Christ Episcopal Church
Middle Haddam, Connecticut
A welcoming community committed to worship, mission, and Christian formation in today's world.
About our Priest
The Reverend Dr. Randall Balmer
Ordained to the priesthood in 2006, the Rev. Dr. Randall Balmer has served the Episcopal Church in various capacities: member of a study commission for the Diocese of Newark, rector in the Diocese of Connecticut, and speaker at clergy conferences. He is currently working as a historical consultant for the national church. Father Balmer has been a Professor of American Religious History at Columbia University since earning the Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1985. He has been a visiting professor at Dartmouth College and at Yale, Princeton, Drew, Emory, and Northwestern universities. He is Adjunct Professor of Church History at Union Theological Seminary, where he earned his Master of Divinity degree in 2001, and from 2004 until 2008 he was a visiting professor at Yale Divinity School. He is the author of a dozen books, including
God in the White House: How Faith Shaped the Presidency from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush and Growing Pains: Learning to Love My Father’s Faith, which was named book of the year (spirituality) by Christianity Today in 2002. His second book, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America, now in its fourth edition, was made into a three-part series for PBS. Father Balmer was nominated for an Emmy for writing and hosting that series.Randall Balmer
Professor of American Religious History
Director of American Studies
Barnard College, Columbia University
3009 Broadway
New York, NY 10027-6598
Phone: 212-854-3292
E-mail:
Website: www.randallbalmer.com
The arc of the moral universe
is long, but it bends toward justice.
-- Martin Luther King Jr.
The Reverend Dr. Catharine Randall
The Reverend Dr. Catharine Randall, Professor of French at Fordham University, and Episcopal priest since her ordination in 2007 (M.A.R. Yale Divinity School; concentration in Pastoral Care), is the wife of the Reverend Dr. Randall Balmer. They live in Woodbury, Connecticut, Catharine's family's home turf for generations. They have two sons, Chris (25) and Andrew (22) and a daughter, Sara (21). They also have a Maine Coon Cat, Balaam (get out your Bible and check that reference!) and a 9 year old chestnut Thoroughbred, Henry (aka. "Slice of Reality"-- and he is!). The "Animal Queendom" lives in their back pasture and provides hours of relaxation and fun!
Catharine is the author of 8 scholarly books, many articles, and also numerous publications related to religion and spirituality. She regularly publishes her sermons in a journal called The Healing Ministry. As a member of the Order of St. Luke, she is particularly interested in offering healing to those in need. She accepted Jesus as her Savior when she herself experienced a healing from a brain tumor in 1982.
Catharine served as Assistant Priest at St. Paul's, Woodbury, for a year, and as Associate Priest at St. John's, Washington last year. She has also been a supply priest in numerous parishes in the Diocese of Connecticut and the Diocese of the Rio Grande.
Catharine came to know Christ Church Middle Haddam when she was invited to preach and celebrate as supply priest during Fr. Mark's vacation two years ago. She loved (loves!) the Christ sculpture over the altar, is delighted to be welcomed back, and is eager to serve the good people of the parish. She prefers to be called "Reverend Randall" or just "Catharine."