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The Reverend Dr. Luis León, fourteenth Rector of St. John's Church, began his tenure at St. John’s in 1995. His specialty is building inner city parishes through spiritual leadership, preaching, excellence in worship and liturgical music, stewardship and outreach that involves parish members in the community. Luis teaches courses nationwide in parish building and stewardship and is a frequently requested commencement speaker.

Before his time at St. John's, Luis served as Rector of Trinity Church in Wilmington, Delaware, and St. Paul's Church in Paterson, New Jersey. St. Paul's, an urban parish, grew during his tenure from 35 parishioners to several hundred. In 1985 St. Paul's was named "Church of the Year" by the New Jersey Council of Churches, and in 1986 Luis was awarded the Bishop’s Outstanding Service Award in recognition of the "extraordinary contributions made to the life, quality, and the spirit of the church in this diocese [Newark]."

From 1977 until 1980, Luis served as Assistant Rector at St. Peter's Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. He then was Director of Refugee Resettlement for the Diocese of Maryland for two years.

Luis began his spiritual journey when he was baptized into the Episcopal Church in Guantánamo, Cuba. In 1961 he came to the United States as part of the "Peter Pan" flights out of Cuba, joining thousands of children whose parents, at that time in history, feared for their future in Cuba. He was 12 years old when he arrived in the U.S., and was supported by the Episcopal Church in Miami.

Luis attended the University of the South, graduating in 1971. He received a Masters in Divinity degree from the Virginia Theological Seminary in 1977 and in 1999 was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from the University of the South. He is a member of the Board of Regents at the University of the South and was a founding member of both the Washington Interfaith Network and the Wilmington [Delaware] Interfaith Network. In 2005 he offered the invocation at the inauguration of the President of the United States.

Luis is married to Lu Stanton León. They have two children, Emilia and Sofia. Lu is a professional writer, editor and consultant.

The Rector may be contacted at 202-347-8766 x302.

The Reverend Michael Angell

The Reverend Michael Angell began his ordained ministry at St. John’s Church as Assistant Rector in July 2011. Mike received his Master of Divinity degree from the Virginia Theological Seminary in May 2011. He served as seminarian at St. John's from September 2009 until graduation.

Mike grew up with his brother and sister in Golden, Colorado. His mother is an Episcopal priest of the Diocese of Colorado, and his father is an attorney. Mike moved to California to attend the University of San Diego, where he majored in Theology and minored in Spanish. Mike studied abroad in Guadalajara and received a scholarship to spend a semester studying theology at Oxford University in the United Kingdom.

Between college and seminary, Mike spent a volunteer year serving in the Episcopal Church's Young Adult Service Corps at El Hogar, an orphanage in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. He returned to San Diego and served for two years as Campus Missioner to the University of California at San Diego, replanting campus ministry there for the Episcopal Church. In his second year, Mike was selected by his fellow campus ministers to receive the Sam Portaro award, the national honor for campus ministry in the Episcopal Church.

Mike serves as clergy support for Outreach, Spanish Speaking Ministry,  and Young Adult ministries at St. John's. He may be contacted at 202-347-8766 , ext. 307 or at mike.angell@stjohns-dc.org

Gini comes to us from Christ Church Parish, Kensington, MD, where she served as Assistant Rector.  Gini is a graduate of Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington (with Anglican Studies at the Virginia Theological Seminary). She is also a graduate of both the undergraduate school and Law School at William and Mary and has worked as an attorney in private practice as well as for the US Department of Agriculture.  Gini is married to Joe Gerbasi and is the mother of Andrew and Michael.  

Gini serves as the clergy liaison with the Christian Formation ministry through Journey to Adulthood, the Lafayette Fellowship and the Pastoral Care ministry in our parish as well as full participation in the liturgical and teaching life of our parish.