William C. Thiele , 2007 - Present

The Reverend William C. Thiele became our Priest-in-Charge on Ash Wednesday of 2007 after supplying most Sundays since the beginning of the year. Father Thiele's church building passions follow from his prior career of building businesses. He is a traditional Anglo-Catholic priest with priorities of biblical preaching, pastoral care, ministering to children and good stewardship. He believes that the Gospel of the Risen Christ is the answer to the human condition.

After graduating from General Theological Seminary in May of 2004 and before coming to St. John's, Father Thiele was curate for over two years at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Westfield, NJ, a parish of over 1,000 people.   While at General he served as seminarian assistant at the Church of the Resurrection in New York City and continued to chair the Stewardship Commission of the Diocese of New Jersey.

Father Thiele received a degree in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University and took positions in research and management. From 1977 until he entered seminary he founded and managed American Leistritz Extruder Corporation of Somerville, NJ, a subsidiary of Leistritz, AG of Nuremberg, Germany. The company continues to be prominent in extrusion machinery. Many of its employees attended his ordination. Father Thiele still consults and lectures in this field.

His wife Marilyn owns a bookstore and is a member of the New Jersey Bar Association. He has two sons. One has degrees in international marketing and works in Germany. The other is a resident physician planning a family practice. Father Thiele's daughter is a married school teacher with two children.