St. James’ Clergy
[ interim Rector]
The Right Reverend Morris Thompson
The Rt. Rev. Morris K. Thompson, Jr. is a native of Mississippi. For the past 44 years Morris has served hospitals and parishes in Kentucky, Mississippi and Louisiana. In 2022 after serving 12 plus years Morris retired as the 11 th Episcopal Bishop of Louisiana. He and Rebecca have two adult children and four grandchildren. They are thrilled to be back home at St. James’ as the interim.
[ Associate Rector]
The Reverend Gates Elliott
Originally from Houston, Texas, Gates moved to Mississippi when he married his Seminary sweetheart in 2010. Gates and his wife, Annie, also an Episcopal priest, have two boys: Jack, 10, and Henry, 8.
Gates enjoys bible studies and baseball.
[Clergy in Residence]
THE Reverend David Elliott
David was born in Meridian and attended Meridian High School before attending college at Sewanee. He married his high school sweetheart and together they had four children and eight grandchildren. Before entering seminary, David was in the insurance business. Thomas Wolfe wrote “You Can’t Go home Again”. David was here before from 2000-2007 and has returned. He has proved him wrong.
You may contact David at delliott@stjjax.org .
[Adjunct Clergy]
The Reverend Buddy Stallings
Buddy, a native of Mississippi, recently returned to Jackson after twenty years in New York City. Like his colleague David Elliott, Buddy takes pride in proving Thomas Wolfe wrong by coming home again to St. James’. In addition to his ministry at the parish, Buddy treasures his time with his son, Brian, daughter-in-law, Andrea, and grandchildren Avery, Brian, Conner, and Mayson.
You may contact Buddy at stallingsbuddy@gmail.com.
[Bishop]
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Dorothy Sanders Wells
The Diocese of Mississippi
11th Bishop Diocesan of the Diocese of Mississippi
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Dorothy Sanders Wells was ordained and consecrated as the eleventh bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi on July 20, 2024 at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, Ridgeland. She was seated in St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Jackson, on July 21, 2024. Bishop Wells was elected on February 3, 2024 at the 197th Annual Council of the Diocese, and succeeds the Rt. Rev. Brian R. Seage, tenth bishop, who served from 2014 until his passing of the crozier to Bishop Wells. Bishop Wells, who was ordained to the transitional diaconate and priesthood in the Diocese of West Tennessee, served as rector of St. George’s Episcopal Church, Germantown, Tennessee, from 2013 until arriving in the Diocese of Mississippi in May, 2024. A native of Mobile, Alabama, Bishop Wells completed her Bachelor of Arts degree at Rhodes College, and her Juris Doctor degree from the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis. She practiced employee benefits law for 18 years, at FedEx Corporation, and at Waring Cox, PLLC, before she left the practice of law to follow God's call to ordained ministry. She received her M.Div. from Memphis Theological Seminary, and her D.Min. from Candler School of Theology, Emory University. Bishop Wells has been committed to the work of community dialogue, racial healing, and justice and equity for all of God's people. She is an award-winning freelance essayist, and many of her works can be found at https://muckrack.com/ dorothy-wells.
Bishop Wells and her husband, Herb, have two daughters.
The Most Rev. Sean Rowe
The 28th Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church.
The Rt. Rev. Sean Rowe, bishop of the Episcopal Dioceses of Northwestern Pennsylvania and Western New York, was elected and confirmed the 28th presiding bishop and primate of The Episcopal Church on June 26 for a nine-year term beginning Nov. 1, 2024. Rowe, 49, was ordained bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania in 2007 and became bishop provisional of Western New York in 2019. From 2014 to 2018, he served as bishop provisional of the Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem.
Born in Sharon, Pennsylvania, Rowe earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Grove City College, a master of divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary, and a doctorate in organizational learning and leadership from Gannon University. Rowe was the youngest Episcopal priest in the U.S. when he was ordained in 2000 at age 24, and he was the youngest member of the House of Bishops when he was ordained and consecrated at age 32. Known for his research and work on organizational learning and adaptive performance in the church, Rowe serves as parliamentarian for the House of Bishops and the Episcopal Church Executive Council; chair of the Episcopal Church Building Fund; and as a member of the Standing Commission on Structure, Governance, and Constitution and Canons. He also serves on the Greater Buffalo Racial Equity Roundtable. In 2018, he became the first bishop to serve on the House of Deputies Committee on the State of the Church.
Rowe is married to Carly Rowe, a Christian educator; they have a daughter named Lauren.