The Rev. Irene Tanabe

Priest & Rector
 

The Rev. Irene Tanabe embodies the mixture of Japanese and American cultures that is the spirit of All Souls Church.  Irene’s father was the son of Japanese immigrants to America and was raised in Seattle, Washington.  Irene was born in the US Army hospital in Tokyo and lived most of her childhood in and around the American military communities in Japan.  Her father worked for the US Civil Administration of the Ryukyus, and for the United States Navy after the islands were returned to Japan.  Irene’s mother was from Hokkaido and lived in Tokyo.   She attended Department of Defense Schools and graduated from Kubasaki High School here on Okinawa, and then returned to Seattle, Washington. The Rev. Tanabe received a J.D. from the University of Colorado and practiced law in Seattle for two decades before following a call to ministry. She received her Master's in Divinity from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, California. Before coming to All Souls Church, she served as Rector of Epiphany Episcopal Church in Honolulu.