[Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey] Dr. Joseph G. Wolyniak has been named the Episcopal Chaplain at Princeton University. Wolyniak’s call to this position is the result of an extensive nationwide search undertaken by a committee of clergy and laity from the greater Princeton community, including current Princeton University students.

Wolyniak comes to the Diocese of New Jersey after serving as Missioner for Discipleship & Theological Education in the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado, where he worked in the Office of Faith Formation in support of campus ministries at several colleges and universities across the state. He was ordained to the transitional diaconate and completed his Doctorate of Philosophy in Theology from the University of Oxford in June.

“Joseph’s experiences in college chaplaincy, residential life, parish ministry, and diocesan leadership makes him the ideal candidate for the Episcopal Chaplaincy at Princeton University,” said the Rt. Rev. William Stokes, Bishop of New Jersey. “We greatly look forward to his ministry, both on campus and in the diocese at large.”

Wolyniak has served in multiple chaplaincy settings, including working with undergraduates and seminarians at Duke University Chapel, graduate students and fellows at Saint John’s College Chapel–Oxford, and a variety of students and staff at the multi-campus outreach of Raleigh Episcopal Campus Ministry,  comprised of ministry to engineers at North Carolina State University, first-generation college students at the Episcopal-affiliated historically black St Augustine’s University, and music students at the women’s liberal arts program at Meredith College. He has served on residential life staffs at Duke University and the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, sharing life with undergraduates while supervising student leaders and managing programmatic budgets. His ecclesial ministry has included work from the parish to province in the Roman Catholic Church, Church of England, and Episcopal Church.

“When I served at Duke University Chapel, the Rev. Dr. Sam Wells articulated the chapel’s mission well: ‘Keeping the heart of the university listening to the heart of God,’” said Wolyniak. “It requires a commitment to preaching and teaching that can engage the intellectual milieu without drifting into the trap of offering yet another lecture among  many. It requires an  energetic and imaginative spirit, flexible and responsive to the dynamic constellation of college life. It requires a sense of humor, infectious joy, and love for the sacramental mysteries that can punctuate regimented curricular and extracurricular schedules. And above all, standing alongside the manifold wisdom of numerous religious and philosophical traditions on campus, offer a glimpse into the divine life in which we live and move and have our being.”