The Rev. Trey Garland, the 14th rector of the Parish of All Saints, Ashmont, is a travelin’ man. Born in Houston, educated there and in Michigan (with a semester in Austria), he tended flocks of congregants in Texas, South Carolina, Florida, Ohio, and Illinois before arriving in Dorchester last January to succeed The Rev. Michael J. Godderz, who retired in 2024, and The Rev. John Clarke, who had been serving as interim rector at 209 Ashmont St.
What does he make of things after six months on the job?
The diversity in Dorchester, both in and outside his church, is striking, he said. “All Saints is a wonderful mix of West Indies, Caribbean, some Anglo. It’s just a great place, and it’s very much a welcoming church. It’s gay, straight, trans, we got a little bit of everything, and that’s what I love about it. It’s got a wonderful mix.”
Garland has gotten to know the ways and means of parish life as he continues to meet more community members. Just last month, he greeted his new neighbors while passing out water during Dorchfest. “We’ve played a part in the community; we want to continue to do that and continue to strengthen our ties with Ashmont Adams and the greater community as well,” he said in an interview with The Reporter.
As to all that travelin’, the 51-year-old rector retraced it with one long flowing story:
He was introduced to his faith through his K-8 Episcopal parochial school in Houston. Later, in public high school, he said, he “felt like something was missing. Instead of going to chapel twice a week, I was doing nothing.”
That changed when he got his driver’s license. “When I was 16 and got the car,” he said, I started going to church and ended up being asked by a classmate to go to his Episcopal church, which I did.
‘Over time, my mom convinced me to go pick up my grandmother and take her to her church. I ended up being a member and getting confirmed at my grandmother’s church in Houston.”
Garland left Texas for Michigan, and Alma College, where he played the bagpipe in the school band. While he did not intend to major in religious studies, God had another plan for him.
“It ended up being a really weird thing,” he said. “I had spent my last semester in Vienna, and I was told, ‘Hey, you don’t have enough credits’ to graduate. I think I was going to do philosophy or something, [but] I didn’t have enough credits for what I wanted. They said, ‘You have enough credits for religious studies and a minor in music. Are you okay with that?’”
Just wanting to graduate on time, he agreed. “In my senior year,” he said, “a lot of the doors I thought would be open were closed. Until I listened and was willing to be obedient to that call.”
That “call” was to join the priesthood. It was something, he said, that he had felt about from a young age, but never took seriously. “I went to my home parish when I graduated, and they put a discernment committee together. They said yes, so I went to the Diocese of Texas, and I was made a postulant then sent to do two years of youth ministry, which I did in Houston.”
After that, he completed his seminary experience at the University of the South, Sewanee, and was ordained a deacon. In 2002, Garland was ordained to the priesthood in Texas and began his ministry in Texas, South Carolina, Florida, with a minor, but significant, detour to Ohio.
“In 2016, I left to the Episcopal Church to become a Roman Catholic priest. That did not last long. That is not what God wanted. I was called to be an Episcopal priest, and I needed to be faithful to that call, so I left, came back to the Episcopal Church, and then in 2018 I went to Longwood, Florida, as an Episcopal priest. From there to Chicago, then from Chicago to here.”
When asked about leaving the Windy City and the rectorship of St. Paul’s Church by the Lake in Chicago, Garland conceded that “it was a hard decision in one aspect: leaving wonderful people in Chicago. Like here, there’s a huge mix of West Indies and Caribbean, but I also had African. I had my own Sudanese congregation. Chicago was kind of just as diverse as it is here, so for me, it’s been an easy transition.”
“All Saints and her sister parish, Church of the Advent, are the two – we’ll call it Anglican Catholic parishes in Boston. Realizing there might be a lot of priests who are applying, I threw my name in the hat. Here I am. I made it.”
He added, “Unlike a lot of other priests who go into new churches, I have been very fortunate to follow a priest who really built up the church. That makes my life so much easier. I am hoping to continue to build on what he started.”
The Parish of All Saints was founded in 1867 to serve Church of England workers who had come to work on the Old Colony Railroad and other local industries. It began as a mission of St. Mary’s Church of Dorchester. The parish grew quickly and held its first service in its current building back in 1872.
Garland described the parish today as being very traditional. “It’s like Vatican II never happened at All Saints. Very ritualistic, but we don’t get snobby about it. We are not pretentious or even stuffy about it. We laugh if we screw up. That’s what I love about it.”
He added, “It’s part of the Anglo-Catholic tradition both to be a part of the community and to reach out to the disfranchised.” Doing so will include revitalizing the church kitchen so they can offer a free community breakfast once a month. He also plans to offer pet blessings on St. Francis Day and is determined to bring the church’s venerable choir and music program back.
“We want people to know we are here, but we don’t want to force religion down their throats, so we’re trying to find ways to be present and see what we can do to help.
“We want anyone who wants a relationship with Jesus Christ to come in and feel welcome,” he said. “Our doors are open to anyone who fits that profile. We hope they get encouragement and comfort. The congregation is one of the most loving groups of people I’ve ever known.
