OUR CLERGY
(Click each of the images below to read more about each)
Bishop J. Alberto Morales
Father Paul Thompson
Born on the south side of Puerto Rico, in the town of Yabucoa, Bp. Morales loved the church from a young age. As a child, he would pretend he was a priest for his cousins and family. Later he would frequent all of the churches in town, learning from and drawing from many expressions of our catholic Christian faith.
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His call to ministry from that young age took Bp. Morales to the Caribbean and Spain for seminary. After seminary, Bp. Morales returned to Puerto Rico and founded St. Benedict’s Abbey as an ecumenical abbey, reflecting his deep understanding that all churches that profess Jesus is Lord are all part of the body of Christ.
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In 1996 St. Benedict’s Abbey moved to Bartonville, Illinois at the invitation of Bishop Keith Ackerman. Bp. Ackerman and Bp. Morales met through the Anglican communion, and Bp. Ackerman welcomed the Benedictine monastic experience into the diocese.
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After the Diocese of Quincy joined the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) in 2009, the diocese voted Alberto their next bishop, and he was enthroned in 2010.
Bishop Morales committed, from the beginning, to work hard to make the Diocese of Quincy prosper and to bring people in our communities to the knowledge and love of God. And it’s happening. The diocese doubled in size during his first three years as bishop. With a deep passion to build up the Kingdom of God, the bishop loves helping start new congregations. We are all missionaries, and Bp. Morales is constantly reminding laity and clergy alike of that shared role.
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His vision for the diocese is that its congregations would work as missionaries to bring hurting, broken, and searching people to faith in God. For Bp. Morales, making disciples is an imperative, not merely words. The strengths of the Diocese of Quincy are its history and roots, he says, and its new strengths are coming from the new people, congregations, and clergy flocking to the diocese.
We follow Jesus' call to go and make disciples of all peoples, whether across the street or across international borders.
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- Rt. Rev. Juan Alberto Morales Ninth Bishop of the Diocese of Quincy.​​​
OUR CLERGY
Rev. Paul Thompson serves as Vicar of St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Omaha, where he has led the parish since June 2025. A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Fr. Thompson spent much of his life in both Omaha and Avoca, Iowa, graduating from high school in Avoca.
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Fr. Thompson served in the U.S. Navy and was assigned to the Seabees in Gulfport, MS. During this time he received the Flag Letter of Commendation from the Army General for service in Kuwait during Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for service during Operation Enduring Freedom, and earned the Seabee Combat Warfare device. After active duty military service had ended, he worked for USSTRATCOM at Offutt AFB in Bellevue, NE.
He earned both a B.S. and an M.A. in Christian Ministry from Grace University in Omaha.
Ordained in the Anglican Orthodox Church as a deacon in 2008 and a priest in 2009, Fr. Thompson previously served as assistant priest at Holy Cross Anglican Church in Ralston, Nebraska from 2010 to 2013. In 2018, Fr. Thompson petitioned to enter the Diocese of Quincy, Anglican Church in North America. He has also helped establish mission churches, including a congregation in Oakland, Iowa and Omaha, Nebraska, leading to the current church plant at St. Paul’s.
Fr. Thompson is passionate about preaching, teaching, liturgy, and pastoral care. He is married to Tracy and has six children. Outside of ministry he enjoys playing drums, raising chickens, and strength training. His calling is to provide a place of rest for burdened souls and to help St. Paul’s grow as a light for Jesus Christ in Omaha and the surrounding community.
The Rev. Deacon Theodore R. Powell (a.k.a. Deacon Ted) was born and raised on Martha’s Vineyard Island, MA where he was baptized and confirmed as an Episcopalian. He left the Island in 1973, joined the Air Force, and was stationed at Fort Meade, Maryland, Hahn AB, Germany, and Offutt AFB, Nebraska. He spent 25 years in Nebraska where he and his family were active in church activities. As a layman he was active in the choir, the vestry and as an adult acolyte. He returned to Massachusetts in October 2000 to continue in his profession as an IT Project Manager and to start preparations for his call to the Diaconate. Deacon Ted was ordained on December 7, 2009 into the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC). ANiC became part of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). In addition to his regular altar duties, he served at a shelter to feed the homeless.
In May 2021, Deacon Ted and his wife returned to Nebraska. There were no ACNA churches in Nebraska. In June 2024, after a brief stint with the APCK, he and his wife reacquainted themselves with the Church of the Holy Spirit. They submitted their paperwork to return to this conservative TEC church where Deacon Ted was licensed to perform his diaconal duties at the altar. He also coordinated the Mobile Food Pantry, managed a team of Acolytes, and visited homebound members.
In January 2026, Deacon Ted’s prayers were answered when he became aware of the startup of an ACNA church in Omaha – St. Paul’s Anglican. He immediately made plans to return to ACNA and is working with Father Paul Thompson and Bishop Alberto Morales to make it happen.
Deacon Ted earned an Associate Degree in Computer Science from Metro Tech Community College in 1983, a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration from Bellevue University in 1986 and a Master of Business Administration from Bellevue University in 2004. Deacon Ted has retired after 40 years as a computer programmer and Project Manager. He has been awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal and served as a volunteer Firefighter/EMT for over 30 years.
Deacon Ted and his wife Susan married in 1975. They have two children, Shannon and Kevin and five granddaughters, Elizabeth, Natalie, Isabella, Christina, and Abigail. Deacon Ted and Sue reside in Bellevue, NE and are both continually active in church activities.
ORDINATION
Holy Orders: Ordained Ministry in the Anglican Tradition
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From its earliest days, Anglicanism has understood Holy Orders to be a sacrament—one through which God sets apart individuals [men] for ordained ministry and equips them with grace for the service of the Church. This understanding reflects the consensus of the early Church Fathers and has been consistently affirmed throughout Christian history.
Not merely a functional appointment or professional role. It is a sacred act by which Christ, through His Church, establishes bishops, priests, and deacons as ministers of Word, Sacrament, and pastoral care.
The Threefold Ministry
Christian tradition recognizes three distinct orders of ordained ministry:
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Bishops: entrusted with oversight, teaching, and apostolic continuity
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Priests: called to preach the Gospel, administer the Sacraments, and shepherd God’s people
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Deacons: ordained for service, charity, and assistance in liturgy and mission
This threefold structure is not a later invention. Careful reading of Scripture and the writings of the early Church makes it clear that these orders have existed since apostolic times. Anglican formularies repeatedly affirm that these are the only ordained offices recognized by the Church.