Previous Missioner
Rev. Charles Graves IV
Previous Campus Missioner
Reverend Charles Graves IV (he/him) is a proud church leader on both the local and international levels. He has served since 2019 on the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church, the denomination’s highest governing board. He also serves on the Executive Council Executive Committee and on the Joint Standing Committee on Mission Beyond The Episcopal Church, which oversees the denomination’s international, interfaith, and government relations ministries. He also serves on the Council of Advice for the denomination’s second-highest official, the President of the House of Deputies. He also served as co-founder and co-chair of the Episcopal Church LGBTQ+ Caucus, an advocacy group for LGBTQ+ people in the church.
Rev. Charles serves as the Missioner for Houston Canterbury Episcopal Campus Ministry, serving several public universities in Houston, Texas. Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, Charles hails from a long line of Episcopalian heritage spanning seven generations. He is proud to have been raised at St. James Episcopal Church in Baltimore under the rectorship of then-Rev. Michael B. Curry, later the 27th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. Rev. Charles obtained his undergraduate degree from Hampton University and embarked on a dynamic career journey, engaging in roles as a community organizer and campaign manager and even serving in a U.S. Senator's office on Capitol Hill. Later, he pursued theological education at Yale Divinity School, where he completed his seminary studies. After seminary, he served for a year as an Episcopal missionary offering aid to refugees in Italy. Rev. Charles was ordained to the priesthood in 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Rev. Charles has conversational knowledge in Spanish and Italian and is working toward fluency, which enables him to participate actively in numerous international missions. Rev. Charles finds joy in the company of his remarkable husband, Chris. Together, they explore the city, enjoy beach vacations, embark on travel adventures, delve into language learning, and are enamored of their precocious terrier, Cece.
Rev. Charles is now the newly appointed rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Shaker Heights, Ohio.
