Rector: The Rev’d Canon Thomas Crowder
The Reverend Fr. T. L. Crowder was born and raised on the Southern Oregon Coast. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, with an emphasis in Philosophy, from Lewis and Clark College, in Portland, Oregon, in 1985.
He was Ordained both Deacon and Priest in the Diocese of the West of the Anglican Church of America in 1999 and 2002 respectively. He was Received as a Priest into the Order of Saint Dominic in the Anglican Catholic Church in 2005. He was called to serve a Parish in the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic States in the ACC in 2007, and founded Saint Columba Parish in Warrenton, Virginia, in 2008. At the 2012 Synod of the DMAS, he was asked to serve as Priest-in-Charge of Saint Matthew’s Parish, in Newport News, Virginia. In 2014, he was Instituted as Rector of Saint Matthews.
Following the departure of Saint Matthew’s from the ACC, where they had belonged since their founding in the late 1970’s, and their subsequent affiliation with the Orthodox Anglican Church, he was granted Faculties in the OAC by their Archbishop, The Most Reverend Thomas E. Gordon, in 2021. Fr. Crowder continues to serve as the Rector of Saint Matthew’s, and has recently been appointed as the Director of Vocations for the OAC, overseeing all men in the process of Holy Orders, and those already Ordained Clergy who wish to affiliate with the Church.
The Reverend Deacon Avery Collins was born and raised in Pennsylvania. His Bachelor of Science in Nursing is from California State University Sacramento and his Master of Healthcare Administration is from the University of Southern California. After a long career in healthcare, he now devotes his time to consulting for Riverside Behavioral Health Center and attending Saint Andrew’s Theological College and Seminary’s Master of Divinity program. He and his wife Hope have been married 35 years this year.
His father was Presbyterian and his mother was Roman Catholic. He and his wife have lived and worked around the US and overseas as consultants to various military and government agencies. In 2017 they moved to Newport News. Soon after, they started attending St. Matthew’s Anglican Church. Their lives have been changed profoundly since finding a church where they could worship God in “beauty and holiness”, and grow to be of use to Him and His Church.
The Rev’d Deacon Avery Collins
Michael Taylor Gibson is a talented and accomplished musician based in Williamsburg, Virginia. With a passion for playing the pipe organ, Michael has honed his skills through a variety of experiences, including serving as an organist at Galilee Episcopal Church and St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church, as well as performing for a number of local churches and charitable organizations. Michael's musical talent has earned him numerous honors and awards, including full scholarships to the Sansom-Wanamaker Pipe Organ Camp, the National Federation of Music Clubs piano solo Gold Cup Award, and a scholarship from the Tidewater Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. He is a National Finalist in the East Carolina University Young Artist Pipe Organ Competition and has also taken part in masterclasses with renowned concert organists. With a strong academic background, including a 3.9 GPA from Veritas Preparatory School and North Carolina School of the Arts, Michael is a well-rounded and highly motivated individual with a bright future ahead.
Our Organist: Michael Taylor Gibson
After a rough start in life at a puppy mill, Pepper now has a home with his human companion, The Reverend Father T. L. Crowder. Pepper came to Saint Matthew’s from Saint Columba Parish in Warrenton, Virginia, along with Fr. Crowder. Pepper’s duties around the Parish include, but are not limited to official Greeter, barking at threats real and imagined, cleaning food spills from the floor of the Parish Hall, and making people smile. Pepper has been the Parish Hound since 2012.