Each year, St. James’ provides a place of learning and growth for seminarians from the Seminary of the Southwest as they do their field education.
This year, we will have three seminarians working with us, and I hope you will come and meet them during Coffee Hour (12-1 pm in Founders Hall) on August 31.
Ari Gandy – Senior Seminarian
Hello, my name is Ari Gandy. I was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and moved to Texas with the wave of those brought here by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. I am excited to join the St. James community as a non-denominational Seminary of the Southwest student. My wife Shaun and I have been together for nineteen years and married in 2016 when we adopted our boys. We have served as foster parents since 2013 and since then have adopted three amazing little ones. We will be finalizing our fourth by the end of this year.
Before answering the call on my life into ministry, the time and energy we put into fostering kids and working with other foster parents encouraged us to start a non-profit in 2016, helping families address the cultural and basic needs of black and brown girls. I completed an intensive program for non-profit leadership at ACC to help cultivate innovative methods of collaborating with other thought leaders to create a community of helping the most vulnerable people in and around the places we call home. This speaks to the heart of what I hope to bring into ministry with me.
Though I have been in attendance at a variety of denominations, the love, care, and compassion my family has received in the Episcopal Church is an experience we have valued and cherished immensely. The kids, Shaun, and I walked into St. James’ together for the first time and felt the energy and presence of God immediately. Therefore, we know the journey ahead as we immerse ourselves into the life of the community here we will be blessed in ways we can’t even imagine. We thank you all for always being so warm and inviting and are looking forward to our time with all of you.
The Rev. Br. Angel Roque – Senior Seminarian
The Rev. Br. Angel Gabriel Roque was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida to study Culinary Arts and management. He worked in many restaurants in Fort Lauderdale and Miami as a sous-chef, baker, research and development among other kitchen management positions. Angel worked and served in many ministries in South Florida, as a night shelter program manager for the St. Laurence Homeless shelter in Oakland Park Florida. Angel worked as done work as an HIV prevention counselor for youth and young adults and is
currently on the Board of Directors for Care Resource. Angel has worked and cofounded two Latine Episcopal ministries in Southeast Florida and worked extensively as a youth pastor and young adult chaplain in South Florida.
While serving the church Angel became a Certified Recovery Peer Specialist, specializing in sexual trauma, eating disorders, and opiate addiction, and worked in mental health crisis management at South Florida Wellness Network and
Henderson Behavioral Health services. After his work in South Florida Angel answered a call to serve the church in New Mexico and southwest Texas in January 2021 as the Diocesan Missioner for Youth and Young Adults and Director of Camp Stoney programs for the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande. Angel is Middler and a full-time residential seminarian at the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in Austin Texas. MDiv class of 2026. Angel is also a Life professed Brother of the Brotherhood of St. Gregory an Episcopal community of friars. Angel also serves as on the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music (SCLM) on the commission’s Calendar Subcommittee and the Council for Safe Church & Safe Communities of The Episcopal Church. Angel resides in Austin Texas with his dog, Koko.
Barrett Hess – Middler
Hi! My name is Barrett Hess, and I’m a seminarian at the Seminary of the Southwest. I’m entering my second year in the Masters in Divinity program, with the intention of (God willing) being ordained a Priest after I graduate.