Archdeacon Jonathan Landon
Fr. Jonathan Landon was born in 1966 in Okinawa, Japan, where his father was stationed by the US Navy. He was baptized at the age of three, and was taught to believe and live the Christian faith all of his childhood. His mother introduced him to the Charismatic movement and Fr. Landon experienced the reality of the gifts and work of the Holy Spirit at the age of twelve.
After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the US Army Reserve as a Psychological Operations Specialist. In 1986, he married the former Rebeka Sturman, whom he had met when they were students at the Defense Language Institute.
While serving in the Reserve, he completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science at California State University, Sacramento. He also completed the US Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army. He entered active duty in February of 1989 as a Military Intelligence officer in the Army and over the next six and a half years served as a Battalion Intelligence Officer, Interrogation Platoon Leader, Assistant Battalion Operations Officer and Recruiting Company Commander.
During this time, his call to ministry began to build and he became a candidate for ordination in the United Methodist Church. In 1995, he resigned from active duty and returned to the Army Reserve to serve as a Chaplain Candidate while pursuing his Master of Divinity degree and preparing for ordination. In the Spring of 1996, Fr. Landon was enrolled at Ashland Theological Seminary in Ashland, Ohio. He attended a Robert Webber workshop where he learned Webber’s concept of “blended worship” and heard the Charismatic Episcopal Church (CEC) mentioned as a church which implements that concept very well. Intrigued, Fr. Landon began to look for information in the CEC, with little success. In the Fall of 1996, a CEC church was begun in the nearby city of Medina, Ohio. Fr. Landon met with the vicar, then Deacon Bill Wade, to discuss the history and theology of the CEC and attended worship at the Community of the Holy Spirit CEC where Canon James Fisher was the rector. Fr. Landon and Rebeka immediately felt at home in the CEC and soon began the process of transferring from the United Methodist Church to the CEC.
Soon after that, Fr. Jonathan transferred to George Fox Evangelical Seminary in Portland, Oregon. In the Summer of 1997, Fr. Jonathan and Rebeka were received into the CEC and confirmed by Archbishop Douglas Woodall, Archbishop for the Armed Forces, and Fr. Jonathan submitted an application as a postulant for Holy Orders. He was ordained a Deacon by Bishop Douglas Kessler in June of 1998, and served as Vicar of St. Timothy’s CEC in Eugene, Oregon from June 1998 until June 1999. Fr. Landon completed his Master of Divinity degree in December 1998, and was ordained a Priest by Bishop Kessler in January 1999. He entered active duty as an Army Chaplain in July 1999.
Fr. Landon served as Battalion Chaplain of the 530th Supply and Services Battalion at Fort Bragg, NC and as Squadron Chaplain of the 4th Squadron, 7th Cavalry in Camp Garryowen, Republic of Korea prior to attending the Chaplain Captains Career Course at Fort Jackson, SC from January to June of 2003. From the Career Course, he went to Fort Lewis, WA to complete a one-year residency in Clinical Pastoral Education at Madigan Army Medical Center, then served as the Hospital Chaplain of the 47th Combat Support Hospital from July of 2004 until July of 2007. He deployed with the 47th Combat Support Hospital to Mosul Iraq from October 2005 to October 2006. From there, he transferred to serve as Brigade Chaplain of the US Army 2nd Recruiting Brigade, which consists of nearly 3000 soldiers, Department of the Army civilians and contractors in eight states, plus Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
Fr. Jonathan, who holds the rank of Major, currently serves as Support Plans Chaplain, US Army Central, Ft. McPherson, GA.
His military awards include the Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal with five Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Achievement Medal with two Oak Leaf clusters, National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Star device, Iraqi Campaign Medal, Global War on Terror Service Medal, Korean Defense Service Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon with bronze numeral 2, and the Recruiter Basic Badge.
Fr. Jonathan and Rebeka live in Senioa, GA with their three children, Denise, Jonathan Paul and Naomi.
