The Rev'd Stephen C. Holton - Rector

Fr Stephen Holton is the XIII rector of Christ Church. A native of middle Georgia, Fr Holton earned his BA at Emory University and prepared for the priesthood at Yale Divinity School and Berkeley Divinity School at Yale (MDiv). During seminary Fr Holton served as intern at Christ Church and subsequently was appointed curate. He was ordained to the priesthood in the parish on the Feast of St Ambrose. Immediately prior to returning to Christ Church, he served as associate rector of Grace Church in New York, where his portfolio included outreach and service as lower school chaplain and adjunct religion faculty in the high school division of Grace Church School. His academic interests include the intersection between sacramental theology and missional service as reconciliation. Prior to ordination, Fr Holton worked in fundraising and nonprofit management in the arts, education, and human services sectors. He is a past convener of the Society of Catholic Priests for the greater New York region and serves on the boards of the Community Soup Kitchen at Christ Church and the Society for the Increase of Ministry.

The Rev'd Carlos de la Torre, Curate & Program Director of St Hilda's House

Fr Carlos de la Torre serves as Curate and Program Director of St Hilda's House, serving alongside the Rector, Chaplain, and Formation Director. Fr Carlos also serves as Southwest Region Missionary for the Episcopal Church in Connecticut, working with community partners and parishes in Fairfield County.

In 2012, Fr Carlos graduated from Manhattanville College, Purchase, N.Y., where he majored in Philosophy and World Religions. The same year, Fr Carlos began his studies and priestly formation at Virginia Seminary, Alexandria, VA. In 2015, Father Carlos graduated with a Master of Divinity from Virginia Seminary and was ordained a priest on the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Fr Carlos has worked with communities in Yonkers, N.Y.; Houston, Tex.; Alexandria, Va.; and Washington D.C. As curate to St Hilda's House, Fr Carlos oversees program recruitment, onboarding and orientation, job placements and work performance, spiritual and professional retreats, and community involvement on the parish and city level.  

The Rev'd Kathryn Greene-McCreight - Priest Affiliate

Kathryn Greene-McCreight (MDiv, STM, PhD) is a priest affiliate of Christ Church, New Haven. She is also co-chair of the Patient and Family Advisory Council for Yale-New Haven Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, and is on the board of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), Elm City. Her most recent books include Darkness is My Only Companion: A Christian Response to Mental Illness (Revised Edition, 2015) and I Am With You: The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lent Book (2016). She enjoys working with St Hildans and with Annand students at Yale Divinity School, and is presently chipping away at a commentary on Galatians.

The Rev'd Kent C. Smith - Priest Affiliate

Kent C. Smith, a retired priest of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut, has served as a priest affiliate since 2004. He was confirmed at Christ Church during the 1960s while working towards his doctorate in Chinese history. Grateful back then that Christ Church offered daily masses, he now finds great joy in celebrating the midday low masses most Wednesdays of the year in the Lady Chapel. He offers spiritual direction and counsel to seminarians and St Hilda’s House interns, assists with pastoral duties, and from time to time serves as a supply priest at other area parishes.

A native of New Jersey, he earned an A.B. from Princeton and also an M.A. and Ph.D. from Yale. After many years as a history professor at Connecticut College, he left for study at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass., to pursue his vocation to the priesthood. In 1985 he was ordained a priest at Trinity Church, Newtown, during his two years as curate there and then served seventeen years as rector of Christ Church, Redding.

Both before and after his retirement from full-time parish ministry, he has devoted much of his energy to assisting in the work of Christian formation. He was academic coordinator of the diocesan deacon training program for seven years, a member of the diocesan committee for oversight and examination of those preparing for ordination, and later a reader for the national church’s General Ordination Examinations.

He lives in Guilford with his wife, Margaret.

The Rev'd Robert Deming & the Rev'd Kenneth D. Thomas, priests affiliate

Dr Nathaniel Adam - Choirmaster

Nathaniel Adam is a Lecturer of Music at Yale University, and Choirmaster at Christ Church. An accomplished music theorist, composer, keyboard accompanist, and choral musician, he holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music (BM) and the University of Michigan (PhD). He has previously taught at Western Connecticut State University and Central Connecticut State University, and remains a faculty member for the New York State Summer School of the Arts: School of Choral Studies. His scholarly research ranges from church music and counterpoint to minimalism and 21st-century popular music analysis, and his compositions have been performed across the country and internationally.

Prof. Thomas M. Murray - Artist in Residence & Principal Organist

Thomas Murray, the Principal Organist & Artist in Residence at Christ Church, is also University Organist and Professor of Music at Yale University, where he teaches and performs on the renowned Skinner organ in Woolsey Hall. Widely known for his interpretations of Romantic repertoire and orchestral transcriptions, his recordings are highly acclaimed. Professor Murray has appeared in recitals and lectures at six national conventions of the AGO, which named him International Artist of the Year for 1986. In 2003 he was named an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Organists in England, and in 2005 he was awarded the Gustave Stoeckel Award for excellence in teaching from the Yale University School of Music. He has made numerous recordings on the AFKA, Gothic, and JAV Labels.

Mr Grant Wareham - Organ Scholar

A native of Dayton, Ohio, Grant Wareham is currently pursuing his Master of Music degree with Thomas Murray at the Yale University Institute of Sacred Music and School of Music. Grant began organ studies with Jerry Taylor in 2007. He recently earned his BMus with Ken Cowan at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, graduating cum laude and with Distinction in Research and Creative Work. While at Rice, Grant served as the inaugural Moseley Memorial Organ Scholar and assistant organist at St Thomas' Episcopal Church in Houston, and as Associate Organist at Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church, where he worked with music director Dr. Brady Knapp and Artist-in-Residence and Organist Ken Cowan. Winner of both the First and Audience Prizes at the Albert Schweitzer Organ Competition in Hartford, CT, in 2017, Grant was also a featured performer at the 62nd annual convention of the Organ Historical Society in St Paul, Minnesota.

Mr Ben Schober - Sexton

Ben has worked at Christ Church since October, 2012. He resides in Bridgeport with his girlfriend Laura Baker and their daughter Roxy. He is very active in the local sober communities. Ben is a 1993 graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. He may be seen running the streets of New Haven and surrounding towns while training for the New Haven road race or the Hartford marathon.

Ms Angela Shelley - Children's Ministry Coordinator & Parish Administrator

Angela’s is the first face you’ll meet in the Parish Office—and the first to greet the children of the Parish on Sunday mornings. She holds a Master of Sacred Theology from Yale in liturgical studies and a Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University. Before seminary she practiced as a CPA in Florida. Angela is passionate about formation and Christian education for all ages, especially children, and her expertise as CPA informs her management of the parish’s operations and finances.

Rachel Sexton, Sacristan

David W. Smith, Subsacristan

Barry McMurtrey, Master of Acolytes