Welcome to our online prayer community.
Please join us in praying the Daily Office. We have provided text and audio as a resource since 2014. Response to this resource has been good, and we are very happy to be part of the faith practice of Christians in a larger virtual community. Feel free to share the link and help us promote this ministry.
If you might be willing to serve as an occasional reader to fill in when people are on vacation, please send Father Tom an email.
Fr. Tom is the Rector of Christ the King Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Southern Virginia. He was a classroom teacher for 32 years and was ordained in 2010. He started the Audio Office project with Ash Wednesday in 2014, when he challenged his congregation to read the Daily Office every day with him as a Lenten discipline. He posted text and recorded the offices every day himself. At the end of Lent, he realized he could not continue to be the only reader and asked for volunteers to be responsible for a day of the week. Over time, the site added Noon Prayer, Compline. and the 30-day cycle of psalms. We are now making the Daily Office available as a podcast. He is deeply grateful for the many people who have read over the years.
The Rt. Rev. Matthew D. Cowden is the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia. He has been serving as Bishop since 2022. A long-time friend and follower of Jesus Christ, he is dedicated to praying the Daily Offices of The Book of Common Prayer 1979. Before becoming Bishop, he most recently served as the Rector of Saint Michael and All Angels in South Bend, Indiana from 2009-2012. He holds an M.F.A. in Theater, Film, and Television from UCLA. After an early career as a college theater professor, he received his M.Div. at Virginia Theological Seminary in 2006. As a Trainer in Congregational Development ministries, Bp. Cowden has led rural and suburban congregations in developing a shared vision for implementing new ministry. He has also served on the Executive Council of The Episcopal Church, helping to connect larger Church resources with local congregations. He is married to Melissa Cowden, his best friend and partner in ministry. Melissa is an early childhood teacher with a Masters in Multicultural Education. They have three young adult children. Bishop Cowden loves hiking, running, making memorable meals, folk-lore, and story-telling.
The Rt. Rev. Susan Bunton Haynes is the 11th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of the South in 1981, a master’s degree from Middle Tennessee State University in 1989, and an M.Div. from Vanderbilt University Divinity School in 1993. She was elected bishop in 2019.
Bishop Susan was one of the original readers for the Audio Office project in 2014. She is is the voice of the “little offices” and the 30-day cycle of psalms.
+Susan and her husband the Rev. Thomas E. Haynes live in Williamsburg, VA. They have two adult children and a dog named Toothpick. Toothpick “assists” with her contemplative prayer discipline from time to time.