Clergy & Staff
Clergy & Staff
CLERGY & STAFF
Clergy
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. He is an associate fellow of Branford College.
The Rev’d L. Jett McAlister - Curate
Fr Jett McAlister was raised outside of Little Rock, Arkansas, and studied English and creative writing (BA, Rice University; MFA, University of Virginia; MA, University of Chicago) before discerning a call to Holy Orders. Fr Jett graduated from Yale Divinity School (MDiv) and Berkeley Divinity School at Yale. He was ordained to the priesthood in the parish on the Feast of Ss. Timothy and Titus. He trained in hospital chaplaincy at Bridgeport and Danbury Hospitals, completing four units of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). He also served for two years as the chaplain to St Hilda’s House. In addition to his ministry at Christ Church, Fr Jett works in graduate medical education at Norwalk Hospital. His interests include incarnational theology, the history of liturgical traditions, and spirituality and medicine. In his spare time, he enjoys practicing piano, long- distance running, and viewing contemporary art.
The Rev’d Armando Ghinaglia - Priest Affiliate
Fr Armando Ghinaglia (BA Yale College - Political Science, MDiv Yale Divinity School, JD Yale Law School) was ordained a priest in 2018 and served as curate at St. John's, Bristol, and Church of Our Savior, Plainville, before coming to Christ Church. He is a native of Venezuela and was raised in Texas. At Yale Law School he engaged in litigation and advocacy on behalf of fellow immigrants and workers. Presently he clerks for the Honorable Alvin W. Thompson, US District Judge for Connecticut. Informally, Fr Armando studies and teaches about how patristic interpretation of the psalms might inform Christian spirituality and living in the modern day. He is married to Abigail (Abbie) Storch, whom he met in divinity school and who serves on the vestry at St. John's, New Haven.
The Rev'd Kathryn Greene-McCreight - Priest Affiliate
Mtr Kathryn Greene-McCreight (MDiv & STM, Yale Divinity School; PhD, Yale University) 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 Teresa Morgan - Priest Affiliate
Mtr Teresa Morgan (BA., M.A., Ph.D. Cambridge; B.A., M.A. Oxford; LRAM, Dip.RAM) is the inaugural McDonald-Agape Professor in New Testament and Early Christianity at Yale Divinity School and Berkeley Divinity School at Yale. Immediately prior to Yale she served as Professor of Graeco-Roman History and Nancy Bissell Turpin Fellow and Tutor at Oriel College, Oxford. She ministered at Ss Mary & Nicholas, Littlemore, and St Andrew, Sandford-on-Thames, both in the Diocese of Oxford. Former Chair of Oxford’s Faculty of Classics, Mtr Teresa focuses her work on ancient history, biblical studies, patristics, and theology. Among her books are Literate Education in the Hellenistic and Roman Worlds (1998), Popular Morality in the Early Roman Empire (2007), and Roman Faith and Christian Faith (2015). Her most recent work, The New Testament and the Theology of Trust: “This Rich Trust,” was published in summer 2002. In addition to her priestly and scholarly work, Mtr Teresa is a musician and published poet.
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 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, CT.
The Rev’d E. Bevan Stanley, priest affiliate
Fr Bevan Stanley came to New Haven as an undergraduate at Yale. He and his wife Alinda ran a bookstore for ten years. They joined Christ Church in 1976, where their daughters were among the first “boat girls.” The parish sponsored Bevan for ordination, and following graduation from Yale Divinity School / Berkeley Divinity School at Yale in 1983 he was ordained to the priesthood at Christ Church and served as Curate in the parish. The bishop appointed him Vicar of St. Peter’s on the Hill in Hamden, and in 1990 he led the merger of St. Peter’s on the Hill with Grace Church. After fifteen years in Hamden, Fr Bevan served several other parishes, ending with almost ten years at St. Michael’s Church in Litchfield. He has served as a spiritual director, consulted in parishes, and coached parish leaders. Trained in community organizing by the Industrial Areas Foundation, he worked for change in New Haven with Elm City Congregations Organized in the 1990’s. He earned a Doctor of Ministry from Hartford Seminary in 2003. A deputy to four General Conventions, he served on its Prayer Book and Liturgy Committee three times. For five years he served as a Reader of the General Ordination Exams for the national church. Currently Fr Bevan is Chaplain to the retired clergy of the South Central Region of the diocese.
He and Alinda share interests in pre-Norman Britain, reading, the Adirondacks, theater, and travel. In 2005 he and a friend paddled the Hudson River 313 miles from its source at Lake Henderson in the Adirondacks to New York City. Fr Bevan and Alinda’s two grown daughters live in Anchorage and Minneapolis.
The Rev'd Kenneth D. Thomas, priest affiliate
Staff
Mr Thomas Williford - Choirmaster
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 Luke Brennan - Organ Scholar
Luke Brennan is a graduate organ student at Yale University in the studio of Carole Terry and James O’Donnell pursuing his Master of Music (MM) in organ performance. He is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, formerly in the studios of Anne Laver and Nathan Laube, with a Bachelor of Music (BM) in Organ Performance as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics (BA) from the University of Rochester. During his studies at Eastman, he was organ scholar of Christ Church in Rochester, NY under the mentorship of Stephen Kennedy.
Prior to Eastman Luke studied with Christopher Betts. He has played at the Cathedral Church of Saints Peter and Paul (Washington, DC), Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche, Großer Saal Mozarteum Salzburg, Chiesa di San Marco, and others. Luke earned highest Distinction when passing his Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) assessments in both organ performance and music theory. He is also a winner of the 2019 RCYO Potomac Chapter and Mid-Atlantic Regional Competitions.
Luke is an accomplished pianist and choir singer and was selected for Virginia All-State and Honors Choirs. In his free time, Luke enjoys learning languages, playing soccer, and is a huge ice hockey fan.
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.
Volunteer staff: David Smith, subsacristan
Vestry
Vestry
Vestry
Senior Warden: Robin Landis
Parish Warden: Jeremy Mudd
Treasurer: James Smith
Clerk: Alinda Stanley
Class of 2025: Felicity Harley-McGowan, Merlyn LaPaix, Ben Howell
Class of 2026: Ben Geertz, Susan Rood, Rachel Sexton
Class of 2027: Nancy Horn, Lorraine Siggins, Stephen Young
Position Openings
Position Openings
Position Openings - Christ Church New Haven
Christ Church Parish seeks to call a person or persons to fill the below openings as part of the parish ministry team. These positions may be one full-time post or multiple part time posts. See below for more information.
Applications should be made to search@christchurchnh.org. Please include a current resume as well as a cover letter (which need not be a separate attachment — it may be the body of your email) including the following points: (1) What about the position(s) you are applying for seems like a call to you? (2) Why do you wish to work in an Anglican-Catholic, urban parish? See each job description for additional items to include in your application packet.
Christ Church Parish does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, orientation, or gender identity.
The position(s) will remain open until filled. Applicants will be notified upon closing of each position.
BACKGROUND
Christ Church is an Episcopal church in the heart of downtown New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1854, Christ Church is an historically Anglican-Catholic parish, and thus maintains both the highest standard of liturgical, homiletical, and musical excellence in liturgy and a robust commitment to serve our community.
Part of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut, Christ Church is located in downtown New Haven, a city that economist Jed Kolko has written “looks most like the US” statistically.[1] Situate in what was known as Poverty Square, at the intersection of Broadway and Elm Street, Christ Church sits along the border of Yale and Newhallville, working in the presence of great financial and intellectual capital alongside great marginalization, poverty, and oppression.
Founded in 1854 during the Oxford Movement to provide a more frequent celebration of the Sacrament of Holy Communion, the parish presently offers daily prayer (Rite I), two in-person masses each Sunday (Rite II and Rite I), and (during term time) an evening Compline service serving the University community. Daily mass is offered Monday through Friday. At least one service each day is offered over livestream. The prayer life of the parish is supported by a host of professional musicians and volunteer guild members committed to the worship of the Lord in the beauty of holiness. In all that we do and say, we seek to show people the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ.
The parish is host to Community Soup Kitchen, founded in 1977, offering a hot meal six days a week to hungry residents and visitors to New Haven. This year over 75,000 meals will be served alongside medical and social services. (csknewhaven.org)
The Parish is also partners with Citizens Project, a Yale-based life-skills program for persons who have been incarcerated and are in recovery.
POSITIONS (click for more detail)
Choirmaster - Coordinates and leads the musical offerings supporting the prayer life of the Parish, including recruiting and managing its choir and collaborating with Principal Organist Thomas Murray and the Assistant Organist.
Assistant Organist - Supports the Principal Organist and the Choirmaster in accompanying, playing hymns, and organ repertoire as part of liturgical services.
Assistant to the Rector - Provides front line pastoral contact for parishioners and visitors; coordinates communications including service leaflets; performs basic bookkeeping and database management.
COMPENSATION
Compensation depends upon training, prior experience, and scope of work and ranges from $15,000 (part time) to $60,000 (full time) with commensurate benefits.
Openings - Administrative
Openings - Administrative
Assistant to the Rector, Christ Church Parish, New Haven, CT
Christ Church is an Episcopal church in the heart of downtown New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1854, Christ Church is an historically Anglo-Catholic parish, and thus maintains both the highest standard of liturgical, homiletical, and musical excellence in liturgy and a robust commitment to serve our community. The parish is home to both the Community Soup Kitchen, which serves 3,500 meals each week, and St Hilda’s House, an Episcopal Service Corps site where five young adults integrate their Christian faith with action, both by living together in community and serving the vulnerable.
Position: Assistant to the Rector
Position Description:
The Assistant works closely with the Rector to manage the administrative needs of the parish, including the areas of human resources, facilities management, and communications. This part-time position provides six to fifteen hours per week.
Duties include:
Support the Rector in all aspects of parish ministry.
Provide front-line pastoral response & referrals to those phoning, emailing, or visiting the Parish Office.
Make, edit, proof, and print leaflets for Parish Sunday services and occasional special services and feasts.
Enter contributions and income as well as pay bills from parish accounting system.
Manage deliveries, mailings, e-commerce shipments, and office supply inventory.
Assist in keeping parish records and data accurate and current.
Manage parish communications including newsletters, website, social media, and signage.
Qualifications:
Previous administrative and/or communications experience is helpful.
Some experience in church ministry, whether paid or unpaid, is useful.
Familiarity with Episcopal liturgy and polity is useful.
Skills:
Attention to detail.
Strong oral, written, verbal, and interpersonal communication.
Effective collaborative and pastoral style.
Strong integrity, honesty, and confidentiality.
Ability to take initiative and make decisions.
Working knowledge of all major office software including word processing, spreadsheets, database management, and web design.
To apply, send resume, writing sample, and three references to search@christchurchnh.org. Christ Church Parish does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, orientation, or gender identity.
Openings - Assistant Organist
Openings - Assistant Organist
Position: Assistant Organist or Organ Scholar
Position Description:
The Assistant Organist assists the Principal Organist and Choirmaster in supporting the liturgical prayer life of the Parish. This position provides ten to fifteen hours per week.
Duties include:
Serve collegially with the Principal Organist and Choirmaster, reporting to the Rector as head of staff.
Perform preludes, voluntaries, service music, and provide choral accompaniment as requested and in consultation with the Principal Organist and Choirmaster for Sunday services as well as weekday Saints' days and Feast days.
On occasion as agreed prepare and direct the choir for services.
Manage the choral library weekly, in consultation with the Choirmaster.
Supply voluntary titles for the service leaflet in a timely fashion (generally two weeks in advance).
Maintain a high standard of excellence within the musical and liturgical traditions of the parish, while also suggesting new resources or strategies as appropriate.
Participate in the overall staff function of the parish, including a weekly staff meeting and other duties as may be assigned.
As a member of the parish staff and community, share in the responsibility of maintaining a secure and safe environment on campus while promoting collegiality amongst staff and fellowship amongst parishioners.
The Assistant Organist will have access to the Kibitz Memorial Organ for their own use subject to advance scheduling, including use for recording and performance.
Qualifications:
Advanced degree preferred (MM or similar or higher); prior experience preferred and considered in lieu of advanced degree.
Experience in church ministry, whether paid or unpaid, is useful.
Familiarity with Episcopal liturgy and polity is useful.
Skills:
Attention to detail.
Strong oral, written, verbal, and interpersonal communication.
Effective collaborative and pastoral style.
Strong integrity, honesty, and confidentiality.
Ability to take initiative and make decisions.
Working knowledge of all major office software including word processing, spreadsheets, database management, and web design.
To apply, send resume, cover letter (may be an email), recordings of two organ pieces (one of which should be a hymn or an accompaniment), and three references to search@christchurchnh.org. Christ Church Parish does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, orientation, or gender identity.
Openings - Choirmaster
Openings - Choirmaster
Position: Choirmaster
Position Description:
The Choirmaster works closely with the Rector to plan the musical offerings of the parish and coordinates the same with the Principal Organist and Organ Scholar/Assistant Organist. This position provides fifteen to twenty hours per week.
Duties include:
Serve collegially with the Principal Organist and Assistant Organist and coordinating as needed their work to provide musical resources for the rounds of prayer and sacrament at Christ Church Parish, reporting to the Rector as head of staff
Plan and execute the choral music calendar for the program year, consulting as needed with the Principal Organist on items requiring organ accompaniment, and the Rector
Recruit and direct the Christ Church Choir, planning for the number of singers needed for the sung liturgies, working within the confines of the budget. It is the expectation that the choir will sing, as possible within the budget, at each Solemn High Mass from early September (Labor Day) through late June (Corpus Christi), and at other liturgies as deemed necessary and appropriate by the Rector.
Coordinate as needed for the necessary musical resources for the 8:45am service. (This service is typically covered by Principal Organist and/or Organ Scholar when needed)
Plan for & direct the Sunday evening Compline service during term, recruiting singers as necessary.
Maintain a high standard of excellence within the musical and liturgical traditions of the parish, while also suggesting new resources or strategies as appropriate.
Work with the Rector to plan sung liturgies, and report the necessary information for the preparation of bulletins to the Parish Administrator.
Coordinate with the organists to see that one or more organists are provided for each service with music.
Take the lead in arranging with the organist and any singers necessary for special services such as weddings, funerals, and other weekday services with music, at an additional compensation of $150 per service.
With the approval of the Rector, collaborate with other parishes, musical and community organizations in concerts and/or services of mutual benefit.
Provide for a timely reporting of the choir pay roll to the parish office.
Maintain the choir room in an orderly and professional manner, overseeing improvements as necessary.
Take a lead in planning for the promotion and publicity of Christ Church musical events.
Serve as needed as coordinator for musical events by outside groups at the parish, overseeing the set-up, clean-up, and security for the event. In particular, serve as a liaison with the Institute of Sacred Music. (ISM staff typically manage each ISM function, and the Sexton as support staff is available to carry out cleanup and breakdown of non-ISM events.)
Participate in the overall staff function of the parish, including a weekly staff meeting and other duties as may be assigned.
Provide coaching and training as requested for members of the staff or others with musical responsibilities in the liturgy.
As a member of the parish staff and community, share in the responsibility of maintaining a secure and safe environment on campus while promoting collegiality amongst staff and fellowship amongst parishioners.
Qualifications:
Advanced degree preferred (MM or similar or higher); prior experience preferred and considered in lieu of advanced degree.
Experience in church ministry, whether paid or unpaid, is useful.
Familiarity with Episcopal liturgy and polity is useful.
Skills:
Attention to detail.
Strong oral, written, verbal, and interpersonal communication.
Effective collaborative and pastoral style.
Strong integrity, honesty, and confidentiality.
Ability to take initiative and make decisions.
Working knowledge of all major office software including word processing, spreadsheets, database management, and web design.
To apply, send resume, cover letter (may be an email), recordings of two choral pieces, and three references to search@christchurchnh.org. Christ Church Parish does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, orientation, or gender identity.