James Parks Morton (January 7, 1930 – January 4, 2020) was an American Episcopal priest and founder of the Interfaith Center of New York.

Early life

James Parks Morton was born on 7 January 1930 in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, a growing metropolis in

Harris County, Texas Harris County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 4,731,145, and was estimated to be 5,009,302 in 2024, making it the List of counties in Texas, most populous cou ...

, United States. He was the son and only child of Vance Mulock Morton and his wife Virginia May Parks. Morton lived in

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, fifth-most populous c ...

, for most of his childhood, where his father was a professor at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

. Morton attended

Phillips Exeter Academy Phillips Exeter Academy (often called Exeter or PEA) is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, college-preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire. Established in 1781, it is America's sixth-oldest boarding school and educates an es ...

. In 1954 Rev. James Parks Morton married Pamela Taylor, a daughter of Francis Henry Taylor, director of the

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, and his wife Frances Pamela Coyne. They raised four daughters.U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-2016 for Pamela Taylor
Accessed via ancestry.com subscription site on 8 March 2025. Following his ordination, Morton ministered in the poor dock areas of Jersey City, and while Director of the Urban Training Center he started ecumenical training programs for religious professionals in inner city Chicago. He developed a sense of his role as essentially a parish priest, becoming immersed in the spiritual, moral and physical needs of each person in his community, whatever their station in life.

Cathedral of St. John the Divine

Morton was dean of the

Cathedral of St. John the Divine The Cathedral of St. John the Divine (sometimes referred to as St. John's and also nicknamed St. John the Unfinished) is the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. It is at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue in the Morningside Heights neighborhoo ...

for 25 years (1972–1996). During his tenure at the cathedral, he started many new projects and initiatives, including the "Green Cathedral Initiative," and inviting artists in residence such as

Paul Winter Paul Winter (born August 31, 1939) is an American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. He is a pioneer of world music and earth music, which interweaves the voices of the wild with instrumental voices from classical, jazz and world music. The ...

Philippe Petit Philippe Petit (; born 13 August 1949) is a French highwire artist who gained fame for his unauthorized highwire walks between the towers of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris in 1971 and of Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1973, as well as between the Twi ...

& I Giuliari di Piazza.

Projects

Morton spoke about his personal relationship with the "

green movement Green politics, or ecopolitics, is a political ideology that aims to foster an ecologically sustainable society often, but not always, rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy. Wall 2010. p. 12-13. It ...

" in the film '' The 11th Hour''. In 1996, the

National Audubon Society The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such orga ...

awarded him its highest honor, the Audubon Medal. He was a contributor to Seven Pillars House of Wisdom.

Press

Morton worked with Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf during the Park51 scandal following

September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, James Parks 1930 births 2020 deaths American Episcopal priests Cathedral of St. John the Divine