Washington National Cathedral

WASHINGTON, DC – Cathedral Dean, the Very Reverend Samuel T. Lloyd III, has announced the appointment of the Reverend John Ander Runkle to serve as Cathedral Conservator.

A renowned architect as well as Episcopal priest, Runkle joins the Cathedral’s senior staff following assignments as interim rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and consultant to the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina. His architectural career includes a variety of positions including, most recently, a position as architect in the firm of Eason and Farlow Design of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, a firm specializing in church design and liturgical furnishings. Other architectural assignments include work as principal architect with the firm of Frazier Associates in Staunton, Virginia, and work as an architect with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Runkle earned a Bachelor of Arts degree (magna cum laude) from Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia, in 1981 followed by a Bachelor of Architecture with honors from the University of Tennessee in 1984. He earned a Master of Divinity from the University of the South, School of Theology in Sewanee, Tennessee, in 1999. Among his many honors are membership in Tau Sigma Delta, the National Honor Society for Architecture and the Allied Arts, and time as a Fellow-in-Residence at The School of Theology of the University of the South. He is author of “Reclaiming the Christian Contemplative Tradition” which appeared in The North Carolina Disciple in the summer of 2004, and served as managing editor and contributor to Searching for Sacred Space: Essays on Architecture and Liturgical Design in the Episcopal Church, published in 2002.

Among his many community services are positions as committee and board members of the Community Design Commission of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the Architectural Steering Committee of All Saints’ Chapel at the University of the South, and membership on the Property Committee of the Woodrow Wilson Birthplace and Museum in Staunton, Virginia.

“I am particularly pleased to welcome John Runkle to the Cathedral staff,” said Dean Sam Lloyd. “His reputation as both a skilled and creative designer and spiritual leader has preceded him. His ability to merge his training and experience in both spirituality and architecture will be an extraordinary asset to the Cathedral as we move toward our centennial and a renewed emphasis on the ministry as well as the beauty of this magnificent sacred place.”

Among Runkle’s responsibilities as Cathedral Conservator will be historic preservation of both the structure and fabric of the Cathedral, along with coordination and supervision of fine arts projects in the Cathedral. He will work closely with the chair of the Chapter’s Fabric and Fine Arts Committee and reports to Tina Mead, Cathedral Provost and Chief Operating Officer.

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SOURCE: Washington National Cathedral