St Johns’ prayers have been answered! Our BIG news this week was officially welcoming the Reverend Dave DeSalvo on Sun May 12th (Mother’s Day 2019) as St John the Baptist’s new Priest-in-Charge. Special thanks go out to Bishop Rob Hirschfeld, who enabled and personally made the announcement to StJB’s May 8th; the Reverend Gail Avery, Canon for Transition Ministry, who guided us in our search; and our outgoing interim Rector/Oversight Clergy, Pastor Janet Lombardo, who helped set us on our bold path of 2019 transformations.
DeSalvo grew up in the Episcopal Church, attended seminary at Sewanee, served ten years as a lay chaplain and was ordained in the Episcopal Church—to the Diaconate in 2003 and the Priesthood in 2005. Prior to StJB, Dave served 31 years at St Andrew’s, a private, Episcopal, co-ed boarding school in Middletown, Delaware. As school chaplain, Father Dave led student service trips to Honduras, South Africa, Nicaragua and New Orleans. He also taught math, coached baseball, and served the Delaware Diocese. Dave holds a BA in English (University of the South) and a Master’s Degree in Mathematics (UNH).He recently moved to Dover, NH with his wife, Mary Park DeSalvo, a retired teacher originally from NH. They have two adult sons, Andrew and Richard, and a grandson, Brayden. Dave and Mary enjoy reading, Bible study, the seashore and lakes, and walking in the woods with their dog Daisy.
A self-professed organized planner and healer, Father Dave offers good listening/counseling skills, a positive team approach, and plays a righteous guitar. He is magnetic with kids and teens. A natural, thought-provoking teacher with a kind and warm manner, Dave brings new ideas, insights and inspiration to St John’s. “I’m thrilled to serve St John’s, grow our flock through faith-based community programs, embrace the Jesus movement and live into the Way of Love,” exclaimed Dave. He also shared he is “fully committed to St John’s for the foreseeable future” and is as excited to be here as we are to have him, especially during StJB’s dynamic campus reconfiguration. Welcome to St John the Baptist and God Bless you, Reverend Dave!