Clergy, staff and lay leadership

Our rector

Becky was a longtime Denver journalist, including 24 years as a writer and editor for the Rocky Mountain News, before finding her calling in the church.  She’s also worked for newspapers in Tennessee, for the Associated Press, and has done freelance work that has appeared in numerous publications.

A native of Cleveland, Tennessee, she has bachelor’s degrees in mass communications and political science from East Tennessee State University, and a master’s degree in journalism from The Ohio State University. She came to Colorado to go skiing one weekend in 1984 and simply never left.  She received her Master of Divinity from Iliff School of Theology in Denver in 2007, with concentrations in Anglican Studies and Justice & Peace Studies. Ordained a deacon in 2008, most of her seven-year diaconal ministry was focused on serving the homeless, and on advocating on behalf of the poor and marginalized.  She was ordained a priest in 2015, and came to St. James as priest-in-charge in 2016. She was called as rector in 2019.

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Our parish administrator

Denise Gonzales oversees the day-to-day running of our parish office, and chances are, it's her cheery voice you'll hear if you call the church.

Before coming to Saint James, Denise served as ministry coordinator and parish administrator for 11 years at St. Martha’s Episcopal Church in Westminster. She’s also served as a customer service representative for a retail store in Lakewood, and as assistant director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Edgewater. She and her husband, Rudy, are the parents of two grown daughters, Brittany and Ashley.  

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Our music director

Allison began her career as a church musician at age 17 when she became the organist and pianist at Saint Matthews Episcopal Church in Bellaire, Texas. She majored in piano performance and minored in organ at Houston Baptist University. While in college, Allison sang with a professional Madrigal Choir, furthering her passion for a cappella singing. She studied Organ Performance at CU in Boulder from 1985 to 1987. Each summer, from 2006-2014, she continued her studies in choral conducting technique at Westminster Choir College's Conducting Institute. Allison was a founding member of the Golden Concert Choir and went on to direct it during the 2006-2007 concert season. She also founded the Golden Children's Choir and directed it for six successful seasons. In 2006, Allison and a group of interested singers founded the non-profit a cappella choir, Confluence. She’s served as music director at a number of area churches, including Calvary Episcopal Church in Golden and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Lakewood.

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Our vestry – the hardest-working vestry in Colorado

Rudy Gonzales – Senior warden

I was born and raised in Denver and lived there until I was about 21-22. I have lived in Wheat Ridge, Edgewater and Arvada since. I went to Denver North High and have taken college courses at Devry.  I have been married since 1986 to my wife, Denise. Together we have 2 daughters, Brittany and Ashley. I was raised Catholic but have found myself exploring different forms of Christianity. I currently work in the Information Technology field and have done so for the past 30+ years.  Denise and I started attending St James in 2018 and have come to love our new church family. I slowly started to get involved by becoming an Acolyte and helping with IT questions. 

Matt and Ginny McColm - Junior Wardens

Matt grew up in SW Kansas and has a bachelor’s degree in Mining Engineering from Colorado School of Mines. He spent 31 years with the Bureau of Land Management until his retirement in 2021. Raised Methodist, he became an Episcopalian 20-some years ago. He enjoys tearing apart broken things and repairing them, and his hobbies include collecting old fountain pens and minerals.

Ginny was raised as an Air Force "Brat" along with her three sisters, so she lived in many places. She graduated from Ft. Collins High School and got a BS in Nursing from the University. of Northern Colorado on an Army scholarship. She served four years as an Army Nurse in Tacoma, Wash., and 37 years as a nurse working with mothers and children, the last 20 as a lactation consultant for the University of Colorado Hospital. She’s a lifelong Episcopalian, as well as an active member of PEO.

Susan Clemons – Treasurer

I am a lifetime Episcopalian. I grew up and lived in the Midwest until four years ago when I moved to Colorado. I was married for 47 years and have two children and 3 grandchildren. I worked as a supervisor in a grocery chain for 28 years and as a county tax assessor the last 18 years. I am retired now and enjoy being here in Colorado with family and the St. James family. My hobbies are gardening, walking and travel.

Kathy Lehman

My husband, Randy, and I are native Iowans and grew up in small towns. We met in college at the University of Northern Iowa and later graduated from the University of Iowa (And are Hawkeye Fans). I received a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the U of I and practiced nursing in both the hospital and school setting for 42 years, retiring in May of 2019. We raised our three children – Megan, Chelsey and Aaron – in Johnston, Iowa. I was very involved in their school activities serving as homeroom parent, team mom for basketball and softball, choir parents board of directors, swim team parents board, and teaching CPR for the local Boy Scout Troop. I also served our church on the board of education and parish council as well as in several lay ministry roles. When our children graduated from college, they all dreamed of moving to a big city for an “adventure.” Both our daughters moved to Denver and our son moved to New York, so we started talking about retiring to Colorado. We both “retired early” and moved to the Denver area in August of 2015. My hobbies include reading, sewing, crafting, hiking, camping with Randy and our two dogs, golfing and watching Hawkeye sports.

Liby Zachariah

Liby was born in Tanzania, and she and her husband, Bobby, a native of India, migrated to the United States in 1973. They lived in Virginia and Ohio prior to moving to Colorado in 1980 when Bobby took a job with Coors. Liby has a bachelor’s degree and has worked for various companies, including Coors, in information technology, focusing on financial systems. Her hobbies are reading and traveling, and she has traveled the world, visiting more than 55 countries. She and Bobby have two children – a son in New Jersey and a daughter in Denver – and three grandchildren. Liby is a lifelong Episcopalian, and she and Bobby were members at St. James from 1980 to 1999, when they moved to the San Francisco Bay area. When they returned to Denver in 2017, they rejoined Saint James.

Abi Rosales

Abi is a writer and artist. “Creativity is a spiritual practice that all can participate in,” she says. “I believe this so much that I lead the writers’ group here. We welcome all writers from beginner to seasoned authors.”

Abi and her husband, Ash Amaya, came to Saint James in July 2021. Raised Roman Catholic, she was received into the Episcopal Church in the spring of 2022. “My faith has grown by leaps and bounds in the past year, and I’m excited to share that growth,” she says. In addition to her work with the writers’ group, Abi serves as an acolyte and part-time choir member. She also volunteers with one of our partner organizations, The Rising Church, in its ministry to the homeless. “Community is important, and I love being a part of this church,” she says. 

Steve Lord

Steve was born in 1956, the middle child of Hank and Rita Lord, who at the time were a young military couple stationed at Rockaway Beach, Queens, N.Y. “Mom and Dad are both from large immigrant families that had settled in the neighboring state of Massachusetts. Dad’s career in the U.S. Army had a huge influence on the lives of myself and my two sisters,” Steve says. 

In 1967, the family moved to Okinawa, Japan. “For me, being a Boy Scout on Okinawa was a wonderful experience, one filled with cultural highlights and overnight jungle camping. Okinawa opened my eyes to the long arc of travel that would be a constant companion in my life.” Today, Steve has more than 20 years experience in the travel industry.

He has an undergraduate degree in meteorology and a master’s degree from the University of Phoenix School of Business. He met his life partner, Jeff Gregory, in 1993, they married in 1998 and opened a travel agency in 1999. He and Jeff own a home in Lakewood and a mountain cabin at Red Feather Lakes. His mom, Rita, found Saint James in 2012, the year after Hank died, and Steve began joining her at services in 2013. He’s now retiring from the travel agency to spend more time gardening, homemaking and looking after his mother – and becoming more active at Saint James. He's part of our Tuesday work crew.

Terry Barnard

Terry Barnard has been a member of St. James since January 2020 after serving as the Treasurer and Vestry member during his 17 years at Intercession Episcopal Church in Thornton. Terry began his journey in the Episcopal Church at St. Martha’s in Westminster in November 2000 after a 30-year run as a Roman Catholic, citing the need for “More God, Less Guilt.” He was received into the Episcopal Church in April 2001 by Bishop Winterrowd. Faith and surrender to God are critical elements of Terry’s life game plan and he works every day to be open to what God is doing with him. Outside of church, Terry has been married to Nikki for 26 years. Together, they have two children, son Avery and daughter Peyton, and a 17-month old grandson, Malcolm. They live in Arvada. Terry works for the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority as a manager of the multifamily loan originations team, working with developers to provide financing for affordable rental housing. 

Joy Sawyer

Joy Sawyer has been married to Scott for 35 years (which means they wed at age 5). Before becoming a member of St. James, Joy helped found Urban Skye, a Celtic Christian community in the Highlands that offered spiritual gatherings, as well as film, art, book and writing groups. She now serves Saint James as a Lay Reader and offers spiritual journaling workshops. She's also our reigning Soup Queen. Joy considers herself a “jack of all trades, master of none,” and her educational experience includes a bachelor’s in journalism, masters’ in both creative writing and counseling, and doctoral work in religion and psychology at Iliff Seminary/University of Denver. A longtime author, Joy served as a licensed professional counselor and spiritual director for 20 years, and now works full-time as a creative writing instructor and coach. Her vision for the church includes continued spiritual nurture of congregants, as well as outreach to the community, especially the unhoused and marginalized. She also believes in telling as many people as possible about the (sometimes raucous) events at St. James. 

Kathy Wannamaker

Kathy Wannamaker is a Denver native born into a Lutheran family of TB survivors, some former patients of the Wheat Ridge Sanitarium. She graduated from Emmaus Lutheran School, Denver North High and Colorado State University. She married during college and is the mother of three and grandmother of five. After college, she pursued a career teaching orientation and mobility to visually impaired adults. She later returned to school and launched a career as a commercial real estate paralegal, retiring in that capacity from Holland & Hart, LLP.  She and her life partner, Steve Appleman, have lived near Crown Hill Park for almost 20 years. "After being a lifetime Lutheran, I visited St. James in January 2023, and knew what I was seeking might be here," Kathy says. "I joined the newcomers class and became an Episcopalian and member of St. James in May 2023. Since then, I have participated in Ethnic Dinners, served as a pantry stocker, and served on Altar Guild and Prayer Chain. I have participated in the Shamrock Festivals and numerous other events."