Welcome to The Rev. Daniel Bentley

Hello parishioners and friends of St. James the Less:

I write with exciting news that I've been super eager to share: we just hired a Curate!! As many know, this announcement concludes a months-long discernment process involving various parishioners and the vestry trying to figure out how to best respond to the sizable growth we've been seeing in our parish this past year, especially among our younger families.

I'll write in this summer's Tuesday member emails about how we made hiring a curate happen financially (short answer: a lot of new pledging families, a generous grant from the diocese, increased rental commitments and a reduced diocesan assessment); how the whole clergy team--rector, curate and deacon--will work together next year; and what this all means for our ministries and day-to-day life at St. James. I wanted to share the news this morning because, well, I'm just so excited, and so is the vestry!

Daniel Bentley comes to St. James the Less from St. David's Episcopal Church in Washington, DC, where he served as a seminarian and transitional deacon while completing his Master of Divinity at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria.

Before ordination, Daniel spent more than a decade as a journalist and editor in New York City, working at publications including Fortune and Morning Brew. He came to The Episcopal Church in 2020 as a member of St. Philip's in the Highlands in Garrison, NY, and soon began to discern a call to ordained ministry.

He cares deeply about connecting people to the love of Jesus through Word and Sacrament, and his theological interests include liturgy, church history, and interfaith reconciliation, including how Christians read the Hebrew Scriptures well and faithfully.

Ordained to the transitional diaconate in February, Daniel will be ordained to the priesthood on September 12 at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

He and his wife Kari have been married for 15 years. They have a young son, Rowan, and a rescue mutt named Frankie. All four of them are thrilled to be coming home to New York.

Daniel's first Sunday with us will be July 19. Do stay tuned for ways you can help us welcome him in the months ahead!