St. Martin’s in Texas, The Episcopal Church’s largest congregation, names new rector
[Episcopal News Service] The Episcopal Church’s largest congregation by membership and attendance has named a new rector.
St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston, Texas, announced in a message to its members that it had selected as its next leader the Very Rev. Dane Boston, dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Columbia, South Carolina. Boston is scheduled to begin as St. Martin’s fifth rector on Aug. 1.
The Very Rev. Dane Boston last served as dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Columbia, South Carolina. Photo: Trinity Episcopal Cathedral
“Dane is passionately committed to the rich tradition of Anglican theology, prayer and worship,” the church said in its March 28 announcement. “A lifelong singer, Dane has a deep appreciation for the power of the Anglican choral tradition as an integral part of our worship services.”
Boston will fill the rector position last held by the Rev. Russell Levenson, who retired in May 2024 after leading St. Martin’s since 2007. During his tenure, Levenson helped grow parish membership to more than 10,000, and the church reported average Sunday attendance of nearly 1,300 in 2023, according to the latest available data.
St. Martin’s, founded in 1952, is a parish in the Diocese of Texas. It also is known as the family church of late President George H.W. Bush.
Boston had served as dean of the 4,000-member cathedral in the Diocese of Upper South Carolina since January 2021. He previously served for four years as rector of Christ Church in Cooperstown, New York. He has degrees from Washington and Lee University, Yale Divinity School and Berkeley Divinity School. He and his wife, Debby, have four children.
“I cannot express how mightily Debby and I have wrestled with this utterly unexpected call,” Boston said in a message to Trinity Episcopal Cathedral announcing he was stepping down as dean. “St. Martin’s is an extraordinary place, and I am deeply humbled, profoundly honored, and incredibly excited at the opportunity to serve its people as their next rector.”
