Our Staff

The staff of St. Stephen's Church is here to serve you and we hope you will feel free to contact us. You may reach a staff member by email by clicking on the person's name, or by calling 804.288.2867.

Janet Allen, Associate for Membership & Operations | extension 305

Stan Barnett, Coordinator of Kitchen Ministries | extension 320

Liz Bartenstein, Market Manager | extension 338

Sarah Bartenstein, Director of Communications | extension 323

Marion Chenault, Director, St. Stephen's Preschool | 288-6401

Donald Clements, Sexton

Melissa Hipes, Financial Administrator | extension 310

Deb Lawrence, Director of Outreach| extension 329

Betsy Lee, Receptionist and Pastoral Care Assistant | extension 300

Gene LeCouteur, Associate for Christian Formation & Education | extension 324

Dan Moriarty, Director of Music | extension 347

Ben Nelson, Sexton

Sun Ho Nuon, Sexton

Ashley Rotella, Palmer Hall Choir Director | 353-3620

Mary Frances Siersema, Wedding Coordinator | extension 302

Steven Simon, Facilities Manager | extension 321

Greg Vick, Associate Director of Music | extension 304

Abigail Whorley, Director of Children's Ministries | extension 346

Other telephone numbers:

Emergency (after hours) number: 804.254.0511

May Fair House: 804.282.3004 (open October-May)

St. Stephen's Preschool: 804.288.6401 (Marion Chenault, Director)

Center for Interfaith Reconciliation: 804.288.3318, extension 313 (The Rev. William L. Sachs, Ph.D., Director)

Staff changes

St. Stephen’s is blessed with one of the most talented, professional, hard-working and versatile staffs in the Episcopal Church. We are thrilled to make the following announcements about our parish staff.

Greg Vick, already known to many at St. Stephen’s through his work at St. Christopher’s School, begins a new ministry as Associate Director of Music at St. Stephen's Tuesday, January 17. He will plan, play and conduct music for all services and choirs, working with our singers and instrumentalists in collaboration with Dan Moriarty, Director of Music. Greg's fine work in the upper school at St. Christopher's makes him a natural for developing a choral group for teens at St. Stephen’s. His talents will be a wonderful complement to Dan’s, and a welcome addition as Dan has been shouldering the load in the music department for several months.

Greg has been the much-admired and beloved Organist/Choirmaster at Trinity Lutheran Church in Richmond since 1994. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics and business from Randolph-Macon College and has pursued graduate study in organ and choral conducting at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey. He served as the Lee Hastings Bristol Organ Scholar at Trinity Church (Episcopal), Princeton, working under the direction of John Bertalot, and as Organist/Choirmaster at St. James the Less Episcopal Church in Scarsdale, New York. In addition to his duties at Trinity Lutheran Church, Greg directs the Upper School Glee Club and the Saints Singers at St. Christopher’s School. His school choir has sung in many venues across the country, including the Washington National Cathedral, Washington D.C., and St. John’s Cathedral, Albuquerque, N.M., as well as internationally, including Australia and Great Britain.

"I look forward to working with the talented staff at St. Stephen’s and being a part of the church’s spiritually vibrant community," says Greg. "St. Stephen’s has set itself apart as a leader in new and creative liturgies with high musical standards. Working with Dan and helping him build on what has already has been so successful will be an exciting new opportunity for me."

"Greg’s reputation precedes him," says Dan. "His presence here will be a gift to St. Stephen’s. His musicianship, integrity, and concern for others are all superb assets for the parish, for the music program and for the staff."

Deb Lawrence, who is well known not only in the parish but throughout the community and beyond, ably assisted the Rev. David Anderson in the area of outreach, raising the profile of St. Stephen’s in Richmond and in the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast region. She has worked closely with the Rev. Weezie Blanchard on our mission trips to the Dominican Republic. She is highly regarded for her compassion, professionalism, and calm, can-do approach. Increasingly, she has become the face of St. Stephen’s Church to the wider community in matters related to outreach and volunteers. Volunteer involvement at St. Stephen’s has increased dramatically during Deb’s time on the staff, and as reported in the most recent Seasons of the Spirit, not only have the numbers of people increased, the level of their involvement has deepened as well. In recognition of Deb’s effectiveness, she has been promoted to Director of Outreach. Both our outreach partners and our volunteers will attest to Deb’s skills and her capable and supportive guidance.

We knew when we hired Betsy Lee as our receptionist last February that we were fortunate. She came to us with a background in youth ministry and holds a master’s degree in counseling. It wasn’t long, though, before we realized we were more blessed even than we had imagined. Betsy’s effectiveness, versatility, and her unflappable demeanor have made a positive impact on the staff and on visitors to St. Stephen’s. Recently her duties have been expanded to include providing support in the area of pastoral care, a role for which she is well-suited with her educational and professional background. Parishioners can rest assured that, even if a member of the clergy is not immediately available, Betsy will be on hand to attend to pastoral calls and route them to the appropriate clergy person quickly. She is working closely with Weezie Blanchard while continuing to promote the hospitable atmosphere for which our reception area has become known.

In the area of youth ministry, we have been eager to re-introduce the very successful internship program that was begun with funds from the “Expanding the Vision” campaign several years ago. That program was established both to strengthen our ministry among youth, children and their families; and to recognize that, as a corporate sized parish, we have a responsibility to use our resources to strengthen the ministry of the wider church. In this case, we provided a setting in which recent college graduates could test a vocation in parish ministry while receiving experience and mentoring from seasoned lay ministers and clergy. The program was an unqualified success, and not only launched one young man(Bill Campbell) on a career in youth ministry, but also helped us secure two young women—Whitney Bender and Abigail Whorley—who would prove so dedicated and capable that both were hired in full-time, permanent positions.

For the past few years, unfortunately, funds have not been available to continue the internship program, and our current professional staff members, the Rev. Matthew Johnson (youth and young adults) and Abigail Whorley (children) are serving without the benefit of interns. As we seek to raise enough funding to re-establish the program, Katharina Johnson—who is not only Matt’s wife, but a seminary graduate and a candidate for ordination in the Lutheran Church—is assisting in the youth department on an interim basis. She has studied at Duke Divinity School and holds a Master of Theology from the University of Erlangen, Germany, and a Master of Divinity from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. We are delighted to have someone of Katharina’s education and skill available to assist (and the kids love her!).

The staff model at St. Stephen’s is collaborative and collegial. Our staff are flexible and responsive, ready to do whatever needs to be done to serve this parish and the wider community. These qualities make it possible for us to serve one of the largest parishes in the Episcopal Church with such a small staff, and to step into new or expanded roles when individual staff people leave to serve elsewhere. This is a cause for celebration and gratitude.

Thank you, Lyn!

Lyn Presson, who has served faithfully in a number of roles at St. Stephen’s since 1995, has announced her intention to retire at the end of this year. We will miss Lyn very, very much, but she is excited about this next step, so we are thrilled for her. We will continue to see her here at St. Stephen’s where she and her family are parishioners, and where she intends to be more involved in our outreach ministries. Lyn was hired by Thom Blair as receptionist and to provide administrative support to the Christian education staff. Before long, she was editing the monthly newsletter, The Spirit, as well as producing worship bulletins, inserts, brochures and other printed pieces. Not only did she create publications, she printed them, too! When St. Stephen’s entered the digital universe, she maintained the parish’s fledgling Web site. Lyn has also shepherded the many volunteers who have helped stuff bulletins and prepare mailings over the years. She has also worked in the finance office–always pitching in wherever she has been needed. Thank you for your dedication to St. Stephen’s, Lyn!

Congratulations to Claudia!
The Rev. Claudia Merritt, who served on the staff here both during the interim period in 2004 and 2005, and more recently from 2008 until 2010, has accepted a call to serve on the staff of St. Paul’s, Richmond. Even after leaving the full-time staff here, Claudia has served our parish by leading small groups and teaching classes, as well as organizing and leading the parish retreat at Shrine Mont and participating in leading worship. Her work at St. Paul’s will focus primarily on Christian formation. Congratulations to Claudia!