Announcing St. Paul's Canon & Senior Associate Priest
Author:
January 31, 2026
With tremendous joy, The Very Reverend Dean Katie Churchwell, together with the Vestry of St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, are delighted to announce the calling of The Reverend Canon Dr. Tony Kroll as Canon and Senior Associate Priest of St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, Oklahoma City.
Canon Tony’s first Sunday at St. Paul’s will be Sunday, March 1, 2026. While you may have the opportunity to greet Canon Tony in the weeks following his arrival, all are warmly invited to a dedicated meet and greet reception on Sunday, March 15, following 3:30 p.m. Choral Evensong, in Dean Willey Hall.
We look forward to welcoming Canon Tony and celebrating this new chapter in the life of our cathedral community. Below, please continue reading for a personal letter of introduction from Canon Tony, followed by his biography.
A Personal Letter from Canon Tony
Dear Cathedral Family,
It is a tremendous honor to be called to serve as your new Canon and Senior Associate, and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to walk alongside you in ministry. As I reflect with thanksgiving, I can see how God has been preparing me for this moment for many years—indeed, since the 1980s.
My move from the Houston area to Oklahoma is, in many ways, a homecoming. I was raised in a farming community near Enid and left Oklahoma in the early 1990s to serve as an administrator in the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. That work took me to Portland, Oregon; Milwaukee; and later Chicago. A subsequent move to Texas brought me closer to family, followed by a season as a stay-at-home dad and later a career in higher education as a dean and faculty member at a community college in Dallas. Alongside these vocations, I have served as an organist and choirmaster since the 1980s in both Roman Catholic and Episcopal parishes.
I was formed for ordained ministry at Bexley Seabury Seminary in Chicago, where I earned the Master of Divinity degree. My additional academic work has focused on organizational development, communication strategy, adult learning theory, group decision-making, and behavior change. More important than any degree, however, are my two remarkable daughters. Katie lives in Tulsa and serves as an administrator in the St. Francis Healthcare System at the Warren Clinic, and Mary Beth is an ICU nurse at the Children’s Hospital in New Orleans.
I am eager to hear your stories, to learn about your families, and to listen for your hopes and dreams for ministry in Oklahoma City. Once I am settled, be on the lookout for a regular time together called Tea with Tony, where I look forward to getting to know you better.
You already know that you are blessed with an extraordinary Dean, and I am excited to roll up my sleeves in support of her vision and in caring for this cathedral community. God has wonderful things in store for us.
Grace and peace,
Canon Tony+
Biography: The Reverend Canon Dr. Tony Kroll
The Reverend Canon Dr. Tony Kroll has been called to serve as Canon and Senior Associate Priest of St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, Oklahoma City. In this role, Canon Tony supports the Dean in advancing the cathedral’s mission and ministry, with particular attention to integrating vision, worship, and daily parish life in meaningful and sustainable ways.
Canon Tony was formed for ordained ministry at Bexley Seabury Seminary in Chicago, where he earned the Master of Divinity degree, and through parish ministry in the former Diocese of Fort Worth, prior to its reception into the Diocese of Texas, including service at St. Martin-in-the-Fields and St. Luke in the Meadow. He comes to St. Paul’s from Holy Comforter Episcopal Church in Spring, Texas, where he most recently served as Curate.
Before ordination, Canon Tony followed a multi-vocational path. He served for many years as an organist and choirmaster in parishes across Oklahoma, Washington, Wisconsin, and Texas, a ministry that spans more than four decades. Alongside his work in music ministry, he held successive career roles as a hospital administrator in the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, a stay-at-home parent, and later as a dean and faculty member in higher education.
Canon Tony holds advanced academic training in Communication Studies, organizational development, adult learning theory, and behavior change. His academic work includes study at Oklahoma State University, the University of North Texas, and Texas A&M University, and he earned a Doctor of Education degree in 2018.
Deeply shaped by the arts, Canon Tony has a particular love for choral Evensong and the English cathedral tradition and is a frequent visitor to UK cathedrals. He is also a collector of artwork created by artists who transformed their own experiences with cancer into visual expression.
Canon Tony is the proud father of two adult daughters: Katie, an administrator in the St. Francis Healthcare System in Tulsa, and Mary Beth, an ICU nurse at the Children’s Hospital in New Orleans.
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