Worship

The Rev. Ledlie Laughlin

Ledlie Laughlin began his tenure as the rector of St. Columba’s in September 2015.

With twenty-five years of experience in parishes of all sorts, Ledlie brings to St. Columba’s an abiding, potent and infectious faith in Jesus Christ; an invitational and consensual style of leadership formed in strong relationships with others; an ability to lead and manage complex systems; a deep commitment to justice in our society; a gentle and wise pastoral sensibility; a conviction that The Episcopal Church is a vital and potentially vibrant expression of the grace of God and a fresh perspective.

Ledlie and his wife Sarah live nearby. They have two grown children, India and Nicholas. Before coming to St. Columba’s, Ledlie served for sixteen years as the Rector of St. Peter’s Church in Philadelphia. Ledlie received his BA with Honors from Oberlin College and his Master of Divinity degree from Yale University.

The Rev. Joshua Daniel, PhD

Joshua has failed at many things in life. For all but one year of his baseball career (which ended in Little League) he was an abysmal right-handed batter. In middle school he strove, but failed, to make honor-roll. He was a stalwart of the bench in junior high basketball, getting only one chance to prove his mettle: his coach subbed-him-in when the game was on the line and tied against his school’s archrival, the Elmwood Raiders; within moments he managed to make a quick steal with an open court and easy layup ahead of him, but instead he dribbled the ball off his foot and out-of-bounds. He “rode the bench” until he finally quit his sophomore year. Later in high school he reached above his station and signed up for honors English; however he was soon asked (“strongly requested”) to drop out by one of the most admired teachers in his school. In his early twenties he was fired from a part-time job at a fancy Italian restaurant in St. Louis, MO (mostly he thinks for not understanding the je ne sais quoi of French Red Wine). In college he graduated a semester late due to misunderstanding the rather complicated sequence of his college’s foreign language credit system. Soon thereafter he stumbled into graduate school, unwittingly entering a 12 year doom-loop of full-time studies, which he finally escaped at the age of 35. His first calling as a priest in Arkansas ended in total disaster. His three beautiful children do not agree on much but managed to find rare consensus on his “cringe” rating: an impressive 97%. In the late 2000s, his wife once compared him to Johnny Depp, circa Depp’s Edward Scissorhands days.

By the grace of God Joshua has come to work at St. Columba’s, a spirit-filled place that strives to honor every single person as beloved children of God, warts and all. Joshua delights in the never ending river of forgiveness and mercy he continually receives from Jesus; and he draws on a tantalizingly similar affection and courage from his family who somehow know just what to say to call him up off the ground and to get him to try again.

Joshua loves to meet new and familiar faces from around the parish and neighborhood and hear their own journeys of faith: the stories earlily shared, the stories hard to name, the stories that seem to have slipped through the cracks.

Joshua began at St. Columba’s in March 2020, arriving simultaneously with the great pandemic. He would not meet most parishioners in-person for another year and a half. You can find out more about his background and current projects here.

Father Mitchell Felton

Mitchell’s proudest moments to date are learning how to use the Red Line by himself and only crying twice, and being the lead star in a Netflix commercial.

The Rev. Susan Flanders

The Rev. David Griswold

In November 2017, the Rev. David Griswold was appointed by Bishop Marianne Budde to serve as deacon at St. Columba's. David previously served with us during his final year of preparation before ordination, and now continues in approximately one-third-time, non-stipendiary capacity.

David serves liturgically on Sundays, proclaiming the Gospel, preaching and preparing the table. He also leads Bible study most Sundays and supports our outreach, justice, formation and pastoral care ministries. David may also serve beyond our walls to advance the mission of the diocese. After coming to Washington in the 1980s to work as a congressional aide, he joined St. Margaret’s Church in DC and served as a lay leader for over 30 years, focusing especially on Christian education and community outreach. After earning a Master of Theological Studies at Wesley Seminary in 2012, David pursued Clinical Pastoral Education at Sibley Hospital. Granted Postulancy in 2014, he completed Deacons’ School training, which included an internship with Samaritan Ministry of Greater Washington.

The Rev. Adelyn Tyler-Williams

Adelyn Tyler-Williams serves at the Associate Rector for Worship and Discipleship, in other words she spends time on all things liturgy and works with the staff team to support Christian education. Prior to joining the staff at St. Columba's, she served in Fayetteville, AR overseeing outreach and justice ministries at St. Paul's Episcopal Church and serving as campus chaplain at St. Martin's Episcopal University Center. She is originally from Atlanta, GA and was ordained by the Diocese of Atlanta in 2021.