By the grace of God and the consent of the people, Bishop Chip Edgar will institute and induct the Rev. Dr. Joey Fitzgerald as the fourth Rector of the Church of the Cross, Bluffton on Wednesday, September 2, 2026 at 6 p.m. The service will be held in the historic church building at 110 Calhoun Street in Bluffton. Your prayers and presence are welcomed. A reception will follow the service. Clergy are asked to wear red stoles.

The Rev. Dr. Joey Fitzgerald, an Anglican priest from the Diocese of the South, grew up in Marietta, GA and graduated from the University of Georgia. After a brief stint on staff with Young Life and eight years of teaching art in public schools and coaching swimming and cross country, he and his wife Brandie felt God was calling him to seminary. In 2008, they moved their family to Wilmore, KY, so Joey could work on his Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary. He graduated in 2011 and served for four years at Truro Anglican Church in Fairfax, VA as the Associate Pastor for Family Ministries. In 2015, he became the rector of Church of the Outer Banks in Nags Head, NC. In January 2021, he and his family moved to Newnan, GA and planted St. Barnabas Anglican Church. He received his Doctorate of Ministry from Asbury Seminary last year and is also the author and illustrator of two books for children and families: The Nicene Creed Illustrated and Instructed for Kids and The Way of the Cross: A Family Devotion.

Joey met his wife Brandie in the 8th grade, and after a failed middle school romance, they finally started dating again after college and were married in 1999. They have three sons, Sam (25), Jack (22), and Luke (19) who live on Long Island and work and study in the Golf Course and Turf Grass Management industry. Last August their beautiful daughter Lila joined the saints in heaven, where she is now wrapped in the loving embrace of Jesus. Fr. Joey, Brandie, and their sons miss Lila every day. But the promise of the resurrection, the comfort of the Holy Spirit, and the prayers of the saints have been the sustenance and hope their family has needed.