My name is Scott Painter (he/him), and I am so happy to be nearing my start as Rector of St. Michael and All Angels/San Miguel y todos los Ángeles.  Our mutual life and ministry will officially begin on May 15, my first day in the office. I was previously Rector of Grace Episcopal Church and School in Houston, and before that served as Curate to St. Stephen’s in Houston (where I was ordained to the priesthood). Prior to entering ministry as a priest, I taught English in public and private high schools. I have earned degrees from The University of Houston and Seminary of the Southwest in Austin.

My childhood unfolded in the farmlands of Northwestern Ohio, where I was raised in a devout family as the child of a Pentecostal minister.  But from there my journey of faith followed a winding road to The Episcopal Church in 2004. Here I have found a compelling embrace of all people, an openness to asking hard questions, and an experience saturated with mystery and transcendence. I love the way church can gather people together for connection, meaning-making and missional engagement, to move out as faithful people in healing touch with the world.

I am married to Tami, an Oregonian.  We began our life together in Portland in 1995 and then moved to Texas in 1999, where we raised our now-adult son Rowan. Tami (she/her) continues in a nearly thirty-year career in Human Resources and Employee Benefits as a consultant.

As Rector of Grace, I was called to walk with a beautifully diverse, multicultural, and service-minded “mission” congregation into an era of renewal and growth. In 2022, Grace celebrated a reversal of organizational decline with the achievement of full “parish” status in the Diocese of Texas—a formal recognition of the spiritual, generational, and financial revitalization that is now the new foundation for their future. During my tenure, both the congregation’s constituency and budget doubled. More importantly, Grace grew to include new folks and families among emerging generations, moved to full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ persons in all areas (lay and ordained) of congregational leadership, and established a weekly Spanish-language service and community.

I am thrilled to be joining St. Michael’s, where the parish’s broad social justice commitments, deep lay leadership and involvement, and rich legacy of music and worship in the traditions of The Episcopal Church portend a wonderful new season of mutual ministry, post-pandemic rekindling, and adventures together into new frontiers.