The Rev. William Peyton

As Rector (Episcopalian for “head pastor”), Will is the priest in charge of our parish, with broad authority over such diverse areas as our worship life, the pastoral care of the whole parish community, the care and use of the church property, and the hiring and management of lay and ordained staff.

Will has been the Rector at St. Paul’s since 2017, having previously served at St. James’ Church in New York City, at St. Paul’s Church in Ivy, Virginia, and as director of the Diocese of Virginia’s St. George’s Camp at Shrine Mont. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia and the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church, and was ordained in the Diocese of Virginia in 2006. Before seminary and ordination, he worked as a stonemason in the Charlottesville area.

Will is from Alexandria, Virginia where he grew up at Immanuel Church-on-the-Hill and attended public schools. He and his wife Betsy have lived in Charlottesville for most of the last thirty-five years, moving away and coming back more than once. Betsy is a registered nurse and the Director of WellAware, a program of UVA’s Department of Population Health. Their daughter Nellie is a journalist in Johannesburg, and their sons Crawford and Jamie live and work in New York City.