Mike found and was found in the Episcopal Church after being nourished by myriad stops along the way: ordained Southern Baptist ministry, participation in almost every mainline Christian denomination and study in five differently confessional seminaries, teaching high school math, coaching wrestling, fishing for salmon in Alaska, and being built up by love after having puffed himself up with knowledge. He is the grateful spouse of Rebecca and the proud father of two children, Daniel and Emory, and caretaker of his canine associate, Maggie the goldendoodle. He eccentrically makes soap, mills grain, produces stained glass windows and custom cabinetry, plays the guitar, shops at livestock auctions, and wants to know more about, well everything, especially you!
Clergy and Staff
Alex Hillis
Minister to Families
Alex Hillis is excited to be joining St. Thomas the Apostle community as the new Family Minister. Alex was born and raised an Episcopalian in his hometown of Richmond, TX, just south west of Houston. He is married to the smartest person he knows Meghan, also a Family Minister in the Diocese, and a father to a sweet, fiery, almost two year old, red head named Evelyn. In his down time he likes to root for all of his favorite Houston sports teams, play and laugh with his daughter, and watch his “guilty pleasure” shows on HGTV. Alex graduated from the University of Houston with a Bachelor degree in Integrated Communications. He has spent the past 7 years as a Youth Minister in the Diocese of Texas, and has been greatly involved in the many different programs and ministries it has to offer. Alex is grateful and excited to begin this new journey with St. Thomas the Apostle.
alex@sttaec.org
Garmon grew up in South Africa, the son of Anglican missionary parents. After serving as Director of Music at the Diocesan College, Cape Town, and Director of the Cape Town Symphony Chorus for a number of years, he accepted a scholarship to study a Masters in Choral Conducting at Yale. After his studies there he was called to be Music Director at a large Episcopal parish in Tucson, Arizona, before moving to Houston, where he is Chair of the Performing Arts Department at the Episcopal High School. He was appointed Director of Music at St. Thomas in 2011.
Artist in Residence: Christine Alexander
St Thomas the Apostle’s mission is to welcome, serve, learn, and worship. Informally, we say with courage, “We can do more together!” Art has become an integral part of that vision and mission. Art is transcendent; it represents the best of what makes us human. It connects us to others and also to ourselves with courage, beauty, creativity, and wonder. The artist in residence codifies the parish commitment to art and invites the surrounding community to share in beauty, expression, and transcendence.
St Thomas proudly partners with long time parishioner, Christine Alexander, as its inaugural resident artist. Christine is a master artisan, most recently designing and crafting a stained-glass installation in a memorial chapel. Christine has the unique ability to combine faith with reason, imagine ineffable tenets of faith and science, and harmoniously combine the most granular detail with the abstract. Christine continues to offer both her art, currently designing another two large glass arrays (to be fabricated and installed by 2023) and her oversight, connections, and invitations with the greater Clear Lake and Houston arts communities (especially in rotating art exhibitions at the church and school).
Christine’s tenure as artist in residence has already begun informally and extends farther into the future than the commissions currently on the table as the parish and school continue to celebrate the awe and wonder of the arts.
chrisalex1138@hotmail.com
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