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our dean
Biographical Sketch: The Very Rev. Dr. Benjamin Shambaugh Dean, The
Cathedral Church of St. Luke, Portland
In his current capacity, Father Ben
Shambaugh serves as the Dean (Senior Pastor) of St. Luke’s Cathedral
in Portland, Maine. As well as serving as the Cathedral for the
Episcopal Diocese of Maine, St. Luke’s has an active growing
congregation with a renown music program and a strong outreach to the
city of Portland.
A cradle
Episcopalian, Dean Shambaugh was
born in Washington, DC, baptized at the National Cathedral, and spent
his earliest years in Frederick and Silver Spring, Maryland. After
Maryland, his family moved to the Midwest. Intending to follow his
family's tradition of becoming
physicians, he went on to enroll in Northwestern University's
pre-med program. His experiences with the Episcopal campus ministry
made him instead decide to major in psychology with the intent of
entering the Episcopal priesthood.
During his years at the General
Theological Seminary in Manhattan, he sought out a wide and rich
variety of opportunities for studies and ministry. He worked as a
chaplain and social worker at a home for the poor and aged in New York
City; a hospital chaplain for a summer in Cincinnati, Ohio; a student
minister at Glacier National Park, Montana; and an exchange student at
an Anglican Theological College in Barbados, where he also assisted at
a local church.
His three years as Curate of the Church
of the Holy Spirit in Lake Forest, Illinois saw him responsible for
youth, education, and outreach. Under his direction the parish worked
with other congregations to establish a soup kitchen. A highlight
while there was an annual parish wide mission trip to the Arapaho
Mission of St. Michael's on the
Wind River Reservation near Ethete, Wyoming. Out of this ministry, he
helped begin an ongoing annual conference on Native American Ministry
with the National Church.
During his years at Lake Forest, he
married Shari Goddard, a native Oregonian whom he had met in New York
City where she worked for a non-profit Christian organization. They
have two children.
In 1991 they moved to Paris, France,
where he began four years as the Canon Pastor of the American
Cathedral. From its unique location in central Paris, the American
Cathedral functions both as a regular Episcopal Church -- a home away
from home for Episcopalians and Anglicans from all over the world --
and the headquarters of the Convocation of American Episcopal Churches
in Europe. In 1995, the Shambaughs
left France for Olney, Maryland.
For 10 years before coming to Maine, he
served the rector of St. John's
Church, a position which included oversight of a K-8 Episcopal School
and African Palms, an organization which raises roughly $100,000 a
year for human need in Africa. He also served as a Cathedral Chaplain
for the National Cathedral as a member of a wide variety of committees
and associations around the Diocese of Washington, D.C. During his
time in Maryland, he earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Seabury
Western Seminary in Evanston, Illinois.
"I would not be where I am today without a personal relationship with
Jesus Christ. Throughout my life, my faith has been both challenged
and nurtured, even as I try in my ministry to challenge and nurture
others.
Ever since our initial contact with representatives from St. Luke's
we have sensed that this was a special church community. It is with
excitement that we live out our ministry here and we look forward to
all of our visitors becoming part of the Cathedral family."
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