The Reverend Ted Renaud

Ted’s life has always been about serving. From an early age he has been a champion of the differently abled, which led him to found and operate a non-profit (helpfriendsinneed.org) that strives to make the community more inclusive.

He graduated from Georgetown University in 1993 with a double major in French and Italian, including studying a year in Rennes, France and Siena, Italy. He graduated from the American University’s Washington College of Law, taking classes in the evening and working full time.

In retrospect, Ted feels God guided his choices as during that time as his jobs included a one-year appointment at the Supreme Court, and several years as an EMT. His EMT skills were integral in later resuscitating his infant daughter, whose continuing needs were a deciding factor in his decision to stay home and take care of her and her sister.

During that time Ted became more involved in the community, including the Community of Hope at St. Aidan’s where he heard his call to the priesthood. As a member of the Community of Hope, he truly embraced his pastoral gifts.

In Thanksgiving for the bread of life and God’s grace in helping him survive advanced colon cancer, Ted began his discernment and eventual path to Virginia Theological Seminary. A second cancer battle, beginning a mere week before the start of seminary, tested his faith further.

With the help of the community, Ted channeled that test into the strength that enabled him to complete VTS in 3 years while juggling cancer treatment, his family, and study.

Ted’s journey began as a child in the Salvation Army and culminated in finding his home rooted in the Episcopal Church’s foundation of Scripture, Tradition, and Reason in 2010. In addition to having a heart for pastoral care, he feels alive teaching inquirers about the Sacraments. Ted looks forward to using his own journey of transformation and faith through human struggles to bring others closer to Christ.