The Very Reverend Dr. Michael T. Sniffen serves as Dean of Long Island, leading both the Cathedral of the Incarnation and the Mercer School of Theology in Garden City, New York. He is a vowed member of the Community of the Incarnation and serves in the United States Navy as Command Chaplain of the Empire Battalion, 4th Marine Division, U.S. Marine Corps.
Ordained in 2007, Dean Sniffen has served congregations in New Jersey and New York, most recently in Brooklyn and Garden City. He holds a B.A., Magna Cum Laude, from West Virginia Wesleyan College, and M.Phil., M.Div., and Ph.D. degrees from Drew University.
Dean Sniffen’s ministry has been recognized by Congress, the City of New York, and Nassau County for its impact on the public good. While Rector of St. Luke and St. Matthew in Brooklyn, he coordinated a major disaster relief effort following Hurricane Sandy, mobilizing thousands of college students and residents to serve neighbors in need. The Department of Homeland Security recognized the initiative as one of the most effective grassroots relief efforts in U.S. history. He has appeared on NBC, CBS, PBS, and FOX News, speaking about the power of faith and community organizing in response to climate disasters.
His leadership has been honored with awards in pulpit oratory and manner, community achievement, pastoral leadership, and innovative ministry. A steward of the 2008 Lambeth Conference in London and Canterbury, he has also been recognized with a Luce Fellowship at the Center for Christianity in Global Contexts. In 2022, he received the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal for his work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dean Sniffen has served on numerous boards and commissions including the Garden City Foundation, the Racial Justice Advisory Council of the Brooklyn Community Foundation, and the Brooklyn Borough President’s Council on Faith-Based Partnerships. A sought-after speaker and preacher, he regularly addresses religion and spiritual development as integral aspects of the human experience.
Since 2015, Dean Sniffen has led a visionary expansion of cathedral ministry on Long Island including the renovation, restoration, and acquisition of numerous historic buildings. He has initiated new community ministry partnerships in the Nassau County Correctional Center, on the campus of Adelphi University, and on the streets of Hempstead. He co-founded the Center for Spiritual Imagination, now a leading voice in the contemplative Christian movement. In his academic work, he teaches preaching as a transformational, embodied practice. He is currently teaching an advanced seminar entitled “Preaching in a Divisive Age” in which he guides seminarians through an exploration of the relationship between Christian contemplation and spiritual resilience in the life of the preacher.
Avid sailors and runners, Dean Sniffen and his wife, Joanna, live on the Cathedral Close in Garden City with their two Whippets, Huck and Burleigh.
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