On New Member Sunday, St. John’s welcomed 10 new families into our faith community. Read on to get to know some of them a little better and say hello next time you see them!
Denis and Lynette O’Pray
Lyn and Denis are “coming home,” as they began attending St. John’s about 53 years ago, and their three sons were baptized here.
Denis started his life as a professor of American Studies. While worshiping and teaching at St. John’s (Lyn was Treasurer) he got the bug to become ordained in the Episcopal Church. Since then, they have lived in the Twin Cities, then in California for 27 years, then back to Minnesota ten years ago to lead the Church of the Nativity in Burnsville. They now have a “family compound” in Minneapolis where they and two of their sons have homes within the same block.
Denis and Lyn are active participants in the arts including the SPCO, Minnesota Orchestra, and the Guthrie. Lyn also does glass work, reads a lot, and loves her kids and grandkids. Denis has a shop where he is building Shaker furniture that he hopes to enter in the State Fair.
John and Melissa Mulloy
John and Melissa found the Episcopal church a bit later in life, after being brought up in Lutheran and Catholic traditions. They first came at the invitation of Elaine and Tom Eyre and were drawn to the beauty of the church, the “formal” liturgy, and the music.
John works for Thrivent and Melissa is a business litigator at Larson King LLP, in downtown St. Paul. When they are not working, they enjoy football, running, kayaking and cooking. They have season tickets for Minnesota Gopher football, and are also enthusiastic Packer backers. They have four grown children and three grandchildren.
Edwin Schenk and Jennie Walker
Edwin and Jennie joined St. John’s after seeking out a faith community near their home. They wanted a congregation that could speak to their evangelical background, with Jesus-centered worship, but also with a sense of broad horizons.
Jennie is a librarian at the Debra S. Fish Early Childhood Resource Library in Little Canada, and Edwin owns Abstract Pigeon, a web development company.
They have been together for three years, and are raising two daughters. They enjoy cooking together, hosting friends, reading, going on walks, traveling, and working together on a blog. This summer they’re looking forward to keeping up the blogging, while fishing, getting out into the cities, finding the best restaurant patios, and doing some home remodeling.
Lesley Pandian
Lesley comes to St. John’s most recently from Dallas. He has a worldly perspective; his parents are from India and he was raised in Moscow.
He is a programmer at Thomson Reuters in their financial risk sector. He loves his work. Growing up, Lesley enjoyed playing video games, but while playing would imagine how he could make it better. He ended up getting his masters, where his work was to create virtual reality for people to train in “real world” environments.
Lesley is also an accomplished tennis player and thrives on the hard work and challenge that the game offers.
Amanda Gould, Joseph O’Brien, and Olivia O’Brien
Amanda and Joseph are new parents who were blessed to welcome Olivia Rose into the world last fall. Amanda’s background in real estate keeps her plenty busy, as does Joseph’s background in structural engineering. They enjoy nature walks, volunteering, and writing children’s books.
They were initially drawn to St. John’s as a place of worship close to home. They’ve enjoyed meeting the church’s friendly members. during subsequent visits, and are excited for Olivia’s baptism.
Jeff, Sherryse, and Eleanor Corrow
While living in Canada, Jeff and Sherryse found an Anglican church, which they loved. When they moved back to Minnesota they began looking to find a church home here that would continue along the same path. A colleague of Sherryse’s recommended they try St. John’s. Jeff was happily surprised to see Richard Brynteson, a former professor of Jeff’s, attends here as well.
Jeff is an Operations and IT Manager for a non-profit and Sherryse is a professor of Child Psychology and Neuroscience at Bethel University. Five-year-old Eleanor enjoys sword fighting, riding her bike, and walking her new puppy named Jefferson.
Sherryse and Jeff are eager to get to know others at St. John’s.
Patty Voje
About a year ago, Patty moved to a brownstone across the street from the church. She spent last summer listening to the church bells at St. John’s, and finally made her first visit on Christmas Eve.
The mother of two 20-something daughters, Patty was raised as a Catholic but left the church after a divorce. For many years she didn’t attend any church. She missed being part of a religious community but didn’t think that there was a place for her in organized religion. She appreciates many things about St. John’s; the warm welcome she’s received, our programs, and our music. She feels that she has found a church home again.
Patty is the president of Spot Communications. She is also an accomplished oil painter who exhibits locally and nationally.
Richard and Paula Day
Richard and Paula have been attending St John’s since November of 2017. They picked St John’s after checking out other churches. They are here because of the music, liturgy, and outreach.
They are relative newlyweds, having been married for just about a year and a half now. Richard was living in Madison and Paula in Eden Prairie when they met via the internet. They clicked and picked a middle-ground location in the Mac-Groveland neighborhood of St. Paul to settle together in.
Richard is a widower and has a married daughter with two teenage children. Paula has two sons from her previous marriage. Richard is retired from medicine, an internist; Paula still works as a media buyer and planner.
Richard knows several languages and Paula several more. Richard plays the organ (they have one in their house!) and enjoys musical performances, while Paula enjoys reading, music, politics, and travel (and her work).
Megan August-Hau and Andrew Kampa
Megan & Andrew are planning to marry in February, 2019. After graduating from Cretin DH, Andrew went to UW-Stout, but decided to move back to St. Paul and found his calling attending Dunwoody College for HVACR Systems Servicing. He is now an HVACR Service Technician.
Megan grew up in St. Paul and spent her early years at St. John’s, leaving to continue her education at U of MN – Morris. She then returned to St. Paul, completing her degree in Social Science at Metro State University. Megan is now a Logistics Program Manager.
Megan and Andrew enjoy spending time outdoors, camping, and relaxing at the lake . When asked if they have a “favorite” part of the liturgy, Andrew mentioned the Homily; Megan enjoys the passing of the Peace.
Mike, Jamie, Louie, and Charlie Bents
Mike and Jamie Bents have a very busy household. Besides two energetic boys— six-year-old Louie and two-year-old Charlie, they both have careers and lots of hobbies.
Mike is a software engineer with Target, having received his MS from St. Thomas. Jamie is a transportation planner, working in Environmental Studies out of Chicago, and is able to work from home.
When not working or tending their boys, you will find Jamie in her potter’s studio or with her plants and gardens. She is also very involved in social action campaigns. Mike likes hockey (playing and watching) and is interested in baseball stats.
Their quest for finding a mutual church home has been an interesting one, as their backgrounds are very different. Jamie comes from a Reformed Jewish background in Iowa, while Mike was raised as a WELS Lutheran. While living in Chicago, they gravitated to the Methodist Church, but began looking at the Episcopal Church. After moving to this part of St. Paul, they found St. John’s and feel as though they have found a real fit.
Originally published in the May-June and July-August 2018 Evangelists.
