About Father Mayntz

The Rev. Josef Mayntz was born on October 24, 1944 in Waldbroel, a small village south-east of Cologne, Germany. He was baptized into the Roman Catholic faith and was brought up by his mother and grandparents until his father was released from a prisoner of war camp in 1946. Then, the family moved to a new home in Junkersdorf, on the west side of the River Rhine, where he started elementary school in the spring of 1950. Following the ground rules for education in Germany, he was asked in third grade to choose between standard schooling and higher learning. Standard schooling ended at age 14, followed by three years of night school and an apprenticeship.

Josef did not want to follow that route, and in the spring of 1953 he attended St. Apostles’ Gymnasium in Cologne to study classical Latin, Greek, Mathematics, and Religion, among other subjects. During that time, his village church was still being rebuilt from the damages of World War II, and he called Cologne Cathedral his parish church.

After one year at St. Apostles’ Gymnasium, Josef had an opportunity to further his education by attending a monastery of Vincent Pallotti, a Roman priest who had started the Society of the Catholic Apostolate in 1835. This change was made possible, in part, by Fr. Josef Rupp, his parish priest, for whom Josef was an acolyte. Josef remained in the monastery for more than nine years with the intention of joining the order and becoming a Catholic priest. However, in January 1963 his parents immigrated to the United States and he moved with them to San Jose, California.

To obtain a better fluency in his new language, Joe translated portions of the daily newspaper with the help of an English/German dictionary. He also enrolled in the local High School and graduated with the Class of 1963 in June of that year. After graduation, Josef started work as a machine operator in a glass bottle factory and enrolled in a correspondence school to study mechanical drafting and design. With this new education, he was employed as a draftsman for heavy duty truck designs, followed by work in a steel mill to design mechanical equipment for melting scrap metal and forming new steel bars. While working in the daytime, he attended junior college at night and earned an associate degree in mechanical engineering.

When an opportunity arose to work on the Space Shuttle program, he changed companies and designed ground support equipment to test the Shuttle’s launch boosters. Finally, in 1988, Josef’s education was completed with a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of San Francisco. He changed companies again and, as senior staff engineer, supervised a design group that provided handling, transportation and test equipment for Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles delivered to the U.S. and UK Navies. Josef stayed at this job for 33 years and retired in 2014.

During his years of employment, the desire for religious service never waned. He served in his local church as an acolyte, lay reader and Extraordinary Minister, making the rounds in homes and hospitals to bring the Sacraments to the sick and homebound parishioners. Even before retirement, he looked for avenues to serve God in a more formal role. In early 2010, his wife Jane introduced Josef to the Very Rev. Canon Douglas King, Dean of Central Florida and Rector of St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Melbourne, Florida. Canon King talked extensively with Josef about the Anglican faith and service in the Church. Unfortunately, Fr. King passed away soon afterwards, and when Fr. Raymond Unterburger was called to be Rector of St. Paul’s, Josef confirmed his desire to serve in the Church. He became an acolyte, lay reader and licensed chalice bearer and then applied to the Most Rev. Walter Grundorf, D.D., Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Province of America, to become a deacon.

Bishop Grundorf accepted his application, and in March 2011 Josef enrolled at the Logos House of Theological Studies, Brooksville, ME to study for the Diaconate. He completed his studies in October 2013 with an Associate’s Degree in Sacred Theology, and Bishop Grundorf ordained him to the Sacred Order of Deacons on 29 March 2014 at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Melbourne, FL. Following ordination, Josef served there for one year, before moving to the Phoenix area due to Jane’s health concerns in the humid Florida environment. In June 2015, the Venerable Canon Frederick Rivers accepted “Deacon Joe” to serve at St. Andrew's Parish. On August 21, 2022, Deacon Joe was ordained to the Sacred Order of Priests at St. Andrew’s Parish by The Right Rev. William D. Bower who serves as Ordinary Bishop of the Diocese of the Eastern United States and assisting Bishop to the Diocese of the West of the Anglican Church in America. Father Mayntz continues to serve the parish in many ways, now as Pastor of St. Andrew’s, continuing to visit and administer the Sacrament to the sick, ministering to the congregation in any way he can, teaching the study of Holy Scripture and supports St. John’s Anglican Church in Chandler, Arizona, as directed by Canon Rivers. Josef and Jane were married in November 1974, and she has been instrumental for him to reach his goal of service to God and the community. They have three children, son Marcus and twin daughters Susan and Kathleen, as well as five grandchildren.