Rev. John Van Dooren October 30, 2025

Fr. John David van Dooren is a native of North Carolina, and was graduated from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (1982) and the Virginia Theological Seminary (1987). His first field assignment was to an Anglo-Catholic parish, one of the only few in the area. There Fr. van Dooren was introduced to a spirituality that would define his eventual priesthood and lead him to a lifelong commitment to urban ministry.

After beginning his ordained life as chaplain and track and field coach at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Alexandria, VA (a happy period of life other than wrecking two school buses), Fr. van Dooren served as curate of All Souls Episcopal Church in Washington, DC. He then served as an assistant priest at St. Martin’s in the Field, Severna Park, MD, before being called back to All Souls as their sixth Rector. After 14 years as Rector, Fr. van Dooren accepted the call to the Church of the Atonement in Chicago, where he served as Rector for eleven and half years. Fr. van Dooren was elected the eighth rector of Transfiguration in early 2017. He has shared the past 38 years of life with Gary Norcross. In 2019, Fr. John David and Gary got their white miniature schnauzer, Luke, who brings so much joy to the Little Church community.