Our New Rector
The Rev. Canon Barbara Seward

A Message from our Wardens

Dear friends in Christ,

On behalf of the Vestry and the Search Committee, we are pleased to announce the calling of the Rev. Canon Barbara Harrison Seward to be the Rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church – Salt Lake City, the 20^th priest to lead our church since it was founded in 1879. Canon Barbara will assume her role as Rector on Monday, November 2nd, 2026 and will preside at Sunday services starting on November 8^th, 2026. A Celebration of her New Ministry will take place at St. Paul’s in the evening of Wednesday, December 2^nd, 2026. 

Canon Barbara is currently Rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Easton, Pennsylvania, and she also serves the Episcopal Diocese of the Susquehanna as Canon Missioner of the Southeast Region, conducting ministry reviews, engaging transition ministry, presenting workshops, and developing leadership with new clergy. Canon Barbara's vast experience includes time as an educator in Fairfax County, VA, Cumberland County, N.C, and Harrisonburg City, VA. Her education for the priesthood began at Eastern Mennonite Seminary and was completed with an Anglican Studies Certificate from Virginia Theological Seminary. Prior to her present position, Canon Barbara has served at Episcopal churches in Minnesota, Illinois, and Virginia. Her passion is for justice pertaining to food and its availability to communities that are poor and marginalized.

During her visit to St. Paul’s, the Search Committee and Vestry found Canon Barbara to be thoughtful, sincere, and caring, a person of deep faith. She expressed support of our Pantry and Outreach Ministries, our commitment to justice and welcoming, and our goals to serve the broader community. We believe that Canon Barbara will be effective in leadership, pastoral care, and deepening the spiritual growth of our parish. She led a joyful celebration of the Eucharist. Her sermon on Jesus reaching out his hand to save Peter and calming the storm renewed our trust in God in these troubled times, giving us hope for the future. 

With our Rector Search completed, we wish to thank the Search Committee for their work and faithful discernment on behalf of our parish. We also thank the St. Paul’s Vestry for their leadership during this period of rector transition, and the many coordinators and volunteers who have served in St. Paul’s ministries. We are also deeply grateful to all of you, the members of this parish community, for your prayers and support throughout this process.

During this period of transition, we have been sustained by God’s healing presence and our love for each other. With the calling of Canon Barbara as our new Rector, we can look forward to a time of new beginnings at St. Paul’s. 

Yours in faith,



Joel Harris, Senior Warden 
Will Grua, Junior Warden

A Message from Canon Barbara

Grace to all and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us give thanks to the Lord for the present days and the beginning epoch of a future filled with hope in Christ.

I am honored to be called as the 20^th Rector to serve, partner and lead the people of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Salt Lake City. In the days spent with the Search Committee, Vestry and staff, our shared core values centered around upholding the dignity of those who are poor and marginalized, building and maintaining relationships, supporting lay ministry, as well as engaging pastoral care, the wider community, and strategic planning for a future witness in the community around us.

While touring your beautiful worship spaces, I encountered a few deeply committed lay ministers, and silently observed friendships, camaraderie, and a joy of hospitality that was filled with food, welcome, grace and laughter. 

The Lord is afoot at St. Paul’s, and I am looking forward to traveling the road of continuous story with the beloved people of this community. I bring gifts, skills and experiences in education, chaplaincy, marketing and communication, community engagement, leadership development, congregational vitality and many others, but most importantly, I bring a deep faith rooted in Christ and a belief that we are the chalice within the hands of God to be poured out into the lives of those known and unknown.

I give great thanks to the members of the Search Committee who provided a welcoming, and transparent encounter. I also thank the members of Vestry who were diligent and honest in their discerning questions for the next Rector of St. Paul’s. Lastly, I give thanks to those who gave time to provide tours of Salt Lake City and who provided food, historical insight, and other ministers who enriched my time in Utah.

My first day in office will be Monday, November 2^nd, and I look forward to meeting each and every one of you.

In closing, I offer a prayer for this new season.

God of Love,

You are with us in every transition and change.

As we enter into this new era with excitement and even some anxiety,

we recall your deep compassion, presence, and abounding love.

We thank you for the gifts, talents and skills with which you have blessed us.

We thank you for the experiences that have brought us to this moment.

We thank you for the work of others that gives breadth and depth to our own work.

Be with us as we move forward, rejoicing with you and supporting one another.

We ask this in your Holy Name. - Joseph P. Shadle

In Christ,

The Rev. Canon Barbara Harrison Seward.