Deo volente, the Rt. Rev. Alex Cameron, bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh, will institute the Rev. Jay Slocum as rector of St. Thomas Anglican Church in Gibsonia, PA, on Sunday, April 2, 2023. Your prayers and presence are requested.
Father Jay was raised in a dairy farming community 75 miles up the Hudson River from the Empire State Building in NYC. A few weeks before his 14th birthday, he gave his life to Jesus Christ. He graduated from The King’s College in New York, where he met his wife, Catherine.
The Slocums moved to the Washington DC area soon after marrying in 1992. During the 1990’s they ministered at Truro Episcopal Church, where Catherine worked as the director of communications and Jay led adult discipleship classes while pursuing a career as an advocate for adults with disabilities. Their daughter, Emma, was born in 1997. In 1999, Truro Church recognized Jay’s call to ordained ministry and the Slocums were called to Aliquippa, PA, where Jay worked as the Youth Minister at Prince of Peace Episcopal Church and attended Trinity School for Ministry. In 2001, the Slocum family welcomed Lydia into their lives!
Graduating with an MDiv in 2003, Jay was called to serve as a church planter and associate rector at The Church of the Cross in Hilton Head, SC. He served there until 2007, when he was called back home to the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh to church plant. From 2007 to 2018, Jay served as the founding pastor and rector of Jonah’s Call Anglican Church in Pittsburgh. During those years, he also served as the vice chair on the board of The Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation, the interim preaching pastor at Bellefield Presbyterian Church, the founder of The Whistle Bike Shop, and as the co-founding City Network Leader of the Made to Flourish Network here in Pittsburgh.
In 2018, Jay completed his work at Jonah’s Call and expanded The Whistle Bike Shop from side project to a full-time venture. From 2019 until his call to serve as the 11th rector of St. Thomas, Jay has served as a children’s pastor and curriculum developer alongside Catherine, who is the director for children’s ministry at Church of the Ascension in Oakland. When he is not restoring vintage bicycles or serving in the Church, Jay loves to ride mountain bikes, spend time with family and friends, and take long motorcycle rides with Catherine.