The rev. dr. elaine ellis thomas
At long last, we’re thrilled to announce the 2024-2025 Vestry’s call to The Rev. Dr. Elaine Ellis Thomas to serve as the next rector of St. John’s, Essex, effective July 1, 2025.
The Rev. Dr. Elaine Ellis Thomas (aka Pastor Elaine or just Elaine) has been the rector of All Saints, Hoboken, in the Diocese of Newark, NJ, since 2018. A passionate preacher and follower of Jesus, she brings extensive experience in parish ministry in a variety of settings. She is also skilled in organization management, conflict mediation, and global reconciliation ministries, and is excited about partnering with the people of St. John’s as we move into the future together.
Elaine served at St. Paul’s Memorial Church in Charlottesville, Virginia and was an organizing figure in the clergy response to the white supremacist events in the summer of 2017. She attended Berkeley Divinity School at Yale and was ordained in the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, prior to which she was the director of Human Resources for Episcopal Community Services in Philadelphia, managing roughly half of the $10-million budget and serving as a member of the strategic leadership team. She was also an accomplished organist and choirmaster.
As a public theologian, Elaine convenes the Hoboken Clergy Coalition, is chaplain of the Hoboken Fire Department, and a member of the boards of the Hoboken Shelter and the Jubilee Center. She has served as president of the Standing Committee, attended the 80th & 81st General Conventions of the Episcopal Church, and was a member of the Presiding Officers’ Working Group on Truth-Telling, Reckoning, and Healing which led to the creation of several churchwide bodies exploring how the Church heals the wounds of our history.
Elaine and Tim, a leadership consultant, have been married for almost 26 years. Their daughter Rachel lives in the Philadelphia suburbs, and Seth, their son, died by suicide in 2009. She and Tim share their household with their 140-pound Great Pyrenees, Ella, and both enjoy baseball, traveling, and going on adventures together.