[St. James’s Episcopal Church] The Rev. John F. McCard will be installed by Bishop Shannon Johnston of the Diocese of Virginia as 14th rector of St. James’s Episcopal Church on Jan. 17 at a Celebration of Ministry service starting at 7 p.m.

McCard was selected by the Vestry of St. James’s to lead the church after an extensive national search that was completed in June 2017. The call for McCard was extended on June 24 and he joined the church staff formally on September 10.

Johnston will preside at the service, which will include a celebration of the Eucharist, and the Rev. Canon Jason Leo, Canon for Congregational Vitality in the Diocese of Southern Ohio, will deliver the sermon.

McCard was rector of St. Martin in the Fields in Atlanta, Georgia for 13 years. He also served as president and member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of St. Martin’s Episcopal School in Atlanta for students from pre-K to 8th grade.

McCard is a native of Macon, Georgia. A graduate of Oberlin College in Ohio, he earned his Master of Divinity Degree from General Theological Seminary in New York City in 1992. He completed a Master of Sacred Theology degree at Nashotah House in 2003 and a Doctor of Ministry Degree at Virginia Theological Seminary in 2007. McCard serves as a vestry retreat leader and consultant and is an authority on the writings and life of C.S. Lewis and The Chronicles of Narnia.

St. James’s Episcopal Church is located at 1205 West Franklin Street near Virginia Commonwealth University. It was established in 1835 and has been at the intersection of West Franklin and Birch Streets since 1912.

For more information, visit the church’s website at www.doers.org.