MEET OUR NEW RECTOR
The Rev. J. Barry Vaughn, Ph.D., began serving as rector of St. Alban's parish on December 1, 2007. A native of Alabama, Barry grew up in the community of Hayden in rural Blount County, about 25 miles north of Birmingham. His family was active in the local Baptist church and also very musical. Both church and music have been big influences on his life. One uncle was a well-known "gospel" pianist - Joe Roper - who was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame a few years ago. Another uncle, Dr. Cecil Roper, taught church music at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX, for many years. And Barry's mother and grandfather directed church choirs.

After graduating from the Alabama School of Fine Arts (one of the first public

high schools for the arts in the United States) in 1974, Barry went to Harvard University where he majored in History and English literature. While at Harvard Barry decided to become a member of the Episcopal Church. He went on to receive a Master of Divinity from Yale and then a Ph.D. from Scotland's oldest university, the University of St. Andrews. He also spent more than a year doing research on his dissertation at Oxford University.

After teaching at a couple of different universities in Alabama, Barry was ordained and called to serve as rector of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Eutaw, AL, about 90 miles southwest of Birmingham. St. Stephen's grew by about 15% under Barry's leadership. The church also commissioned and built a new pipe organ that has received national attention, and as an outgrowth of the organ project, the parish instituted an arts and music day camp for children.

From 2000 to 2004 Barry served as rector of a parish in Philadelphia, PA, where he also founded and led Servant Year, a one year service opportunity for recent college graduates.

In 2004 Barry returned to Alabama and taught history at the University of Alabama while doing interim ministry in the Diocese of Alabama.

His many interests include books, music, and movies. In 2007 he performed two piano recitals at the Birmingham Public Library and played the dedicatory recital on a new piano at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Birmingham. However, in 2008 he will be devoting most of his free time to completing his book on the history of the Episcopal Church in Alabama.