCS

ALTON - St. Paul’s Episcopal Church will officially welcome Reverend Garron C. Daniels, OCS, as their rector.

Get The Latest News!

Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.

At 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, a special “seating of the rector” service will install Daniels in his new position at the church. He has served as a priest in charge at St. Paul’s since June 2024, and he noted his eagerness to engage with the people of Alton and share this honor with them.

“It’s something really special,” Daniels said. “Being someone who is 27 years old, being as young as I am, to be a rector of such a historic church is so unheard of and just really a blessing for myself and for my wife, and certainly I don’t want to speak for the congregation, but they feel very, very enthusiastic as well about it.”

Located at 10 E. 3rd Street in Alton, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church will welcome Rt. Rev. Brian Burgess, DD, XII Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Springfield, to lead the service on Jan. 30, 2025. Rev. Dr. Nathan Haydon, the assisting priest at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Ladue, Missouri, will preach.

Many clergy members from the diocese will be in attendance to celebrate the seating of the rector. The service also marks the Feast of King Charles the Martyr on Jan. 30.

Daniels compared a rector to a tenured teacher. The church and Daniels have “come to the agreement that this relationship is working” while he was the priest in charge at St. Paul’s. The rector position is more permanent.

Article continues after sponsor message

“It’s certainly a really big deal for me and quite the honor,” Daniels said. “I’ll be the 21st rector of this parish, and so there’s been a very long line of really amazing priests that have come before me, two of them who went off and would later on become bishops. I come from a very long line of just remarkable priests.”

During the service, Burgess will pray over Daniels and Haydon will give a special sermon recognizing the Feast of King Charles the Martyr. Daniels will be presented with several symbols, including a stole, a Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, and holy oil.

Before moving to Alton, Daniels served as a curate at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Creve Coeur, Missouri. He took the priest in charge position at St. Paul’s in June 2024, and he shared that his experience in Alton so far has been “extremely positive.”

The seating of the rector sermon is special for St. Paul’s congregation members. Like any sermon, it is open to the public. Daniels emphasized that he would love to see more community members at St. Paul’s, as he believes the church and the larger Alton community go hand-in-hand.

“To meet all the people, not just from the parish, but from the local community, has been a really positive, wonderful experience,” he added. “I just really fell in love with the church and fell in love with Alton, and since then, it’s just been such a blessing. Alton is filled with so many wonderful, wonderful people, and so to be able to be a priest, to be able to minister to these people, and to live in this community has just really been a blessing.”

For more information about St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and the seating of the rector service at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 30, 2025, visit their official website at EpiscopalAlton.org.

More like this:

Oct 29, 2024 - St. Paul’s Episcopal Church to Host Exorcism Presentation

Dec 12, 2024 - 100 Years Ago: Franklin W. Olin Jr. Memorial Organ Dedication at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

Jun 4, 2024 - Reverend Garron Daniels Becomes Priest in Charge at Alton Parish

Dec 9, 2024 - Great Rivers Choral Society to Perform Free Christmas Concert

Dec 10, 2024 - Elsah United Methodist Church to Celebrate 150th Anniversary with a Special Sermon