Leadership

The Rev. Dr. Paul Kolbet (he/him/his)

Interim Rector

The Rev. Dr. Paul Kolbet joined St. Paul’s in October 2022. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1996 and has since served several congregations in the Dioceses of Northern Indiana and Massachusetts. Prior to coming to St. Paul’s, he was interim rector of All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.

Paul studied for the priesthood at Yale Divinity School and then went on to earn a Ph.D. in theology at the University of Notre Dame. He has taught at the University of Notre Dame, Boston College, and Yale Divinity School. Paul is a frequent conference speaker, the author of Augustine and the Cure of Souls: Revising a Classical Ideal and co-editor of Harp of Prophecy: Early Christian Interpretation of the Psalms. He has also published articles on such topics early Christian spiritual practices, psychology, and pastoral strategies. Paul and his wife, Amy, live in Wellesley. They have one adult daughter, Chloe. Paul can be reached by calling the parish office at 617-566-4953.

The Rev. Dr. Elise Feyerherm (she/her/hers)

Associate Rector

The Rev. Dr. Elise Feyerherm came to St. Paul's in November 2017. She was ordained priest in 2010 in the Diocese of Southern Ohio, but she sensed a call to ministry more than 30 years ago.

She was raised in southern New Jersey in the Lutheran tradition (what is now the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) and attended Quaker schools from kindergarten through college. Soon after college she entered Yale Divinity School and received her Master of Divinity degree in 1986, but after a yearlong internship in a Lutheran parish she decided not to pursue ordination. Instead, she followed her love of teaching and learning and worked for five years as a religion teacher at Moses Brown School in Providence. She felt the tug to continue learning, which led her to Boston College's Ph. D. program in Theological Studies.

She finished her Ph.D. in 2001 with a dissertation on English anchoresses in the 13th - 15th centuries (think Julian of Norwich, who lived in a cell connected to the parish church of St. Julian and wrote an account of her mystical visions of God's love in the 14th century). After that she taught theology at Boston College, Augustana College in Rock Island, IL, and Capital University in Columbus, OH.

For seven years she was director of Anglican Formation at Bexley Hall Episcopal Seminary in Columbus (now Bexley Seabury in Chicago), and taught courses in Spirituality, Church History, and Liturgy. That was where she heard again the call to ordination and couldn't ignore it.

Since returning to New England, Elise has served as interim rector at Christ Church Westerly, RI and as priest in charge at Trinity Church Wrentham; she also taught courses in English Reformations, the Book of Common Prayer, and Celtic Christianity at Episcopal Divinity School until its last commencement in Cambridge in 2017. She currently serves as coordinator of the Anglican/Episcopal Community of Learning and adjunct instructor in Anglican Studies at the Boston University School of Theology

Elise has been married since 1998 to John Clabeaux, who before his retirement taught Scripture at Roman Catholic seminaries in both Massachusetts and Ohio. Elise enjoys cooking, good wine, knitting, yoga, reading, and is just slightly obsessed with "Doctor Who" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." One of her greatest joys is music, especially choral singing and playing the piano. Elise can be reached by calling the parish office at 617-566-4953.

The Ven. Pat Zifcak (she/her/hers)

Deacon

The Ven. Pat Zifcak joined the staff of St. Paul’s in September 2017 as deacon of the congregation. As a deacon, her focus in ministry is the connection of church and world as the gifts of one and the needs of the other become known through intentional relationships.

Pat has been a teacher all her life and spent thirty-two years teaching physical education at The Park School in Brookline. In those years, she developed a program of “growth education,” counseled children and their parents as they prepared to leave Park for secondary school, coached a variety of sports, and directed the Summer at Park swim programs. Teaching with her daughter, Dana, for many years in the same department was a unique and wonderful experience.

Pat has an M.Ed. in Health Education and her M.Div. from Andover Newton. She is Archdeacon for Formation in our Diocese and coordinates the program of formation for deacons. She has been a member of the Commission on Ministry since 2003 and serves as an administrative assistant to the Canon for Ordained Vocations.

Pat began bowling as a child and still competes as a league bowler. Golfing and gardening are her other favorite pastimes. She canes chairs and loves to read and do crossword puzzles. She and her partner, Bruce, live in Pawtucket, R.I., and can be reached by calling the parish office at 617-566-4953.

Elliott May (he/him/his)

DIRECTOR OF CHILDREN, YOUTH, FAMILY, AND YOUNG ADULT Ministries

Elliott May joined the St. Paul’s community in August 2022. Prior to coming to St. Paul’s, Elliott served as Youth Ministry Director at St. Columba’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. He holds a Master of Divinity (M.Div) degree from Princeton Seminary and is currently working on a Master of Sacred Theology (S.T.M.) degree at Boston University.

Elliott initially worked in public education before discerning a call to seminary, where he found the Episcopal Church. Elliott loves working with young people and believes that they bring a unique and vital perspective to the life of the church.

Elliott and his wife Molly have two young children, Lucy and Thomas. In his free time, Elliott loves reading, watching sports, and trying to brew the perfect cup of coffee. Elliott can be reached by calling the parish office at 617-566-4953.

Dale Pinkham Cavanaugh (she/her/hers)

Parish administrator

Dale has been an active member of the Episcopal Church for over 30 years and joined the staff of St. Paul’s in 2022. She is a licensed CPA who serves part-time as a Congregational Consultant and Parish Auditor for the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts and the Southern New England Conference United Church of Christ. She served for many years in a variety of roles as a CFO, Controller, and Financial Consultant in U.S. and international non-profit, information technology, healthcare, and other service-based companies and organizations. Dale graduated from Boston University School of Theology in 2022 earning a Master of Divinity degree with certificates in Anglican Studies and Spirituality. She has also trained in clinical pastoral education at McLean Hospital in Belmont, MA and the Maine Medical Center.

You may contact Dale by calling the parish office at 617-566-4953 or emailing her at office@stpaulsbrookline.org. Dale’s office hours are Tuesday through Friday 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Andrew Clarkson (he/him/his)

Director of Music and Organist

Andrew Clarkson has been the director of music and organist at St. Paul's since 2006. He began his piano studies when he was five years old with, among others, Anita Frank (classical), John Mehegan (jazz), George Shearing (jazz), Irving Shire (jazz), Carlo Pinto (classical), Patricia Zander (classical), Kirk Nurock (jazz), and Liz Gorrill (jazz). He has studied saxophone with Lennie Popkin, singing with Craig Wich, conducting with Akiko Fujimoto, and organ with Brian Jones. Andy began composing in 1993. His compositions to date are for piano, accompanied solo voice, and choir (both a cappella and accompanied), with a particular focus on sacred choral music.

In addition to his work at St. Paul's, Andy is the director of the AltarNatives, a chamber group of approximately 24 singers. The AltarNatives have produced two albums: A Celebration of Hymns: Hymns of Faith, Mystery, Healing, and Love and A Celebration of Hymns: Hymns of Praise, Reflection, Prayer, and Assurance. Their performances have included concerts at Trinity Church in Boston, St. Paul's in Brookline, and St. James in Woodstock, VT. Andy has also conducted the Trinity Choir of Boston, assisted in leading the Trinity Youth Choir, and directed the Advent Choir of Johnsburg, NY.

Andy is the founder and director of the Hymn Sing Ministry (HSM), first based at Trinity Church in Boston. HSM involves gathering a group of choristers each month to take their singing of a cappella hymns out to homes and hospital rooms of people on the church prayer list. In September 2001, approximately 20 singers took the first HSM road trip, traveling to New York City to sing at three fire stations and a family crisis center in lower Manhattan after the September 11 attacks.

Andy's compositions are published by both Paraclete Press and Good Faith Press. His most recent recording is found on "I Wonder As I Wander," by the Copley Singers on the Gothic label. In September 2011, following the tenth-anniversary choral commemoration of September 11 held at Trinity Wall Street, James Oestreich of the New York Times singled out Andy's arrangement of "We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder" as one of the highlights of the day, describing it as "a powerful setting." More recently, John Robinson of the Boston Musical Intelligencer described Andy's arrangement of "Away in a Manger" as "exquisite." Andy's commissioned works include a cycle of art songs for piano and voice (settings of three John Updike poems) as well as a setting of Dylan Thomas's poem, "Do not go gentle into that good night" for Male Choir.

Andy's choral works have been sung by the Copley Singers (Boston), the Downing College Choir (Cambridge University, England), the Trinity Cathedral Choir (Columbia, SC), the Trinity and Parish Choirs (Trinity Church, Boston), the Canterbury Singers (Trinity Church, Boston), the Men and Boys' Choir (Trinity on the Green, New Haven, CT), the Old South Church Choir (Boston), the Trinity Church Choir (Rutland, VT), the Memorial Church Summer Choir (Harvard University, Cambridge), the Green Mountain College Choir (Poultney, VT), the Band of Voices (Barre, MA), the St. James Choir (Woodstock, VT), the AltarNatives, and the Advent Choir (Johnsburg, NY).

When he is not involved with music, Andy teaches, consults, and writes in the field of organizational behavior. He can be reached at 617-566-4953.

James Santagati (he/him/his)

Sexton

For more than a decade, James has been responsible for overseeing all building maintenance at St. Paul's, ensuring a clean and safe church environment, and also serves as on-site event coordinator for concerts and building space use. His duties run the gamut from outside beautification of church grounds to everything you can imagine inside from the rafters to the rugs. James is the point of contact for all vendors related to electrical, heating, plumbing, pest control, indoor/outdoor maintenance, etc.

Prior to employment at St. Paul's, James was a self-employed artist and renovator of stained glass, and spent 15 years in the healthcare industry. His many interests include history, old buildings, gardening, birdwatching, walking and model railroading, to name a few. You may contact James at 617-566-4953.

Melisa Hall (she/her/hers)

bookkeeper

Melisa serves on staff at her local church as the Office Manager/Bookkeeper and as the Women’s Ministry Director. She has experience with QuickBooks including payroll, fund accounting, recording donations, accounts payable, credit card/bank reconciliation, and generating/reading financial reports. Her financial background includes a 15 year banking career, high school and college accounting courses, and self-paced QuickBooks and bookkeeping training courses.

Melisa is passionate about living out the purpose of the women’s ministry in which she serves, “to accept and love women of all ages; to encourage and equip them to grow in Christ, to serve in their families, church and community.” She leads Bible studies and oversees events for women in her church and community.

Melisa and her husband Jason live in Oxford, Michigan and have two children, Ryan and Courtney. Melisa enjoys vacations with her family, summer months, jigsaw puzzles and reading. You may contact Melisa at 617-566-4953.