Rector
Norman Whitmire, Jr., MD, MDiv
The Rev. Dr. Norman Whitmire, Jr. began his tenure as the Seventh Rector of All Saints Church in July 2013. Fr. Whitmire was born in Las Vegas, Nevada and grew up in San Bernardino, California. He earned his bachelor degree in linguistics from Harvard University in 1990 and an MD degree from the Yale School of Medicine in 1995. Following medical residency in Philadelphia, Fr. Whitmire moved to the Washington, DC area and practiced internal medicine for almost ten years, mostly in the Mount Vernon section of Alexandria, before following a call to ordained ministry. Fr. Whitmire graduated from Virginia Theological Seminary in 2011. He was ordained to the diaconate by The Rt. Rev. Mary Douglas Glasspool, then-Suffragan Bishop of Los Angeles in June 2011 and to the priesthood by The Rt. Rev. Shannon S. Johnston, then-Bishop of Virginia in December of that same year.
Life in the church is not new to Fr. Whitmire. He began as a child singing in the choir of the Baptist church where his grandfather was the pastor. Eventually, he served as a pianist/organist and choirmaster of the youth & young adult choirs. While in college, Fr. Whitmire was introduced to Anglicanism and the Episcopal Church, and fell in love with the beauty of Anglo-Catholic worship. While in medical school, Fr. Whitmire was confirmed in the Episcopal Church in 1991 at Christ Church in New Haven, Connecticut and became an active member and server at the altar. During his residency in Philadelphia, Fr. Whitmire sang in the choir at St. Mark’s Church (Locust Street), and while living in the Washington, DC area, was a very active member of All Souls Church in Woodley Park, where he sang in the choir, served in numerous ministries, and was a member of the vestry until he began studies at Virginia Theological Seminary. After graduating, Fr. Whitmire served as Assistant to the Rector and Director of Youth Ministries at St. David’s Church in Ashburn, Virginia and briefly as Interim Assistant Rector of St. Peters in the Woods Church in Fairfax Station, Virginia. For many years, Fr. Whitmire was also a frequent congregant at St. Paul’s Church (K Street, Washington, DC) and eventually served among the honorary assisting clergy there, until he was called to New York City to serve as Rector of All Saints.
In addition to serving the people of All Saints, Fr. Whitmire is a member of the Board of Trustees of Episcopal Health Services, the diocesan corporation that runs St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway, New York; serves as Dean of the Forest Park Deanery; sits on the diocesan Lutheran-Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission; and, is a member of the Society of Catholic Priests - North America where he serves on the provincial council as Membership Secretary.
In his spare time, Fr. Whitmire enjoys cooking, wine tasting, sci-fi and fantasy movies, biking, skiing, playing the piano, science & history documentaries, and mindless reality tv. He likes church history, antiquities, and collecting religious icons. He loves to travel as well. In 2010, Fr. Whitmire went on a pilgrimage to The Holy Land, and later that year, participated in the Canterbury Scholars Program, which brought together nearly 40 clergy and seminarians from around the Anglican Communion for a two-week conference at Canterbury Cathedral. In addition, he has participated in medical missions to Nicaragua and Ecuador and a humanitarian mission to Honduras. He is fluent in Spanish and French.
Organist
We are currently in a transition period.