COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP
using the gifts given,
guided by the Spirit through prayer and
the holy conversations among our membership
The Parish Council is our church decision-making body dedicated to fulfilling the mission of St. Paul Catholic Community (StP). It consists of lay members of the community, plus the pastor of the church and any assisting clergy members as a non-voting Ex-officio Members.
While the Pastor retains authority with respect to issues of theology, spirituality and liturgy, the Council shall be responsible for making and implementing decisions on (but not limited to): (1) the physical needs of the Parish environment; (2) the financial needs of the Parish; (3) acquisitions and purchases for the Parish; (4) Parish fund raising; (5) promoting community life and activities; (6) providing religious education; (7) public relations; (8) hospitality; (9) outreach ministries; (10) ensuring annual (more often if needed) review of the financial books and records is completed. The Parish Council, being the Board of Directors for our 501c3 corporation on file with the State of Colorado, shall also be responsible for overseeing the Parish's legal and financial responsibilities.
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COUNCIL MINUTES
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Sue Hester, President; Carla Wolin; Liz Begalla; Tom Kitts, Secretary; Michele Yonker, Treasurer
OUR COUNCIL
FR. DONALD F. SUTTON
Co-Pastor
Fr. Don Sutton was the founding pastor of St. Paul Catholic Community of Faith which first gathered in 2003. Having taken his vows as a member of the Society of Jesus in 1976, he was ordained as a priest in 1982. His journey of faith eventually led him to the Ecumenical Catholic Communion (ECC), and in 2018 he was incardinated as a priest of the Communion. Continuing to pastor the St. Paul Ecumenical Catholic Community of Faith, he represents our community on the ECC Rocky Mountain Region Regional Council and serves as a member of the ECC House of Pastors.
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Fr. Don has a PhD in psychology from Saint Louis University; he has taught and served as an administrator at a number of universities, most recently Regis University in Denver. He has lectured on topics of human development and organizational effectiveness across the United States and in Africa, Ireland, Italy and Canada.
FR. MICHAEL J. NICOSIA
Co-Pastor, Music Minister, Media and Webmaster,
Regional Vicar of Ecumenical Engagement
Fr. Michael was ordained a priest of the ECC on the Feast of Michael and the Archangels, September 29, 2012 by then Presiding Bishop Peter Elder Hickman, Foreshadowing the welcome StP has found at 6thAveUCC, he served as Associate Pastor of Pax Christi ECC Church and assumed the duties of Pastor in March of 2015 until the church's closing in 2018. While serving as Presiding Bishop Francis Kreb's Vicar to the Rocky Mountain Region, he was instrumental in guiding the St. Paul Catholic Community in its process of joining the ECC. Shortly thereafter he became an integral part of our community, in our prayer (picking out the songs for weekly Mass and leading us in sung worship) and in our advocacy collaborations.
After a sojourn with the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, he received his Masters of Divinity in 1999 from St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry in Rochester NY. While working as Liturgy Coordinator for St. Patrick’s Church in Macedon NY, he was a member of the Liturgical Commission of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester for two terms, serving on its Standing Committees on the Eucharist and on Art & Environment. He worked for 7 years as a Staff Chaplain at St. John’s Home in Rochester and became certified as a Christian Minister by the Federation of Christian Ministries. He also served for 12 years as Chaplain and Liturgical Adviser to Dignity-Integrity/Rochester.
Fr. Michael currently serves as the Vicar of Ecumenical Engagement for the Rocky Mountain Region of the ECC, In that capacity he represents the Region on the Colorado Council of Churches' Board of Directors and serves as its Chair. He also works as an on-call chaplain for Highlands Ranch Hospital.
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A member of the Aurora Artists Guild, Michael's work as a fine artist is displayed in various regional shows and exhibits. His collection of art and art prints are available through Spirit Songs. Show listings (including various Cabaret performances!) are regularly posted on Facebook @FrMichaelSpiritSongs and on Instagram @FrMichaelSpiritSongs.
You can also friend him on Facebook @Michael J. Nicosia and follow his advocacy posts on Instagram @FrMichaelECC, or on Twitter @FrMichaelECC.
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The first weekend of August 2023 marked the 20th anniversary of Fr. Michael telling his mother Rosemary that he and his future husband, Marc Strong, were dating! Sacramentally wed in 2013 and legally married in 2014, they live in Aurora CO with a menagerie of backyard chickens, a house full of birds and their precious bunny, Bubuka.
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Music Minister, Accompanist
VALERIE NAY BROWN
Valerie has been a musician for most of her life - piano lessons, flute lessons, singing in a few school choirs and accompanying other school choirs. She is a founding member of Planina: Songs of Eastern Europe, a vocal ensemble who has been performing the rich music of Eastern Europe for 35 years. Valerie identifies as bi-denominational, playing piano at this ECC church and as a Housemate at House for All Sinners and Saints, an ELCA church in Denver. When she's not at church, she manages meeting space at a community foundation in Jefferson County.
Music Minister, Accompanist
CAROLYN BOLDEN
Carolyn Bolden began studying piano as a child, and she started accompanying for Sunday School singing while still in elementary school. When she was in high school, a family donated a new pipe organ to the church her family attended, and she began organ lessons. She studied Music Education at the University of Minnesota where her major instrument was the organ. After teaching vocal music for two years in Upsala, Minnesota, Carolyn moved to Denver where she has been actively involved in various church music programs in the Denver area, as organist, director of music, and participant. Her primary source of employment for more than 30 years was in the Information Technology department at the University of Denver, where she supported staff and students with both personal computers and the application that runs the university business. While at the University of Denver, Carolyn also learned to play the carillon and is an active member of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America.
OUR DELEGATES TO SYNOD2024
Ours is a synodal form of government,
with representatives of our laity, clergy and bishops
gathered in holy conversation every other year.
Liz Begalla and Mary Gibson serve as our delegates to the House of Laity
and Fr. Michael and Fr. Don serve as our delegates to the House of Pastors.