People of Grace

The Rev. Richard Anderson Maxwell, Rector, earned his undergraduate degree from Stanford University and received his M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary in New York City. In 1998 he received an S.T.M. from General Theological Seminary. Before accepting the call to become the Rector of Grace, he was the Assistant Minister at the Church of the Incarnation in Manhattan where he partnered with the Rector in all areas of parish work. Before serving at Incarnation he was a postulant and novice at Holy Cross Monastery, the motherhouse of the Order of the Holy Cross an Anglican Benedictine community, in West Park, NY. While at the monastery he served as a spiritual director and retreat leader.

Born and raised in Michigan, Fr. Maxwell landed in New York City after his college years to attempt a career in the theater. This eventually led to a career as a fundraiser at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim Museum, and as a foundation officer at the Charles A. Dana Foundation, before he heeded his call to the priesthood. Fr. Maxwell has been a guest lecturer for NYU and Tufts University classes on public relations and fundraising. He has done extensive volunteer work with people with AIDS, and has served as a reading tutor for second grade students for several years. He is also a founding board member and past President of the Board of Stephan Koplowitz and Company, an award winning, internationally produced contemporary dance company.

Fr, Maxwell lives in West Hartford with Paul Kline, his partner of 10 years, and their cat, Lyndon.

The Rev. Canon Robert G. Carroon, Associate Priest,  received his BA from Indiana State in 1959, his M.Div from Nashotah House in 1962, his MA from the University of Wisconsin in 1970 and his D.Litt from Sussex in 1977.  He served in parishes in the Diocese of Milwaukee and as Dean of All Saints Cathedral in Milwaukee.  For twenty years he was Archivist and Historiographer of the Diocese of Connecticut and after retiring from that position served four years as Director of Scholarship Programs of the Society for the Increase of the Ministry.  He has served as a deputy to five General Conventions of the Episcopal Church , as Secretary of the Board of Archives of the Episcopal Church and as president of the National Association of Episcopal Historians and Archivists.  In 1997 he received the Canon John W. Davis Award for contributions to the study of the history of the Episcopal Church.  He is the author of six books, and numerous article on historical subjects.  He is currently President of the Society of the Cincinnati in the State of Connecticut and Chaplain of the Society of the Descendants of the Founders of Hartford.  He is a former professional hockey player and is secretary and chaplain of the Connecticut Yankee All Airborne Chapter of the 82nd Division Airborne Association.  In 2000 he was appointed an Honorary Canon of Christ Church Cathedral.

The Rev. Dr. Wayne D. Pokorny, Associate Priest, received his M.Div from the General Theological Seminary in 1967 and his D.Min from the Graduate Theological Foundation in 1986.  He is former Dean of the Bridgeport Deanery, a former member of the Executive Council of the Diocese of Connecticut, and served as a staff associate of Episcopal Social Services. Fr. Pokorny served parishes in Central New York and Connecticut before becoming a chaplain in the Department of Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center at West Haven in 1980.  Subsequently, he served as Chief of Chaplain Services at Charleston, South Carolina and Tomah, Wisconsin before his retirement in 2000.  He was elected to Societas Liturgica in 1977 and is a life member of the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists and the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States.

Mr. Kyle Swann, Choirmaster and Organist, has conducted orchestral, operatic and choral repertoire throughout the eastern United States and abroad. In 1993, he made his professional debut conducting Company One Theater’s world premiere of James Sellars’s opera The World is Round at the Wadsworth Athenaeum's Aetna Theater. More recently he appeared on short notice to conduct Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda in Boston’s Jordan Hall with the Boston Academy of Music. He has appeared in Brazil with the Orquestra Sinfonica de Estado de São Paulo, Alice Tully Hall and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh and the Rathaus in Vienna. Mr. Swann conducted BAMOpera’s The Beggar’s Opera, which was named “Best of Boston,” and returned to conduct L’Elisir d’amore.

Mr. Swann served as the Resident Conductor of The Connecticut Opera, as well as the Music Director of Opera Express, its nationally recognized touring and educational program. He is the Choirmaster and Organist at Grace Episcopal Church in Hartford, where he conducts a select choir in traditional a capella repertory. In addition, he has conducted Hartford performances of such works as Mephistofele, Rigoletto, Lucrezia Borgia, and La fille du régiment. He has performed with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, the South Florida Opera Company, and the Opera Theater of Connecticut.

At the Hartt School of Music, Mr. Swann was the Karl Böhm International Fellow of Orchestral Conducting. While there, he conducted performances of the symphony, choruses, and the opera theater. He recently conducted Mozart’s Impresario and La nozze di Figaro for Intermezzo Young Artists. In addition to having a love of opera and chamber music, he is an avid dressage rider and equine devotee.

Return to Grace Church Home Page