The V. Rev. Fr. Mark McNary, Priest
The Very Reverend Father Mark McNary was appointed as Rector to St. Peter Orthodox Church on January 15th, 2014. Previously, Father Mark served as a Deacon at St. Basil Orthodox Church in Metairie, LA.
A convert to the Orthodox Church, Fr. Mark grew up in a conservative Presbyterian Church. As a pastor, his journey would take him through a number of different Protestant and Evangelical church faiths. There came a point in his pastoral ministry and Christian life which prompted him to study the first millennium of the Church, particularly those earliest of years when the Church was one undivided faith.
Seeking to discover what Christians believed during that time, how they worshipped, and how they practiced their faith would lead him to the Orthodox Church. He increased his studies and in 2011 received his Master of Arts in Applied Orthodox Theology from Balamand University in Lebanon.
Father Mark and his wife, Debbie McNary, have been married since 1992. Together they have three children: Jonathan, Jesse, and Elisabeth.
Fr. William Ryerson, Associate Priest
Father William Ryerson came to St. Peter’s in May of 2025 after graduating from Saint Tikhon’s Seminary with his Master’s in Divinity. Father William was raised in Carmel, Indiana as a Presbyterian before converting to Orthodox Christianity in 2015 while attending Virginia Military Institute, where he pursued and achieved his Bachelor’s Degree in History.
Shortly after becoming Orthodox, he went on to join the Army as an Infantry Officer and was stationed at Fort Campbell, KY with the 101st Airborne Division. During this time he felt a call to the priesthood, so at the end of his active duty commitment, he began attending Saint Tikhon’s Seminary while continuing his service in the Army Reserves as an Orthodox Chaplain.
Father William and his wife, Grace, have been married since 2021 and have two children: Max and Adelaide.
The V. Rev. Fr. James Rooney, Retired Priest
Fr. James Rooney is a retired Antiochian Orthodox priest attached to St. Peter’s. He began his ministry as an Anglican priest, having graduated from Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls with a Bachelor of Arts in History, and subsequently from Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas, with a Master of Divinity Degree. Fr. James served four different Anglican parishes in Texas from 1985 to 1994, during which time he also served as Chaplain/Headmaster of a parochial preschool in Burleson, TX, as Editor of the monthly Diocesan newspaper, and two years as Chaplain of a parochial elementary school in Wichita Falls, TX. During this time, he also served as Chairman of the “examining chaplains,” focusing on Theology, for the Diocese of Fort Worth.
In 1994, Fr. James converted to the Holy Orthodox Church and was the founding priest and pastor of St. Benedict of Nursia Antiochian Orthodox Church in Wichita Falls, TX (Western Rite). He was elevated to the status of Archpriest by His Grace Bishop Basil (Essey) in 2008. Fr. James served St. Benedict’s until his retirement in 2016. During this time, he was also a part-time World History and Church History teacher at Notre Dame Catholic High School in Wichita Falls.
Following retirement, Fr. James was attached to SS. Constantine and Helen Antiochian Orthodox Church in Carrollton, TX (Eastern Rite) for five years. In 2021, Fr. James and Kh. Grace moved to the Fort Worth area, where he became attached to St. Peter Orthodox Church. Fr. James and Kh. Grace have been married 46 years.
Deacon John Rhett Forman, PhD
Deacon John Rhett Forman was born in Evansville, Indiana and raised in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where his family attended numerous churches, including Methodist, Baptist, Unitarian Universalist, and Lutheran.
He received a BA from the Great Books program at St. John’s College, Santa Fe, an MA and PhD from the Institute of Philosophic Studies at the University of Dallas, and a PhD in Philology, Linguistics, and Literature from the University of Salamanca, Spain. He holds an Assistant Professorship in Philosophy at Tarleton State University.
He and his wife, Rachel, entered Christ Holy Church by the reception of Holy Chrism in 2019. Deacon John completed his Master’s in Theological Studies from the Antiochian House of Studies and was ordained as a Deacon in 2026. He and his wife have two children, Dorothy and Caedmon.
Deacon Kenneth Taliaferro, Retired Deacon
Deacon Kenneth Taliaferro grew up in Fort Worth, Texas and attended the North Side Church of Christ where his father was an Elder. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Abilene Christian University and a Master of Theology degree from Southern Methodist University.
After completing seminary, Deacon Kenneth was ordained a minister in the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ and served churches in Abilene, Texas. He was also an Associate Pastor in Springfield, Missouri. After leaving Springfield, he returned to Fort Worth to go into the business of managing and investing in commercial property. In addition to his business, he has also been the pastor of several churches in the Fort Worth area throughout the years.
Deacon Kenneth became a member of St. Peter Orthodox Church in 2009. After completing the St. Stephen’s Course of Orthodox Studies, he was ordained to the Deaconate in 2015. He and his wife Dianne have one daughter, Kristie Gibson, and a granddaughter named Grace.
Staff
Cathy Moore
Parish Secretary
Annie Fisher
Bookkeeper
Rachel Smith
Choir Director
Ryan Jawad
Organist