Meet St. Matthew's Rector
Father John C. Lathrop

Father John C. Lathrop and his lovely wife, Leslie Ann, have been a part of St. Matthews since the very beginning in May, 2005.  Father and Leslie Ann are the parents of 7 wonderful children, and have 15 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.

Over the past 50 years, Father Lathrop has held many very demanding and interesting positions.

He was President and Executive Director for 16 years at the Center for Community and Family Services, Pasadena, CA, which is a non-profit California corporation serving over 10,000 low-income, minority families in housing, medical care, nutrition services, food banks, job development, State funded child development and Federally funded Head Start programs [over 3000 children] in Los Angeles, Lassen and Madera Counties.

Between the years of 1991 to 1994 he served as Executive Secretary, the Church Commissioners of the 6 million member Anglican Church of Uganda, where he organized, developed and managed one of the first successful nationwide HIV/AIDS prevention and education programs for the then 18 million African nation of Uganda.

During the period of 1958 to 2000, Father John was Senior Pastor (Rector, Vicar, Priest-in-Charge, Headmaster) of various Churches and Day Schools in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles located in Compton-Watts, North Hollywood, South Pasadena, La Canada-Flintridge and San Jacinto, CA.

Father John is a retired Colonel of the US Army with 38 years of service, active and reserve, enlisted and commissioned. He is the holder of 28 decorations and awards including the Legion of Merit.

He is a graduate of the resident course of the Command & General Staff College, Ft. Leavenworth, KS, holds a Ph.D. from the California Graduate School of Religion, Glendale, CA, a Masters and Bachelors of Divinity from the Episcopal Theological Seminary, Austin, TX, a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles, and is a graduate of Christ School, Arden, NC.

Father John is Rector Emeritus, St. Timothy’s Parish, Compton, CA and a Provincial Canon, All Saints Cathedral (Anglican), Kampala, Uganda. He was Ordained Deacon (1958) and Priest (1959), in the Episcopal Church.

Father John is currently the Dean of Appalachia which is comprised of six Anglican Province of America Churches (All Saints, Mills River/Arden, NC; Christ Church, Highlands, NC; Holy Cross, Knoxville, TN; St. George the Martyr, Simpsonville, SC; St. Timothy's, Swannanoa, NC; and St. Matthew's, Weaverville, NC).