Rev. Randy K. Callender - Judas

Come listen to us chat with The Rev. Randy Kyle Callender from St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Annapolis about Judas. Who was he, what do we know about him and what can we learn from him?

The Rev. Randy Kyle Callender was born in the City of Philadelphia to a tight-knit
family from the Island of Barbados. As a child, he would often call himself a “church nerd,” because he
loved everything about the Episcopal Church. He experienced the wider church beyond his parish, by
participating in Diocesan events and was influenced by many organizations, especially the Union of Black
Episcopalians (UBE). He served on multiple Youth & Young Adults leadership opportunities within the
UBE organization. Fr. Callender attended Voorhees College in Denmark, South Carolina and later
transferred to Cheyney University, where he received a Bachelors degree in Communications in 2007. He
then attended The Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) in Cambridge, MA, where he received his Masters of
Divinity in 2010. On June 5, 2010, He was ordained as a transitional deacon and then on January 22,
2011, he was the first African American male priest to be ordained in the Diocese of Pennsylvania in
twenty-five years. He was called to be the Rector at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Annapolis, MD on
July 1, 2012. In the Diocese of Maryland, he served on multiple committees for youth and racial
reconciliation as well as a former member of the Commission on Ministry and Deputy for 2021 General
Convention. In the greater church he served on the Design Team for the 2014 & 2017 Episcopal Youth
Event (EYE), one of the Adult Leaders for the 2012, 2015 & 2018 General Convention Official Youth
Presence (GCOYP) & The National Church Youth Liaison Committee. Rev. Callender has stated that his
ministry, through teaching and preaching, is to build relationships and to create a space where all feel
welcomed in God’s Beloved Community.