George Romer, Senior Warden, term ends 2014
ECA has been George’s religious home since the fall of 1970. He and his wife Nancy taught Sunday school for a couple of years at Trinity Episcopal Church after marrying and moving to San Jose. Fr. John Buenz roped them into being youth group advisors for several years after joining ECA. This is George’s fourth vestry term over the last 40 years. He has served as Jr. Warden/ JV Properties Manager, Stewardship Lead, Usher, Layreader, Cursillo Cook and on the Disaster Preparedness team. George worked for GE and Applied Materials for a combined 40 years but is now retired. He and Nancy enjoy hobbies, traveling and being grandparents. Their children, Mark and Holly, are married with two wonderful children each. George is passionate about taking and executing whatever responsibility and/or commitments he makes. He is excited about the growth opportunities our church has.
Steve Wing, Jr. Warden and Joint Venture ECA Vestry Liaison, term ends 2013
Mike Schmidt, Communications, term end 2014
Having grown up in Santa Clara, Mike spent most of his adult life in Humboldt County (northern California), raising 4 children with his wife Marianne and attending a Baptist Church in Arcata for many years. After the children were grown, Mike and Marianne eventually ended up in San Jose. Mike completed his elementary school teaching career in Gilroy and has been retired for 2 years, while Marianne is an elementary school principal in Fremont. Mike and Marianne first attended ECA in January 2010 and were increasingly drawn in by the friendliness of the congregation.
Kathleen Eagan, Pastoral Care, term ends 2015
Kathleen was raised an Episcopalian in Southern California and confirmed at St. Paul’s in Healdsburg, California after relocating to Northern California. She returned to the Episcopal church via ECA about 15 years ago, thanks to the fellowship of longtime member Winnie Jackman. She has sung with the ECA choir on and off during her time here, and is very excited about developing a ministry for seniors in our parish.
Kathleen retired recently after a 35 year career in social work, working with developmentally disabled and seriously mentally ill individuals and families as a practitioner and later, administrator. She is enjoying her retirement immensely, participating in volunteer work, enrichment classes, choral singing, art, and writing.
Kathleen is a first year vestry member and is looking forward to her vestry experience as a way of contributing to ECA and inspiring her spiritual journey as well.
Betty Consorte, Outreach, term end 2013
Betty left Pennsylvania in a snowstorm and arrived in sunshine – with her husband, Dominic, their 2-year-old son, Chuck, and Betty, eight months pregnant. Since then Christopher arrived, and they have been at ECA since Easter Sunday 1971, where they have made many wonderful friends and grown to love this Church and Joint Venture. As a member of the vestry Betty hopes to serve the Church in whatever capacity she is called upon.
Amy Griffith, Fellowship, term ends 2013
Amy grew up in Fresno and moved to San Jose in 1960. She taught high school in the Campbell Union High School District for 10 years. Amy married Earl Griffith in 1970 and lived in Almaden, where they raised their two children, Billy and Cindy, and have been active members of ECA for 38 years. Amy has been head of Altar Guild, Secretary of Joint Venture, taught Tuesday School, helped with the youth group, served on vestry and Joint Venture board. Amy is now in charge of Montgomery Meals. Amy’s children live in the Santa Barbara area and she has three grandchildren who are wonderful. Amy and Earl see them at least once a month and wish they were closer. Amy went back to teaching when Billy and Cindy were in college and retired again 12 years ago. Amy enjoys travel, bridge, reading, gardening, friends and family, water aerobics and almost everything.
Bonnie McPherson, Youth and Young Adults, term end 2013
Bonnie has been a member of ECA for about 6 years. She has been married to Jim for 20 years, and has two children, Caitlin (18) and Tyler (15), along with her menagerie of pets, including a St Bernard, a Newfoundland, and 2 cats. Besides being busy with her crazy household, she is a full-time paramedic with the county, so don’t be surprised to find a ambulance parked at the church occasionally, or to see her running in late to a meeting in uniform. She was drawn to ECA by the sense of community that she and her family felt from their first visit, as this had been something she had been looking for in other churches for many years. Not one content to sit on the sidelines, she has been very active in the youth groups, leading the Jr High group for the last couple of years. She has also been a part of the most recent search committees, helping to bring in our current pastor Kate and our new Christian Ed leader Susie. This is her first stint as a Vestry member.
Todd Lukanc, Finance, term end 2014
Todd’s work in the electronics industry brought him to San Jose in 1980. He and Ellen were married in 1984 and they found ECA in 1988 with the baptism of their oldest son, Greg. Now that Doug, their younger son, is off to college, Todd has time to devote to the vestry and give back to the ECA community. Todd’s other main activity is working as a simulation project manager at Globalfoundries (silicon manufacturing for the masses). Since Todd’s first tour on the vestry, he has been giving to the church through Boy Scout projects (Troop 294) throughout the church property and many other manual labor projects. Todd serves on the vestry in whatever capacities he can best fit, currently in stewardship and finance where he can enrich the endowment fund he helped set up many years ago.
Wendy Martin, Welcoming and Growth, term ends 2014
Wendy Martin is a native of Cupertino, CA, where she was a member of St. Jude’s Episcopal Church from the time she was baptized as an infant by Fr. Clancey and continuing through her childhood and teen years while Fr. John Buenz was Rector. She has many fond memories of Fr. Buenz’s sermons using Charlie Brown and Linus figurines. She was married there in 1992 and shortly thereafter moved to Reno, NV for four short years where she longed for connection with her church family. Once she returned to the Bay Area she returned to St. Judes’s and taught Sunday School for many years until she transitioned to ECA where she and her two children, Nicholas and Ashley, have been for about three years now. She has returned to teaching Sunday School and helps with the youth group where she can. This is her first term on vestry. During the day she works in a law firm in Palo Alto until she is able to make the big jump to teaching in the public schools. Through persistence and prayer she continues on her journey of faith and discovery as she lives just one day at a time.
Sharon Hall, Children and Families, term ends 2015
Although Sharon was born in El Paso Texas as the daughter of an Army officer living in many different locations, in her heart she is a Californian. She is a cradle Episcopalian and moved to Almaden Valley in 1969, enjoying ECA youth group and ski trips with Father Buenz. Her parents were one of ECAs early parishioners. After graduating from San Jose State in Engineering, she began her carrier at HP and shortly thereafter married her husband Don (also a cradle Episcopalian) in 1985 . They moved to Morgan Hill in 1986, started their family and attended St. John’s Episcopal Church of Morgan Hill. Here she was active in the altar guild; was the Episcopal Church Women President and Sunday school teacher, and founded St. John’s Episcopal Preschool. In 2004, Sharon and her family moved back to Almaden and rejoined ECA. Since then she has been a regular Sunday School teacher, a volunteer for Montgomery Meals’ Thanksgiving Turkey effort, and Fellowship activities while raising three active children (Ryan – 22; Brennan – 19 and Meghan – 13). Now down to one child at home, she is able to devote time to ECA Vestry. As a first year Vestry member, Sharon is focusing her energy on programs for Children and Families.
Andy Kerr, Stewardship, term ends 2015
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Mary McPherson, Spiritual Growth, term ends 2015
As a California native, Mary was born on an island in the Sacramento delta where her father managed an asparagus ranch. Growing up mostly in Walnut Creek she attended St Paul’s Episcopal Church. She was schooled as an undergrad in Electrical Engineering at UC Davis. In grad school at UW Madison she met her husband of almost 30 years, John. They have two sons, Ryan and Steven. Other than a short stint with IBM in Toronto, ECA and Almaden have been the McPhersons’ spiritual and physical home. Mary has a passion for bible study and believes strongly that it is a critical element to having a personal relationship with God as well as an opportunity to live out God’s call to love one another by being in a close caring and listening community with others. Mary and John love the outdoors – especially the mountains – and enjoy hiking, canoeing, camping and skiing.