Vestry Class of 2027
Hello, I’m Justin Townsend (he/him) I’m a husband and father of two and live in Montclair since 2018 when I first joined the St. Luke’s community. I was born north of Boston in Andover, Massachusetts. Growing up, I was a part of Christ Church where I had my communion and served as an altar boy — I really liked the red robes and the backstage-ness of being closer to the service. I have fond memories of much too long coffee hours with my parents and great fun in setting up the Church Christmas fairs. That experience of making big things happen with large groups of people working together became the foundations of my eventual career in theater.
In college I continued my spiritual journey at UMass Amherst as a part of the Episcopal ministry on campus meeting weekly for Sunday dinners and communion. A highlight of that engagement was a trip to Taizé to spend a week in prayer, song, and long walks in the countryside.
For a long time my work made it challenging to make time to be involved in church, but now, as a father, I’m aware how much that time in community and service meant to me as a child. I’m grateful now to have a deeper spiritual journey here with you all and to share it with my children. The gift of being here has been grounding and engaging. I’d like to participate more.
Professionally I’m serving as the chair of Graduate Design for Stage and Film at NYU and additionally work as a lighting and set designer for the theater where my designs can be seen on Broadway and around the world. I’m most happy when people ask me to work on projects that they don’t know how to solve.
I love cycling, sailing, and reading — I love stories! A lifelong goal is to walk the Camino de Santiago. If any of the above strikes a chord — come say hello — in addition to my spiritual walk at St Lukes, I want to meet and know more people here.
It means a lot to me to have the opportunity to serve here at St. Lukes, this is a special place and I’d like to help.