Our Rector, the Rev. Dr. Giovan King, is from North Carolina.  Her Masters of Divinity is from Harvard Divinity School and her Doctorate is from Virginia Theological Seminary. Giovan was ordained in 1984 at the First Congregational Church in Los Angeles (the first woman ordained and to serve that Church).  Her Masters of Divinity thesis was on “The Gospel in Hawaii and Micronesia.” Giovan has written two hymns that appear in Hymns for a Pilgrim People and published two books, A City Built on a Hill and Running the Race from Greece to Albania, the latter related, in part, to her experiences as a marathoner raising funds for Christian missions. She has a passion for world mission, having served on mission trips in Mexico, Argentina, Albania, and Haiti. She also published an article on church law in the Stanford Law Review.

​Giovan has been awarded the Billings Preaching Prize and the J.J.Russell Preaching Award.  Previously, she served in the Diocese of Los Angeles at churches in Los Angeles, San Marino, and Laguna Niguel. Giovan was the Presiding Judge of the Ecclesiastical Court while in Los Angeles. For five years, she was part of the faculty of Virginia Seminary's Summer Collegium. In Hawaii, she has been President of the Disciplinary Board and Chair of the Commission on Ministry, the Resolutions Committee, and Constitution and Canons Committee. She has served on Commission on Finance and Administration, Diocesan Council, and Standing Committee.  She has also taught in the local clergy formation program. But, her focus remains on our ohana here at St. Christopher’s, where we seek to know God’s love and share that love with all people.

Giovan and her husband, Tom, have three sons, one an alumnus of ‘Iolani, where he played varsity water polo and basketball. In their free time, Tom and Giovan enjoy walking their dogs, Grace and Joy and traveling. Giovan also enjoys paddling with Hui Pakolea, an outrigger club in Kailua.