The Rev. Michael Nailor

Michael Nailor is a deacon at the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral.  After a 40+ year career in education, Michael was ordained to the diaconate in September 2018.  Teachers and mentors at the Stevenson School for Ministry, Temple University’s Fox School of Business, the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, and Jefferson Hospital all encouraged him in the work of empowering Christians as they communicate the message of God’s love for all.

Michael was born and raised in Mechanicsburg, PA.  He came to the Episcopal Church when he was studying at the University of Pennsylvania. The pioneering women of the “Philadelphia Eleven” had just been “irregularly ordained” and the church was struggling with the role of women in leadership.  Michael was drawn to a church that was willing to deal with – sometimes successfully, sometimes not – the important social justice issues of the day. Through a discernment process at St. Matthew’s Church in Sunbury, PA and with the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, Michael heard God calling him to the iconic role of a deacon in today’s church.

A fieldwork placement at the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral provided him not only a spiritual home for the last few years, but a testing ground for many ideas about our church, its mission and its communications. Michael is currently serving Bishop Audrey Scanlan in the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania on assignment to St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Harrisburg and the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral.  He currently is a member of the Episcopalians Against Racist Systems Task Force, the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania and the Board of the Stevenson School for Ministry.