John Sheldon Paddock

Eucation

Elementary through High School – Athens, Midway, and Columbus, Ohio, public schools, 1952-1963. Kungsholmen’s Hoegre Almanna Laroverket, Stockholm Sweden, 1963-64
University of Rochester, Rochester, New York Major area: History BA 1968
Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, Alexandria, Virginia M.Div. cum laude 1972
College of Preachers, Washington, D.C. Fellow, 1980
American Sign Language courses, Governor Baxter School for the Deaf, Falmouth, Maine 1992-94
Currently enrolled in a Doctor of Ministry program at United Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio. Focus is “Reframing the Dialogue on Race.” January, 2002-present. Projected completion date is May, 2004.

Employment

Rector, Christ Episcopal Church, Dayton, Ohio 1999-present
A regional ministry in a parish which has no local neighborhood. The members come from all over the Miami Valley and fewer than twenty-percent live within the city limits. Christ Church is a Reconciliation Center and member of the International Community of the Cross of Nails. Significant outreach ministries are engaged in partnerships in Dayton, Sierra Leone, Kenya, and Russia.
Rector, Grace Episcopal Church, Bath, Maine 1988-1999
General Parish ministry in an industrial ship-building city on Maine’s mid-coast. Focus on preaching, education, and pastoral care was among people whose livelihoods are dependent on the ups and downs of military spending and conversion to non-military production of the state’s largest employer, the Bath Iron Works. The region is also experiencing the decline of the fishing industry and phenomenal growth in tourism.
Rector, St. James’ Episcopal Church, Great Barrington, Massachusetts 1980-1988
Parish ministry among people whose community underwent rapid change from a small New England town to a year-round tourist center and second home market for urban dwellers. During my time there the parish sponsored construction of 29 units of housing for the elderly, established an Education for Ministry program, and created the Southern Berkshire soup kitchen and food bank.
Rector, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Greenville, Ohio 1974-1980
Served the only Episcopal congregation in Darke County in western Ohio’s corn-belt. The parish was a real “middle way” in a small county seat that was polarized over many religious and economic issues.
Director, Vinton County Camp, Hamden, Ohio 1976-1980
Recruited and trained staff, managed 600 acre facility, designed promotional materials, planned and directed program for the Diocese of Southern Ohio’s summer camp for children and youth. Also supervised seminarians who worked in my parish as interns while I was occupied at the camp.
Assistant Rector, The Church of St Edward, Columbus, Ohio 1972-1974
Helped to design and implement a ministry to apartment dwellers in the rapidly expanding eastern suburbs of Ohio’s capitol city. Assisted the rector in worship, education, and pastoral care.

Other Involvements

Local: Have served on various community boards: YMCA, United Way, Red Cross, Community Health and Nursing Services, Member of the Dayton Downtown Clergy and Inter-faith Ministers of Reconciliation.
Diocese: Served the Diocese of Maine on Council, Standing Committee, and Finance Committee. Also served as Chair of the Committee on Missions and the Communications committee. Worked as a vacancy consultant. Just
State: Member of the Governor’s Task Force on AIDS, 1990-1991; Member and Chair of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf, 1996-1999; Member of the Advisory Board of the State Legislature’s Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs, 1988; Member of the Maine Inter-Faith Council for Reproductive Choice, 1997-1999. Have also served the United Church of Christ (Congregational) in Maine as a retreat leader for their Conference Board and as an outside mediator in UCC congregational disputes.

Personal Narrative

I was born in Rochester, New York, in 1946, and was raised in Missouri and Ohio. My mother was a housewife, and my father spent his working life as a member of the Church Army, serving as a lay evangelist, minister, and diocesan executive in the Episcopal Church. I am the oldest of four children.

I married Ann Victoria Wilhelm in 1974. In addition to being a housewife and mother, Ann was an active member of the Board of the Mid-Coast United Way. In 1997 she was recognized as the United Way’s Volunteer of the Year, Ann also served on the Board of the Bath-Brunswick Habitat for Humanity, and she chaired the Habitat Partnering Committee. She also served on the Dirigo Committee that was appointed by the governor to make recommendations for improving access to Maine’s Court System. Ann sings in the Church choir and teaches American Sign Language classes.

We have seven children: Joshua (28) works for Ohio University, Athens, Ohio; Marishah (26) is a musician, artist, and waitress in Dayton, Ohio; Isaac (24) is a Navy fireman serving aboard the USS Kitty Hawk Aircraft Carrier; Shannah (20) is a sophomore at Springfield College, Springfield, Massachusetts; Jessye (14) is in seventh grade at St. Rita’s School for the Deaf in Cincinnati. We completed our adoption of Adelishah (4 years) and her brother, Aaron (3 years) in May, 2003.

Ann and I have had over 70 other children in our home over the years in Ohio, Massachusetts, and Maine. We continue to care for foster children in Dayton. Our marriage is strong and Ann is both my life’s companion and my best friend.

Among my leisure pursuits are reading, photography, fly fishing, backpacking, and alpine skiing. In years past I have been a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician (Greenville, Ohio and Great Barrington, Mass.) and a member of the National Ski Patrol (Butternut Basin, Mass. and Mt. Abram, Maine).

I am a broad churchman with a deep love for the openness and gentle spirit of the Episcopal Church. I love Jesus and am committed to God’s Kingdom of justice and mercy and grace. A community of Christians is a family where God’s presence is witnessed and celebrated, where people are all welcomed and nurtured in the faith, and from which God’s people are sent forth as ministers to the other places in which they live and move and have their being.