The Reverend John Drymon began his ministry with Trinity Parish on June 1, 2016. He is a native of Arkansas, and a graduate of Colgate University and the General Theological Seminary in New York City. As a student, he traveled all over the world, including to the Middle East, China, and Pakistan. After graduating, he served as Deacon-In-Charge and, after his ordination, Priest-In-Charge of St. Paul’s in Batesville, Arkansas, until being elected rector of the parish in 2010. John has focused particularly on pastoral care and adult Christian education during his tenure at St. Paul’s. He has served as both secretary of the Diocese of Arkansas and dean of its Northeast Convocation for the last several years. In the community, John has served on several boards, is a past president of the Rotary Club, and served as chairman of the board for Family Violence Prevention, Inc., an organization that runs a women’s shelter, provides counseling, and legal advocacy for victims of domestic violence, and has recently opened the only shelter for male victims of domestic violence in the state. In his time off, John enjoys reading, flyfishing, exercising, and cooking.
John is married to Annie Stricklin, who was born in Durham, North Carolina, and grew up in Texas, New Orleans, and Arkansas. A graduate of Kenyon College, she has since worked as a freelance editor and fact-checker for publishing houses and private clients, and for libraries in Little Rock and Batesville. Annie was a team leader for St. Paul’s soup kitchen and served for many years on the board of the Batesville Community Theater and on the author selection committee of the Arkansas Literary Festival in Little Rock. She, too, is an avid reader, a lover of the arts, and a writer of fiction, non-fiction, and plays. John and Annie were married in the spring of 2013. They have a nephew, a goddaughter, and two cats.