John R. Claypool was a pastor, preacher, author, and theologian. He was initially ordained as a Southern Baptist and pastored for thirty yers in that denomination. He became an Episcopal priest in 1986 and served as rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Birmingham, Alabama, until he retired from full-time parish ministry in 2000. He then taught preaching at the McAfee School of Theology in Atlanta.
Known for his catchphrases—“Life is a gift”; “Despair is presumptuous”—Claypool was even more regarded for his ability to live with others in their shared sorrow and pain. “If we are willing,” he wrote, “the experience of grief can deepen and widen our ability to participate in life.” Though he died in 2005, his words continue to provide hope and comfort.
Russell J. Levenson Jr. has been an ordained Episcopal priest for nearly thirty years. Having served in various roles at churches in Alabama, Virginia, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Florida, he and his wife Laura live in Houston, Texas, where he has been the rector of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church for the last twelve years.
