Clergy

The Rev. Matthew Lawrence, Rector Incarnation Santa Rosa, CA

The Very Rev. Dr. Matthew Lawrence, Rector

The Very Rev. Dr. Matthew Lawrence has been Rector at Church of the Incarnation in Santa Rosa, California since 2003. Prior to coming to Santa Rosa, Fr. Matt served as Senior Chaplain at Canterbury House, U of Michigan, Interim Rector in Milford, Michigan, and Rector in Arlington, Massachusetts. His education includes a B.A. in Religious Studies from Reed College (1980), an M.Div. from the University of Chicago's Divinity School (1986), an M.A. in Public Policy Studies from the Harris School of Public Policy at the U of Chicago (1987), and a Doctor of Ministry in Congregational Development from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary (2011). He was appointed Dean of the West Deanery in November, 2011 by Bishop Barry Beisner (thus the "Very" in his title). Fr. Matt worked for several years as a management consultant, policy analyst, and a counselor in psychiatric hospitals prior to jumping into parish ministry in 1992. Ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Barbara Harris in 1990, he has published several articles in national and local periodicals, done many radio commentaries for public radio, and has written many unpublished poems and short stories, as well as a novel. He enjoys movies, creative writing, hiking with his Goldendoodle, reading, and playing pool; and he admires the sermons of Jon Stewart & Stephen Colbert. He has been happily married since 1982 to Rose, a Clinical Psychologist, and is the proud father of Tom, a student at Columbia University's Law School.