Kristen Gedeon
I grew up in Lancaster, attended Lancaster Country Day School and was a member of Highland Presbyterian Church. In high school, I started attending Saint James and immediately felt a kindred spirit with the ritual of the service, the beautiful music and the solemnity of the church as a meaningful place for worship and fellowship.

I recently moved back to Lancaster to be closer to family and friends and in May 2021, volunteered for the altar guild. Deb Dickinson warmly welcomed me and guided me through the preparations for the rite. Carol Hartley gently proctored my preparations and kindly asked me to serve as a lector, eucharistic minister and cross bearer for the 8:30 AM Mass.
In August 2021, I started serving on the buildings and grounds committee and worked with other committee members to steward Saint James’ physical assets. In September 2021, I assisted with the evaluation of the existing churchyard and the vision for its transformation into a beacon for sustainable ecology.

If elected to vestry, I hope to continue to make meaningful connections with members, clergy and staff to foster Saint James’ evolving role and mission in the community and to sustain its rich traditions for current members and future generations.
Professionally, I have an undergraduate degree from the University of Richmond and have done marketing, branding and licensing. In 2006, I received a master’s degree in landscape architecture from Virginia Tech. My work as a landscape architect includes therapeutic/healing garden design, master planning and site design for hospitals, schools and affordable housing, and urban design.

Kim Lemon
When Saint James marked its 275-th Anniversary in 2019, I and other committee members partnered to create a stunning gala at Lancaster History.  I knew then I had found my “faith home” and a loving community of like-minded people.

I was born and raised in Lancaster and spent my early religious life as a member of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church where my mother, Shirley, served as a deacon and Christian Education Director. Nine years ago, when she died suddenly, I knew I needed a fresh start in a new church home. I found Saint James, and since then I have been a fellow pilgrim with Father Peck to Israel and the West Bank and have made lasting friendships here.

I also serve as a eucharistic minister and lector at Saint James. Many of you know me as the senior anchor for WGAL where I worked for 42-years. Today I am retired and come to you as a potential member of our vestry and a sister in Christ. I hope you will allow me to use my talents, connections, and love of the church to speak for Saint James with a strong voice in the larger community.

I am also the mother of two grown girls, Meg and Morgan. Meg is currently in seminary in Berkeley, California. I am also the care partner and caregiver to my husband, John MacIver, who has suffered with Lewy body dementia for the past 16-years.

David Miller
A native of Colorado, David Miller has resided in Pennsylvania since 1997 and has been a Lancaster City resident for the past 11 years. He is employed as a case manager for the County of Lancaster in the drug and alcohol commission. He has an extensive history of working with individuals with intellectual disabilities, the unhoused, re-entry from prison, and job and educational readiness. He is married to Debbi who is a licensed professional counselor specializing in addictions and spiritually integrated psychotherapy. They became members of Saint James in 2015 when they were drawn to the liturgy and the radical hospitality.

David welcomes the opportunity to serve on the vestry to strengthen Saint James’ 275+ years as one of the strongest faith communities in Lancaster and beyond. Throughout his life in a variety of faith traditions, he has seen the local church be one of the most important resources in a community especially for the marginalized. His dream is for Saint James to continue to be a place where everyone is “welcome to the table.”

David is an active member of Saint James serving on the 11thstep ministry team, eucharistic minister and visitor and previously on the mission & justice committee. He and Debbi are parents to 4 adult children (2 sets of twins). He enjoys riding his bike to work, soccer, disc golf and his two granddaughters, the youngest born on his birthday in 2021!

Chuck Smith
It is very much an honor to be considered to serve on the vestry of Saint James Episcopal Church. Missy and I have been married since December 7, 2018. We are blessed with a blended family: three sons, two daughters, one son-in-law, two daughters-in-law, three grandsons and a granddaughter due December 21.

I was born and raised in Louisville, KY, and our family attended the Episcopal church where I was confirmed at age 12. In 2010, I joined Donegal Mutual Insurance Company as the vice president of human resources.

Since becoming a member of St. James, I have had the privilege of being involved in activities of which I feel have positive impact including the addiction and recovery ministry and acting as a church host for the “Do or Die” Narcotics Anonymous group that meets twice a week in the forum room parish house.

I also volunteer as a chaplain at Lancaster prison and along with Paul Peachey, I help lead the Saint James men’s upper room group that meets the third Saturday morning of each month. An incredible group of men, we literally break bread together during breakfast and also share our experience and thoughts through spiritual and lively discussion. I also serve as an usher during Sunday morning mass and feel very blessed to not only greet members of our church family, but those who are visiting with us or possibly seeking a new church home.

Lewis Thayne

Dorry and I moved to Lancaster with our three (now grown) children in 2005 when I became VP for advancement at Franklin & Marshall College. Through sheer good fortune, we became neighbors and friends of Ellen and Bob Groff whose radical hospitality led us to Saint James. Along with Dorry, I was confirmed at Saint James in June 2011 by Bishop Nathan Baxter and Fr. David.

Raised as a Roman Catholic, I found it a revelation that I could be confirmed at Saint James, that my spiritual growth and the exercise of my faith could be expressed here. I see in my fellow congregants a broad and very real commitment to Christianity, an openness to others, an ecumenical approach to worship and prayer, a worldliness that mirrors the Gospels, a commitment to the city of Lancaster, a love of learning consistent with the exploration of faith.

In June 2020, I completed eight years as president of Lebanon Valley College. My career in higher education administration began in 1981 at Columbia University and has taken our family to six different institutions from Amherst, Massachusetts to Atlanta, Georgia. In addition, I served as a trustee at three independent schools and on the boards of two professional organizations.

If elected, I will contribute all that I can and to the best of my abilities. I can begin to imagine the practical and challenging considerations of running an institution that serves so many varied individuals and families so well. I value greatly the leadership that has enabled Saint James to do the work of today and to continually prepare the work of the future. I would like to be part of that work.

Theresa Womble

I joined Saint James with my husband, Greg, in the fall of 2021 shortly after we relocated to Lancaster for my new position as VP Investor Relations and Corporate Communications at Armstrong World Industries. Saint James was an easy choice for several reasons: we live a block away, we find the liturgy and music of the services uplifting, and we know there are so many opportunities for this parish to engage and uplift our diverse community. Although only a member for a relatively short time, I am delighted to be asked to run for vestry.

My husband and I came to the Episcopal Church after we had children and were seeking common ground between the religious denominations of our upbringing—he, a Catholic, and I, a Lutheran. The decision invigorated me, as I found the perfect balance of ritual, spiritual and intellectual. We joined our first Episcopal church 25 years ago in Memphis and have remained with it across five relocations. Over the years, I have served on two vestries, taught children’s chapel, Sunday school, adult forums (where a Princeton Ph.D. in Middle East and Islamic history comes in handy) and led fundraising events. All three of our children have been baptized and confirmed in the Episcopal Church; our eldest served as a diocesan peer youth counselor in Kansas.

I am confident that, should I be elected, I can use these experiences to support the efforts of Saint James vestry to build on our strengths as we continue to navigate our way through and out of the pandemic. The future is very bright for this parish, and I would be most honored to help further amplify its light.