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 presently serves on the board of the Community Soup Kitchen at Christ Church.

Curate

Stay tuned for announcements about the next Curate.

The Rev'd Kathryn Greene-McCreight - Priest Affiliate

Mtr 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 Andrew G. Osmun - Priest Affiliate

The Rev. Andrew G. Osmun graduated from Lenox School and then Williams College, Massachusetts, in 1971. Baptized as a child, he experienced a personal conversion to faith as a young adult and subsequently received his call to ordination while at St. Columba’s, Inverness, California. He graduated in 1975 from Wycliffe Hall, Oxford (UK), and was ordained in the Diocese of Pittsburgh the same year. He served St. Stephen’s, Mckeesport; Transfiguration, Clairton; St. Luke’s in Chester, Vermont; St. Peter’s, Milford, Connecticut; Christ and the Epiphany, East Haven; and St. Mark’s, Bridgeport. He is a trained Spiritual Director, Member of the Fellowship of St. John (SSJE), Trustee of the Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders, and active in criminal justice reform and advocacy.

The Rev’d Lee McGee Street - Priest Affiliate

Mtr Lee McGee Street, retired Squire Professor of Pastoral Care at Yale Divinity School, holds advanced degrees from Yale Divinity School and Catholic University. She has served as chaplain at the American University, as a clinical social worker, and as rector of St. Paul’s Church in New Haven. She was one of the first women to be ordained to the priesthood in 1975 at St. Stephen & the Incarnation Church in Washington, D.C. Mtr Lee is author of Wrestling with the Patriarchs: Retrieving Women’s Voices in Preaching (1996). Her ministry at Christ Church includes serving as a spiritual director for St. Hilda’s House. She is married to the Rev’d Parke Street and has two grown sons and a guide dog named Max - all of whom she loves dearly.

The Rev'd Kent C. Smith - Priest Affiliate

Fr 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

Staff

Ms Angela Shelley - Program Director, Saint Hilda’s House

As Program Director for Saint Hilda’s House, Angela Shelley is committed to supporting the spiritual growth and leadership development of young adults in the Christian faith. She holds the Master of Sacred Theology from Yale University along with a certificate in liturgics from the Institute of Sacred Music and a certificate in Anglican studies from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, where her thesis was titled Even at the Grave: Episcopal Burial Liturgy Since 1928. Angela also holds a Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University. Prior to seminary, she was a CPA in Tallahassee, Florida. Angela earned bachelor’s degrees in English and accounting from Mercer University.

Mr Thomas Williford - Choirmaster & Parish Administrator

Thomas Williford comes to Christ Church from Chelmsford Cathedral where he served as the Graham Rogers Organ Scholar. He previously served as Director of Music at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Stamford, CT. Thomas completed the Master of Music Degree at the Yale School of Music and Institute of Sacred Music where he served as Organist & Choirmaster of the Episcopal Church at Yale and as Organist of the University Church in Yale. Thomas is a native of Atlanta, GA, and is a graduate of Mercer University in Macon, GA.

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.

David W. Smith, Subsacristan

Barry McMurtrey, Master of Acolytes