St. Michael's Episcopal Church

Dennis Ryan
Priest in Charge

Father Dennis Ryan began his tenure at St. Michael’s in June, 2015. He brings many experiences from a long and varied background in the business world, the military and the Episcopal Church. He was a manager for 24 years in Business Marketing for all the different iterations of the “Telephone Company”. The U.S. Army Reserve had a great appeal and he spent 20 years in various command and training roles prior to retiring. Beginning in1980 Dennis became increasingly active in the church. St. James in Jackson, MS was, in a way, a new birth-place for him and he served in many different roles at the parish and diocesan level. After struggling with the possibility of ordination for many years, in 1989, Father Dennis entered into a discernment process that eventually led to becoming a postulant for Holy Orders. He attended The School of Theology Sewanee Tennessee, graduated and was ordained deacon (1990) and then priest (1991). Father Ryan’s first cure was at Trinity Church Hattiesburg, MS. He says, “They brought me up as a priest.” The love that was shared was tremendously affirming and the work that God had called Dennis to was wonderfully fulfilling for him. He served there for seven years. There was a lot accomplished in many areas of church life. Dennis became the associate rector of St. John’s Pascagoula, MS in August, 2000. When the rector retired in May, 2005, he became the Interim Rector and was serving in that capacity when Katrina hit. The church received very little damage and they were able to hold services the Sunday after the storm. He got the idea that the thousands and thousands of dollars they were receiving would require some excellent stewardship or it could wind up being un-wisely distributed. They bought sheetrock and gave it away to build anew hundreds and hundreds of houses. The Bishop of Mississippi agreed with the request of the wardens of St. John’s and to that end, Dennis became rector in 2006. He served St. John’s in three capacities for thirteen years. Father Dennis retired from St. John's in late June of 2013. Subsequently, upon hearing that Christ Church Covington would be looking for an Interim Rector, he let Bishop Morris Thompson and Canon Shannon Manning know that he was interested. Father Dennis began serving Christ Church as Interim Rector in late January of 2014. Dennis and his wife Susan met in Hattiesburg. In late February they celebrated their sixth anniversary. Susan has two adult children. David lives in Malaysia and Kennon lives in New York City. Dennis has three adult children. Devin and her family live in Mandeville. Kelsey and her husband live near New Castle-Upon-Tyne in the UK. John lives in Biloxi and has three children. “Holy Time, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, begins anew for all of us. I give thanks to God for the joy and challenges, the opportunity and the affirmations that we shall encounter as we collectively follow the path that our Lord Jesus has called us to.” Father Dennis Ryan