Saint Philip’s invites everyone to the priestly ordination of Alex Swain and Samantha Christopher at 11:00am, tomorrow, Saturday, August 23, at Saint Philip’s in the Hills.

Alex Swain joined Saint Philip’s in 2025 after graduating from Virginia Theological Seminary. Two days a week, he supports Mtr Taylor in her work with Children, Youth, and Family ministries. The other half of his time is spent as the part-time Vicar at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in downtown Tucson.

Alex came to Tucson in 2019 as a member of the first cohort of the Beloved in the Desert group under the Episcopal Service Corps and was involved in the Episcopal Campus Ministry and the life at Saint Philip’s until he went to Seminary. He loves Church history and embodied faith practices, and is a vowed member of the religious community the Canon Orders of St. Benedict (hence the title, “Brother”).

When not working, Alex and his husband, Alex Martinez, enjoy cooking tasty and new types of food from around the world, going on walks, spending time with friends, and listening to music.

Samantha Christopher was sponsored for ordination by the Episcopal Campus Ministry at the University of Arizona, where she was a staff member following her time in the Beloved in the Desert Episcopal Service Corps. During that time, she also served as a staff member at Saint Phillip’s and was a lay clerk in the choir.

Following her graduation from Yale Divinity School, she was called as the next Priest-in-Charge of Saint Mary’s Episcopal Church in Phoenix, vibrant Anglo-Catholic parish dedicated to being an inclusive witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

She is a member of the Society of Catholic Priests, and recently moved back to Arizona from New Haven, Connecticut with her fiance, Hyacinth, who is a substitute teacher.