Our Staff
The Rt. Rev. KIRK STEVAN SMITH, Bishop of Arizona
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The Very Rev. W. NICHOLAS KNISELY, Dean
Nicholas Knisely was ordained in the Episcopal Church in 1991 and was installed as Dean of Trinity Cathedral on November 12, 2006. Over the past eighteen years he has served congregations in Delaware, Pennsylvania and Arizona.
Nicholas holds degrees in Physics and Astronomy from Franklin and Marshall College and The University of Delaware, as well as degrees in Theology from Yale and Berkeley Divinity Schools.
Nicholas has been active in a variety of ministries during his career, with an emphasis on outreach and local and international mission work, as well as a particular focus of late on communications technology and its effect on parish ministry. He has served as a founder of a local Habitat for Humanity Chapter in western Pennsylvania. He has traveled to Swaziland, on behalf of his parish and diocese in Pennsylvania, and has worked with the church and business communities to respond to the HIV/AIDS crisis in Southern Africa.
Dean Knisely was the first chair of the Episcopal Church’s Standing Commission on Communications and has served on various national and international bodies in that field. He is active in Diocesan and National bodies having served as Diocesan Council President/Vice President in two dioceses and was elected to represent the Diocese of Bethlehem to the two most recent General Conventions of the national Episcopal Church and was elected to the most recent one from the Diocese of Arizona.
In recent years, Knisely has been teaching Physics and Astronomy at Lehigh University in Bethlehem in addition to his previous service as Rector of Trinity Church in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
He maintains a personal blog called "Entangled States " and is involved on the editorial board of Episcopal Cafe and Covenant Communion. He is working on a book that attempts to think through the most useful methodology for scientists to use when engaging theologians and vice versa.
Nicholas has been married for over 28 years. He and his wife have a teenage daughter of whom they are justly proud. He is an occasional golfer, regular hiker and avid reader.
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The Rev. Canon MARK SUTHERLAND, Canon Pastor
Mark is a native of Christchurch, New Zealand, where all of his family live still. In 1977, at the age of 22, he graduated from the University of Canterbury with an LLB and, shortly thereafter, left on a Kiwi walkabout from which he never returned.
After five years in sales at London's Harrod's department store, Mark was accepted by the Bishop of London, for ministerial training at Ripon College, Cuddeson, the Church of England's first and oldest theological college, which is affiliated with Oriel College of Oxford University. Two years later he went as an exchange student to Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, California, where he met his partner, Al. Upon Mark's graduation he and Al returned to England where Mark was awarded the Oxford Certificate of Theology and where Al completed his own seminary training at Cranmer Hall, the theological college for St. John's College, Durham University.
In 1985, on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Mark was ordained deacon in St. Paul's Cathedral, London. He was ordained priest one year later and he served his curacy in two parishes of the Diocese of London.
Early on, Mark was drawn to a ministry to those in emotional distress. To better serve in this ministry, he began training in psychoanalytic counseling at the University of London, eventually obtaining an M.A. in Adult and Continuing Education, as well as an M.A. in Psychotherapy from the University of East London.
Licensed as chaplain in 1991 by the Bishop of Southwark, Mark became the Aileen Kerr Fellow in Mental Health and Pastoral Care at the Bethlem Royal and Maudsley Hospitals, which together with the Institute of Psychiatry, a part of Kings College, University of London, comprise an internationally renowned center of psychiatric excellence and post graduate psychiatric medical and allied professional training.
For12 of the next 18 years, Mark directed one of the largest departments of spiritual care in the UK. He became a nationally recognized educator, speaker, and writer on the complex interface between emotional disturbance and spiritual health and development.
In 2005, he became an associate priest to the parish of St. Alfege, Greenwich, where he rediscovered his love of journeying with a covenanted Christian community. Here, Mark believes, God planted the seeds for a return to parish ministry. In 2008, Mark resigned as Presiding Chaplain of the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and he and Al followed their family (including their beloved 4 year old granddaughter, Claire) to Phoenix where Mark became Chaplain Resident at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center.
In the Spring of 2010, Mark brought his healing ministry to Trinity Cathedral when he became Associate for Pastoral Counseling, and on Trinity Sunday, 2010, Bishop Kirk Smith appointed him Canon Pastor to the Cathedral. Mark is also a member of the Bishop's Commission on Ministry.
Mark perceives his ministry of pastoral care to have a primary focus on healing. He distinguishes healing from cure. Cure eradicates the symptom(s) of suffering. By contrast healing concerns the transformation of perspective on one's own suffering bringing the individual concerned into a deeper and more fulfilling relationship with God, self and others.
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The Rev. Canon DEBORAH NOONAN, Assistant to the Dean
Deborah Noonan graduated in May of 2010 from Yale Divinity School and Berkeley Divinity School with a Masters in Divinity and a Diploma in Anglican Studies. She was ordained as an Episcopal priest by Bishop Kirk Smith at Trinity Cathedral in July of 2010.
While in seminary she served as a chapel minister, led student delegations to visit the Anglican Church in El Salvador and worked with a bi-lingual church in Hartford, CT. She also interned for a summer with the Border Ministries Program of the Diocese of Arizona.
Prior to seminary, she worked for BorderLinks in Tucson, leading educational trips along the US/Mexican border for church and student groups. She also ran the catering department for a non-profit restaurant that provides job training for people recovering from mental illness. She grew up in Camarillo, CA received a B.A. from the University of Virginia and has lived in Washington D.C. Guatemala and Zimbabwe..
She enjoys running, biking, hiking in the desert and mountains of the Southwest, shopping at farmers markets and cooking. She completed her first tri-athalon in September of 2009 and plans to train for another one someday.
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The Rev. Canon RAY DUGAN, Assisting Clergy
Ray Dugan is a lifelong Episcopalian with a relationship to Trinity Cathedral at several stages in his life's journey. Born of missionary parents in Chile, Canon Ray attended Sunday school at Trinity, met his wife, Nancy in Trinity's youth group, after graduation from Arizona State University went as a Candidate for Holy Orders from Trinity to seminary in Austin, Texas in 1957. Following his ordination to the Diaconate, also at Trinity Cathedral, he served congregations in Williams, Page and Grand Canyon; returning to the Cathedral as Canon Pastor in 1964. Following 20 years serving several non-profit organizations in Phoenix during which time he also served as Vicar of St. Luke's at the Mountain, Phoenix, Canon Ray served eight years as Rector of Church of the Transfiguration in East Mesa from which he retired in 2001.
Since retirement, Canon Ray has served as interim minister in several congregations, returning in 2006 to assist Dean George and again in 2007 to assist Dean Knisely with a primary focus on outreach ministries.
Ray and Nancy celebrated their 55th anniversary last June. Their older daughter, Anne (who was married at the Cathedral to a former Cathedral acolyte) has a son who has followed her in a teaching career in the Washington Elementary District and their younger daughter, Chris (also married at Trinity Cathedral) is a photographer with two sons in high school.
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The Rev. CRAIG BUSTRIN, Assisting Priest
Craig Bustrin, a third-generation native of Phoenix, was infected with Anglicanisn while spending a summer in England as a guide at Coventry Cathedral. He is a graduate of ASU and Seabury-Western Theological Seminary. While serving parishes in Michigan and Florida he was a college chapain and taught medical ethics at the University of Florida Medical School.
Fr. Craig spent the next 22 years as a worker priest in New York City, assisting primarily at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and St. Michael's Church, where he founded the AIDS Ministry Support Group. For ten summers he headed the Fire Island Episcopal Chaplaincy, and during the height of Jane Austin mania, became "The Vicar of The Pines". In 1997 he made his Off-Broadway debut in a production of OScar Wilde's The Importance of Being Ernest. After a series of improbable coincidences, Craig found himself chaplain to drag queens, club kids, the circuit crowd and other denizens of New York nightlife.
He enjoys cooking for others, playing the harpsichord and working on alarming DIY projects which horrify friends and acquaintances. His experience painint icons makes him the only person in his social circle who can wash and dry an egg yolk.
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The Rev. Canon CARMEN GUERREO, Assisting Priest
BIO COMING SOON
The Rev. Sally Durand, Assistant for Hispanic Ministries
The Rev. Sally Durand was born and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico where she lived before joining the U.S. Navy in 1975. While in the Navy, Sally served as a Radioman (communications field) for 18 years. She lived and worked in Naples, Italy; Barbados, West Indies; Dahlgren,Virgina; Oakland, California; Sasebo, Japan; Guam, Marianas Islands; San Diego, California; Guam (for a second time), and finally after retiring, she returned to San Diego to begin her seminary studies and complete the ordination process which had been started several years before while she was still in the Navy.
From 1996-2006, she worked with Goodwill Industries of San Diego County where she was the Workforce Development Coordinator, overseeing the operation of several programs within the Workforce Development Department. Concurrently, she completed her seminary studies, and was ordained as a Vocational Deacon in June 2001. Sally has served as an assistant at St. Elizabeth’s and St. Luke’s Episcopal Churches as well as being one of two Episcopal Chaplains at the Mission to Seafarers Center at the Port of San Diego. Much of her ministry in San Diego involved helping people from different countries settle and begin their lives anew in the United States.
Sally moved to Scottsdale from San Diego, California in mid January 2007. After getting settled in Scottsdale, she took some time off to study Spanish in Guadalajara, and to discern where God was calling her to serve in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. Deacon Sally with the permission of Bishop Kirk Smith has been on the staff at Iglesia Episcopal San Pablo since September of 2007 assisting the Rector/Vicar in liturgical services and working with the young adults in the parish as well as helping with some administrative tasks in the parish office. Sally joined the Cathedral staff in March of 2009.
Sally holds a BA in History from New Mexico State University, an MA from the University of San Diego in Pastoral Care and Counseling, a Certificate in Theology from the Episcopal Theological School at Claremont in Claremont, California. She is an active member of the Order of St. Luke the Physician and an associate member of the Society of St. John the Evangelist.
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The Venerable Canon VERONICA RITSON, Archdeacon
Veronica Ritson has been a member of Trinity Cathedral since 1977 and was ordained a Deacon in June 1993. Her servant ministry is in the arena of HIV/AIDS advocacy and support within the Church and the community. At the Cathedral, she is the coordinator for the lay participants of the Cathedral's worship services, which includes working with the Readers, Acolytes, Vergers, and Lay Eucharistic Ministers. As the Archdeacon, she is the overseer of the Deacons within the Diocese, and the Administrator for the Deacons' Formation Academy. In October 2005, Veronica was named a Cathedral Canon by Bishop Smith.
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The Rev. JOHN L. MATHER, Deacon
John Mather coordinates outreach and assists with pastoral care at Trinity Cathedral. John's servant ministry is focused on social justice issues affecting health care, border issues and global justice issues.
John is the Founder and Director of Cathedral Health Services whose mission is to help save lives through education, prevention, and detection of life-threatening diseases and by serving the less fortunate and uninsured communities. John is a founding board member and President of The Naco Wellness Initiative, an ecumenical border initiative.
He is also a founding board member and CEO of The Peace and Justice Center focusing on local to global justice issues addressing poverty, health, justice and economic development.
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The Rev. MAEVE JOHNSON, Deacon
It is one of Maeve's greatest joys to have been ordained a Deacon in the Episcopal Church on October 14, 2006. A fourth generation Arizonan and a life-long Episcopalian, she has been a member of Trinity Cathedral since 1980.
She received her B. A. from the University of Arizona in 1972 and her M.Ed. from Arizona State University in 1978.
Her outreach ministries include animal welfare and developing a deeper relationship with our Jewish brethren. At the Cathedral, she coordinates the Lay Eucharistic Visitors and Cathedral Weddings.
Maeve is married, has two daughters, one son-in-law, and one grandson. She has been involved extensively in community outreach throughout her life.
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The Rev. MYRA KINGSLEY, Deacon
Myra was ordained a Deacon in January 2009. Her servant ministry is focused on issues of poverty and health.
She is the chairperson of the Diocesan Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) committee, whose purpose is to educate, advocate, mobilize and support the efforts of churches throughout the Diocese to work toward eradicating extreme poverty.
Myra is a Registered Nurse who is working with others in the Trinity community to develop and implement a Health Ministries program that is responsive to the health needs and concerns of the community.
Canon Musician Erik W. Goldstrom, Organist/Choirmaster
A native of the Chicago area,Erikhas been selected as the new Organist/Choirmaster for Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Phoenix, AZ where he will conduct the cathedral choir and oversee all music programs. Prior to his appointment at Trinity, he was Organist and Choir Director at St. John’s Pro Cathedral (Episcopal) in Los Angeles, CA. He was also Organist/Choirmaster at St. James Parish in Wilmington, NC, where he conducted the parish choir, coordinated the arts series, and restructured the children’s choir program. During his tenure he formed theSt. James Consort, a choral group dedicated to the performance of unaccompanied vocal chamber music, and was a board member of Creative Wilmington, an arts council cooperative for the New Hanover county area. He has served parishes in Illinois, Texas, California and Indiana, where he was the assistant at Christ Church Cathedral, Indianapolis.
Erik holds degrees from Northwestern University (summa cum laude), Southern Methodist University (where he was awarded the Dora Poteet Barclay Award for Outstanding Organ Performance), Perkins School of Theology (summa cum laude), and Stanford University where he received his Ph.D. in musicology. His teachers of organ performance include Ralph Sunden, Richard Enright, Robert T. Anderson, Kimberly Marshall and Robert Bates.
Erik has performed throughout the United States, UK and Europe, most notably at Lincoln Cathedral, St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, the Madeleine and the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris. He has also appeared at national conferences sponsored by the American Guild of Organists and the Association of Anglican Musicians. An avid promoter of contemporary music, Erik has both commissioned and premiered works by several notable American composers including Jeffrey Smith, David Jaffe and Frank Ferko. Erik and his partner Michael Garland will relocate from Southern California in early January.
CHERYL HAMATI, Director of Operations
Cheryl Hamati was born and raised in Phoenix. She was baptized, confirmed and married at Trinity Cathedral and is the daughter of long-time members Sally Romley and the late Bill Romley, Sr.. Cheryl received a bachelor of science degree in Criminal Justice from Arizona State University in 1976. She had a desire to attend Law School, but met, fell in love and in 1978 married her husband Bill. She spent the next several years raising a family and doing her share of volunteering. For the past 12 years, Cheryl has owned her own catering/event planning business. She has vast experience with scheduling and budgeting private and corporate events.
Cheryl's husband, Bill, is the National Sales Manager West Division for John Morrell & Company.They have two wonderful grown children. Bill, Jr. (28) recently relocated to Dallas and works for Medix Health Staffing Solutions. Their daughter Heather (25), recently was married at Trinity (3rd generation) to Mr. Sean Gallick originally from Chicago. Heather works for The Nasser Company and Sean is with Swiss America. The newlyweds reside here in Phoenix.
Cheryl is very excited to be a part of the staff @ Trinity and looks forward to the many challenges she may encounter.
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GARY GORMAN, Administrative Assistant
Gary is a native of Holbrook, Arizona and a member of the Din'e (Navajo) and Hopi tribes. He has been a part of the Cathedral staff since 1999.
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CAROL LAMOND-WALKER, Cathedral Shoppe Manager & EFM Mentor
Carol Lamond-Walker brought her "book ministry" to the Cathedral five years ago. With degrees in fine arts and education administration-and a strong background in Christian education - she was especially qualified to assume two very important responsibilities in the Cathedral community: to set up and manage a bookstore and gift shop and to mentor Education for Ministry groups.
People throughout the diocese can purchase books, CDs, and the paintings, pottery, jewelry, iconography, and photography of local artists through the Cathedral Shoppe.
Before becoming a member of the Trinity Cathedral staff, Carol was a public school educator for 35 years. In addition to her Shoppe responsibilities, Carol co-mentors an EFM group and assists the Youth Education Program.
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LAURA ADELIA, Ministry Intern
Laura is ordained in another denomination and has served for many years as a military chaplain. She holds a Master of Divinity from Pacific School of Religion and a Graduate Certificate in Islamic Studies from Arizona State University.
Laura also teaches as an adjunct professor of Religious Studies and History at Mesa Community College. She enjoys hiking, playing music (she plays electric bass and percussion), learning, worship, helping people, teaching, talking, travelling, a good cup of coffee and a healthy sense of humor.
Last Updated (Thursday, 22 July 2010 14:20)