St. Peter's staff

			The Rev. Philip Mayer, vicar One of Father Philip's earliest memories was that he was supposed to be a pastor. However, Philip disliked church and thought pastors were boring. Though he and his family attended every Sunday, Philip was the kid who was always getting into trouble for doing things, like bringing a screw-driver to church and switching the signs on the men’s and women’s bathrooms — anything to bring excitement to the place. For Philip, church was full of judgmental and hypocritical people. However, when he was a teenager, an evangelist came to his church and told exhilarating stories of what he had seen God doing around the world. Could it be that there was something more to this whole “church thing”? Philip decided to find out and, as he began reading the Bible, Jesus Christ began to transform his life. While he was working with youth and missions in his church, he recalled his childhood memory that he was supposed to be a pastor. In college, he discovered the richness and mystery of The Episcopal Church and was drawn to a tradition that celebrates the grandeur and beauty of an almighty God. After years of graduate school at Gordon Conwell and Nashotah House seminaries, Philip was ordained as a priest and, with his wife Melissa, began serving at St. Peter's in June 2008 — fatherphilip@saintpeter.com.

			Christiane Gilbert, music director Christiane graduated from Southern Methodist University with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education in 1995, got married to her husband, Brian, and moved to The Colony shortly thereafter. Christiane has been a member of St. Peter’s for 13 years, and has participated in the choir for 12 years. Beginning as a soprano in the choir, she became the Music Director in January 2008 — abcdegilbert@sbcglobal.net.

			Karen Pynes, director of family ministries In high school, Karen’s classmates predicted she’d have 10 kids and bake cookies for the rest of the block. She ended up with only two (Samantha and Matthew). In 2002, she quit her job to become a stay-at-home mom. She is very active in PTA, is a substitute teacher in The Colony elementary schools, and has started the Children’s Church ministry at St. Peter’s. She’s thrilled with this new role as it furthers her ability to help children grow in Christ’s love. She is excited about adding new features to St. Peter's children’s ministry, and looks forward to meeting you and your children one day soon — kpynes@swbell.net.

			Joyce McClelland, church treasurer Joyce McClelland's father was career Air Force; so, during her adolescence, her family moved many times until they settled in the Dallas area where she finished high school and met her husband Dennis. After their marriage, Joyce and Dennis moved to The Colony and began looking for a local church in which to raise their two daughters. Friends told them about St. Peter's that was forming in the city. They attended the first service and became members of the Episcopal Church and St. Peter’s in 1987. Joyce has a degree in finance from the University of North Texas, and is currently employed at BNSF Railway in Fort Worth. In addition to her duties as treasurer, she serves on the altar guild — joyce.McClelland@BNSF.com.

			Dorothy Hamm, office assistant In the early '60s, Dorothy Hamm and her husband, James, attended the Salvation Army Training College where they were both ordained as Salvation Army officers. In this capacity, they served as pastors in several churches for 13 years. Then they moved to Texas where Dorothy taught kindergarten for two years and worked in various capacities for Home Interiors for 30 years. She was in charge of its freight claim and credit adjustment department for over 20 years. After retiring in 2007, she began working for Jackson Hewitt during tax season and as office administrator for St. Peter's, where she attends with her husband and son, Eric — dotham@gmail.com.

			Jeanie Brookes, web designer and webmaster Jeanie has a BA in biblical studies from Wheaton College and a ThM in Old and New Testament from Dallas Theological Seminary. After pursuing New Testament Studies for four years at Cambridge University, she worked with her daughter and son-in-law in a software company. In 2005, she became the Missioner for Communications for the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas where she was editor of the diocesan newspaper and webmaster. In April of 2009, she became webmaster for St. Michael and All Angels. She also volunteers as webmaster for St. Peter's where she has been a member since early 2008 — jeanie@jeaniebrookes.com.