We are a Christian parish in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. We invite you to join our community. |
Vestry Members and DelegatesThe Vestry is the elected board of the church. Elections are held in February every year. Throughout the year, the Vestry takes business matters under consideration and hears reports from each area of the church. |
Carolyn Thayer RossCarolyn, her husband, Bill Codinha, and their two daughters, Cotton and Alessandra, joined the Church of the Redeemer 25 years ago, when they moved from Beacon Hill to Brookline. Since then, Carolyn has served on the Vestry, the Building and Grounds Committee, chaired the Nominating Committee and co-chaired the Stewardship Committee for three years with Chuck Farber and Dan McCarthy. She is a member of the Altar Guild, where she has served as Head (and sat on the Vestry ex-officio) and as Treasurer. Carolyn sits on the Strategic Ministry Committee, ex officio and is a member of the Fuel Advisory Board. She taught confirmation classes for three years, ran two Redeemer yard sales to raise funds for mission trips, chaperoned a mission trip to Cuba with Redeemer and St. Stephen’s teens and has volunteered at the South End’s Blackstone School Library in a program affiliated with St. Stephen’s. Carolyn graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and Boston College Law School. She practiced law as a litigator, then was Senior Vice President, General Counsel of the publicly held Yankee Companies, Inc. She served as President and Chair of the Beacon Hill Civic Association, President of the Beacon Hill Circle for Charity and President of The Chestnut Hill Garden Club. She was a member of the boards of The Boston Ballet and the Massachusetts Society for the Protection of Children, where she served as Chair of the Greater Boston Region. She was an Associate Trustee of the University of Pennsylvania, an Overseer of Boston College Law School, a Trustee of The Masters School and of The Chestnut Hill School. She was a Governor of the Chilton Club. Carolyn has been a longtime member of the board of MSPCA-Angell, where she is now an Honorary Trustee. She recently served on their CEO Search Committee and continues as a member of its Human Resources/Compensation Committee. She is a Vice Chair of the Conservation and National Affairs and Legislation Committee of the Garden Club of America. Carolyn was been serving as Senior Warden of the Redeemer since 2018. |
Dan McCarthyDan McCarthy, his wife Stacey, and their two sons, Drew and Colin, joined the Redeemer in 1998 after moving to Chestnut Hill (and now West Newton) from the Back Bay. At the Redeemer, Dan has been fortunate to serve on the Vestry and as a Teacher of the Sunday School Program. He has Co-Chaired the Stewardship Committee for several years with Carolyn Ross Thayer, and he also Chaired the Nominating Committee twice. He served on the Discernment Panel for the Postulancy of Zach Brooks for the Episcopal priesthood. Dan has served as a Christmas Market Co-Auctioneer with Britt Lee and Michael Aylward for several years, raising significant donations for Redeemer Strategic Ministries. Each Tuesday, Dan and Debby Mills also teach Banking and Financial Literacy skills to the students of The Epiphany School in Dorchester, and they have helped most of the students open up Savings Accounts for weekly deposits. Dan graduated from Boston Latin School, Harvard College and received his MBA from the Harvard Business School. He accumulated over 33 years of experience in the Institutional Investment industry with exposure to a wide variety of investment research, trading, and portfolio strategies across multiple asset classes. After several successful years with multiple roles at Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, Leerink Swann, State Street Corp, Eaton Vance, Columbia Mgmt., and Aon Corp, Dan recently retired from Cambridge Associates as a senior leader in their US Endowment and Foundations practice. External Charity roles included 12 years as Chair of the Massachusetts Council on Economic Education (MCEE), an organization dedicated to teaching Financial Literacy to hundreds of Massachusetts teachers and students. He served on the Board of Junior Achievement of Greater Boston. He organized multiple charity fundraisers and golf tournaments for the educational needs of Boston schoolchildren. Dan has also organized and chaired at least 20 reunions for his class at Harvard College, Harvard Business School, and Boston Latin School. As a self-taught artist, Dan has designed commissioned artwork for organizations, individuals, and businesses, including the logo for Harpoon Ale. He is thrilled and excited to join the leadership of the Redeemer as Junior Warden. |
Michael AylwardMichael Aylward is a Boston lawyer. He was born in Hong Kong but grew up in Washington, D.C. during the tumultuous 1960s. After graduating from Dartmouth, he received his legal education at Boston College where he met and eventually married Deborah Bradford Ritter, thus sealing his destiny as a member of the Church of the Redeemer, where the Ritter family had worshiped for years. Since joining the parish in 1987, he has served two terms on the Vestry, co-chaired the Rector Search Committee (2012-2014) that hired Father Dangelo and chaired the Outreach Committee (1992-2004) and Building and Grounds Committee (2009-2020). During COVID, he revived the Church Service League’s Fellowship Committee and organized a series of programs and Zoom lectures to maintain a sense of community during a time of isolation. Outside of Redeemer, Michael is a devotee of military and U.S. history, loves to cook and has traveled around the world with Debbie. |
Stefan KarlssonStefan, his wife, Inger and their three children, Ulrika, Torsten, and Britta joined the Redeemer in 2015. Stefan is active in the Parish Choir and Inger frequently volunteers at Sunday School. With a background as a chorister at the St. Thomas Choir School in New York, Stefan was drawn to the Redeemer by its rich musical offering. However, the Karlsson’s history with the church stretches back much farther to 1975 when Inger’s parents were married at the Redeemer. Professionally, Stefan is the Director of Research and a Partner at Aureus Asset Management. Stefan earned his undergraduate degree from Brown University, his MBA from NYU Stern School of Business, and is a CFA charterholder. Stefan currently serves as the Assistant Treasurer at The Church of the Redeemer and as a trustee and Treasurer at The Chestnut Hill School. |
David Walker
David
is a Managing Principal and Chief Investment Officer at Moody, Lynn &
Lieberson LLC where he also manages investment portfolios for individuals,
families, endowments and foundations. David is a Chartered Financial Analyst,
and he has over 30 years of experience in the investment management industry
having previously worked at State Street Research and Management Company (now
BlackRock) in Boston and Equinox Capital Management in New York. David is chair
of the Board of Trustees of the Vincent Memorial Hospital Foundation. He has
formerly served on the Board of Fellows of Trinity College where he graduated
in 1983 with a B.A. in history. David has twice represented the Redeemer as a
Diocesan Delegate and he served as a Deanery Representative in 2019. David, his
wife, Lisa, and their 2 daughters, Nina and Electra, have been members of the
Redeemer since 2002.
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Erik AlexanderErik, together with his wife Karine, joined Church of the Redeemer in 2002 as they settled into Boston. Originally from Chicago, IL, medical training brought Erik to Boston over 20 years ago. Connecting to the Redeemer during those early years, however, really helped to forge the bonds that led to a desire to stay and grow in this wonderful Church and community. Erik is currently a Senior Physician at the Brigham & Women’s Hospital, and Professor & Associate Dean of Medical Education at Harvard Medical School. Through so many years, the Redeemer has been a place of connection, of fellowship, and of friendship for Erik and his family. He and his wife Karine are blessed with two wonderful children, Lukas and Caroline, and a therapy dog, Oliver. |
Sarah HammondSarah and her husband Aaron married at the Redeemer in 2007 and have been members since moving to Newton in 2010. She works as an infectious diseases physician at Massachusetts General Hospital where she specializes in the care of cancer and transplant patients with infection. Originally from Maryland, Sarah moved to the Boston area for her medical training in 2002 where she met Aaron. Together Sarah and Aaron have four daughters, Eliza (10), Annie (9), Lydia (7) and Naomi (1.5), who keep them very busy! |
Julia ClayJulia Clay is a Managing Director at Cambridge Associates in Boston. In her role, she serves as Chief Investment Officer for endowments, foundations, and high net worth families. She partners holistically with clients to further their missions and objectives through the management of discretionary and advisory investment portfolios with a focus on strategic and tactical asset allocation, manager selection and risk management. Julia is a graduate of Wellesley College and lives in Chestnut Hill with her husband, Brian, and their two children, Thomas (age 6.5) and Caroline (age 5). Julia also serves on the Investment Committee for the Church of the Redeemer. |
Jen EwingJen Ewing has been attending the Church of the Redeemer since 2014, when she and her husband, Alex, moved to Chestnut Hill. . She and Alex are parents to Eloise (age 10) and Jack (age 8). Jen enjoys teaching Godly Play and otherwise finding ways to volunteer at the Church. As her “day job”, Jen is a partner at Ropes & Gray where she is an estate planning attorney and serves as trustee and fiduciary for her clients. |
Elliot DavisElliot and her family joined the Church of the Redeemer 21 years ago, when she and her family moved to MA from New York City. At the Redeemer, Elliot has served as Co-Chair of Stewardship from 2007-09 and 2022, as a Lay Eucharistic Minister and Lector, often alongside her husband, John Paolella, and sons, William and James as past acolytes and servers. During COVID, she was grateful to be part of the Spiritual Formation Group led by Graeme and Debbie Mills. By profession, she was the John Moors Cabot Chair, Art of the Americas, at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston for 18 years, and the Director and CEO of the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida before returning to Boston in the summer of 2020. Elliot is currently a 2022 fellow in the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard, working on aggregating best practices for art museums to meet mission goals for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility while continuing to serve as an important resource for their communities. In addition to spending time with family and friends, Elliot enjoys reading, squash, yoga, and travel. |
Ryan SylviaRyan Sylvia lives locally in Newton Center with his wife (Louisa), two kids Luke (age 11) and Hadley (age 9), as well as their dog Axl. Ryan has been coming to the Redeemer for over 8 years, was married to Louisa by Dorsey McConnell and the children were baptized with Mike Dangelo. Ryan is passionate about his faith practices at the Redeemer, having dived into men's retreats, various Spiritual Transformation groups and regular Sunday worship. He currently serves as Co-Chair for the Building & Grounds Committee, a group he has supported for many years now. Ryan served also participated as a Diocesan Delegate Alternate, and has volunteered time in the past at the Christmas Market, St. Stephens and Common Cathedral. Professionally Ryan is CEO for a technology consulting firm (Envisage, Inc.) in Marlborough and in his downtime enjoys exercise, sports, and time with family and friends. |
Christa HawkinsChrista and her husband Jeff have been active members of the Redeemer since 2003, when they moved to Chestnut Hill. A teacher of Sunday school for many years, Christa enjoyed being part of the program with her four children, Elaina 20, Elise 18, Brooks 16 and Scarlett 12. Christa has also served on the Church School Committee. Christa and Jeff’s children have grown up participating in many aspects of Redeemer life, including Sunday school, youth group and confirmation; serving as acolytes and volunteering as youth assistants. Recently completing her training, Christa now volunteers for Planned Parenthood’s counseling and referral hotline. Prior to having children, Christa worked as a journalist and in media relations in the public and private sectors. |
Tim AllenBy training, Tim was an IT professional working in the manufacturing and financial services sectors for 20+ years. He left corporate America as a senior executive to start his own business as a boutique shop fixing Mercedes-Benz and BMW automobiles. After 10 years and achieving his personal goals for his business, Tim retired from the working world to pursue more personal and philanthropic activities. He has since served on the Board of Trustees of Pine Manor College for 6 years. Tim and his wife Sarah have been parishioners of the Church of the Redeemer since 1986. Sarah was the Redeemer’s Church School Director for 15 years and both Tim and Sarah have been Lay Eucharistic Ministers for 22 years. While attending formal church services have always been special in the hearts of the Allen family, Tim has experienced firsthand the true impact of the church community through the various inreach/outreach activities. Tim has played various supporting roles for the Christmas Market and he has also served on the Vestry nominating committee. It is for these reasons Tim is enthusiastic about this new calling to be on the Vestry of the Redeemer. |
Stephen CummingsStephen and his wife Virginia have been Church of the Redeemer members for more than thirty years. Their sons, Chris and Tom, both attended preschool and Sunday school at the Redeemer. The boys attended confirmation classes and were confirmed at the Redeemer. Gina has been a member of the Altar Guild for more than twenty years. As Head of the Altar Guild she also served as Ex-Officio Member of The Vestry. Stephen officiates the daily prayer about three times a week. “Worship at the Redeemer is critically important in my life. I enjoy learning and music here immensely.”
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Gray HughesGray lives in Chestnut Hill with her husband Will and three children Peter (9), Whitney (6) and Alex (4). She joined Redeemer in 2013 after moving to Chestnut Hill from Boston where she attended Trinity Church. Gray serves on the Sunday School Committee and can be seen most Sundays in one of her children’s Sunday school classes. Outside of Redeemer, Gray is actively involved in her children’s schools. She enjoys playing numerous sports and coaching her children’s teams. Previously, she invested in commercial real estate debt and managed non-performing loans. She has a BA from Cornell University and MBA from Harvard Business School. |
Ethan FoyEthan Foy was born in London and raised in Brookline, having been a member of the parish since 1998. He was confirmed at the Redeemer in 2010 and has long felt blessed by its close-knit community of faith, which he hopes to bolster during his Vestry tenure. Ethan attended Boston College, graduating in 2018 with degrees in Classics & English as well as having spent all four of his years there competing on the men’s rowing team. He now lives in Boston and is in the process of applying to law school. In his spare time, Ethan enjoys skiing, sailing, reading history (with the occasional venture back into Latin poetry), and watching more Red Sox games than is sensible to do. |
Debby MillsDebby, together with her husband Graeme, have been members of the parish for almost 20 years, joining Church of the Redeemer when their three children (Ben, Zach, and Sam) were toddlers. After serving as a longtime member of the Mission & Outreach (M&O) committee, Debby is currently Co-Chair of the Strategic Ministries Committee (SMC) and is a co-leader of the Redeemer’s Race & Beloved Community discussion group. She also serves as a Lay Eucharist Minister (LEM), is on the Altar Guild, participates in the Church Service League (CSL) and Women’s and Sunday morning Bible studies. She has also co-led the Redeemer’s Christmas Market and accompanied teens on mission trips to New Orleans and Uganda. Debby was a commercial banker for almost 20 years in Boston and Sydney, Australia, before working with several non-profits and at Apple. In addition, she has served as PTO President and a board member at two of her children’s schools. |
Lucinda DoranLucinda Doran joined The Redeemer in 1990 when she moved to Brookline/Chestnut Hill from NYC. She immediately became active in parish life as Lay Minister, Lector, Choir, Bible Study and Stewardship Committee Member. She later served as Clerk of the Vestry and then Junior Warden, on the search committees calling two rectors and two directors of music, was Head of the Altar Guild, former Diocesan Delegate and current lay leader of the Daily Office Online Ministry. Professionally, Lucinda was a CEO, interim executive and board member helping CEOs, boards and their companies through complex, difficult and pivotal transitions. She has deep expertise in governance, leadership and organization. Lucinda, who hails from Oregon, earned her Ph.D. from NYU in Strategy, Management & Organizational Behavior and Psychology and is a licensed Industrial/Organizational Psychologist. In addition to her volunteer work, she happily spends her retirement playing tennis, bridge, music and in book clubs with friends, traveling and appreciating concerts and the fine and performing arts. |
Ming Hui ChenMing-Hui Chen with her husband, Chris and their 2 children joined the Redeemer 12 years ago when their youngest child was confirmed. Since that time, she is grateful to call the Redeemer their church home, and for the important fellowship of this community over the last decade. During Covid, Ming-Hui was honored to partake in the Church’s spiritual formation conversations on Faith, Race, and Medicine. By profession, Ming-Hui Chen is a cardiologist and physician-investigator at Harvard Medical School, and has worked to improve the lives of women and childhood cancer survivors in keeping their hearts healthy. She is part of the leadership council of the American College of Cardiology in Cardio-Oncology and also part of the Sandra J. Lewis Leadership Institute for Female Cardiologists. She also serves as the Co-President of the Asian-American Pacific Islander Collaborative Employee Resource Group at Boston Children’s Hospital. As a child of immigrants, she has been passionate about giving back and serving those with limited English proficiency. She has been a previous Board of Trustee member at the Park School and the Winsor School Corporation. Dr. Chen’s work in the past had been recognized by the Boston Business Journal’s ”40 individuals under 40” who have shaped Boston’s Health Care community. She is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Medical School. |
Velura PerryA life-long Episcopalian, Velura has been a member of the Redeemer for just over 70 years. All three of her children attended Sunday School here; one was married here, and two of her grandchildren were baptized and now attend Sunday School at the Redeemer. A Lay Eucharistic Minister and Lector, Velura has served on the Vestry and Altar Guild and as Church School Administrator and Junior Warden. For many years before retiring, she worked at independent schools in the area in administration and financial aid. Currently coordinator of the FUEL program, she looks forward to raising greater awareness in the Deanery of food insecurity in the suburbs. |
Deanery Delegate Deborah TamulisI have been attending the Redeemer since moving to Chestnut Hill in 2004. My son Leo was christened at Redeemer in 2005. I have enjoyed watching Leo involve himself in Sunday school, confirmation, and youth group. Leo has served as an acolyte through middle school and as a server in high school as well as assisting me with outreach, such as fuel, Common Cathedral, St. Stephens and the Christmas market. I enjoy being part of such a caring church community. I care deeply for the Redeemer and enjoy being involved with Common Cathedral, St. Stephen’s Holiday parties, the annual Christmas market as well as assisting with the grounds and building committee. |
Starr PeteetStarr has been a member of the Redeemer for 14 years. She has been involved with many of the ministries of the Redeemer and currently serves on the Sunday School Committee. After working in nonprofits and schools for 20 years, she now spends her time running after her three kids and driving them around metro west. Starr, Josh, Findlay, Winslow, Davis and Foxy Peteet live in Weston. | Diocesan Delegate Alternate Torrance KopferOriginally from Washington state, Torrance and his wife, Nola, moved up to Massachusetts in 2004, settling in Milton. He founded Cold Fusion Gelato that year and was the owner and President until selling the business in 2016. At present, he acts as an Uber driver for their two daughters ages 10 and 13, and he tries to sneak away to the golf course whenever possible where he works very hard to remain a very mediocre golfer. |
Cara MorvanCara joined the Church of the Redeemer in 2013. Since joining the parish she was immediately recruited to join the Church Service League, currently serving as its president. She has enjoyed helping to lead the Christmas Market annual fundraising effort every year since joining the parish. Additionally, she has taught Sunday school. Her son, Bear, was baptized at the Redeemer, and her two dogs; Chopper & Murphis, have attended the Blessing of the Animals on a few occasions. Professionally, she spent nearly a decade strategically aligning the institutional ambitions and interdisciplinary initiatives at Northeastern University. During her tenure in varied roles, she worked across the institution with faculty, students, parents, and administrators to help implement the strategic plan of the university. She spearheaded a number of special projects including the faculty/staff giving campaign, speaker forums showcasing industry CEO’s and national and international dignitaries, and worked to build the board pipeline. In addition to her various volunteer roles; leading fundraising aspirations at her son’s former preschool and service roles at his elementary school, Cara serves on the Advisory Council of MSPCA-Angell, where she is thrilled to serve as an advocate for our furry friends who cannot speak for themselves. Cara holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications from Norwich University and a master’s degree in Public Administration from Northeastern University. She currently lives in Needham with her son Bear, and two rescue dogs, Chopper and Murphis. |
Ex-Officio, Altar Guild Head Sara SheltonI moved to the Boston area from Chicago in the early 1990’s where I was a member of St. Chrysostom’s Church. Having grown up as an Episcopalian, I felt very comfortable at Redeemer Chestnut Hill where Rev. Sam Rodman was the Curate. Professionally I worked at the intersection of technology and art & design. I have managed large web, apps and dot com initiatives for enterprise clients and retired from this field recently. At St. Chrysostom’s I headed the After School Tutoring Program for economically disadvantaged youth ages 6-16 years old. Our program served 80 students from Cabrini Green while partnering with Young Life for leadership development and Jesse White’s Tumbling Team to broaden opportunities and attitudes for young males. At Redeemer I was involved with Ecclesia common cathedral for 8 years. I have focused on homelessness as a solvable problem for the past 20 years or so. I also facilitated Movie Night as a fellowship activity and have been a long-time Bible Study participant. Working with the Christmas Market Wreaths & Greens every year is an enduring joy. Currently I am very pleased to serve as Head of the Altar Guild. |