Luke Donohue

Running for full 3-year term

My name is Luke Donohue and while my family and I are new to St. David’s I was raised in the Episcopal church as the grandson of a priest. We found St. David’s in our search for the right church for our daughter’s baptism and we have loved seeing her begin to grow here. It has been a joy to find a church so welcoming to children. I welcome the opportunity to provide a newcomer’s perspectives to an established and thoughtful vestry during a time of transition. I hope to continue to grow both my own and my family’s blossoming journey here by providing service and giving back to a community that has already given us much. 

Sharon Easley

Running for full 3-year term

My husband Richard and I began attending St. David’s in the fall of 1996. At that time we were worshipping in what is now the pre-school. What is interesting about St. David’s is that there were so many parallels between the Episcopal Church we attended in Georgetown Texas (where we were married) and St. David’s. Both churches started out as missions with small congregations where we all knew each other, experienced the growing pains of becoming a Parish, built a new church building, and several others which I won’t mention here. The most important similarity between St. David’s and Grace Episcopal Church was the way we felt the very first time we attended. In both cases we came to one service, felt something very special from the people we met, and stayed and became part of the church family which included serving as well as attending. 

My education and experience is quite varied. I graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Biology and Psychology and double minors in Chemistry and Zoology. I’ve taken just about every Biology and Psychology class that there is. I worked in the Healthcare Industry for major companies Prudential and Blue Cross Blue Shield and also served as an executive assistant to high level executives at two firms in Washington DC. For 24 years now I have been working for my husband in his transportation consulting firm. In addition to research and writing, program and project management, for our clients; I am also the office manager, the human resources coordinator, the bookkeeper, the IT manager, and whatever else needs to be done. 

My husband Richard and I were part of the first class of St. David’s Shepherd group leaders, when the program first started, and we participated in the small group bible study for many years. I have served St. David’s in many capacities over the years including serving on Vestry (2015-2017), co-chair of the Stewardship Committee for 2 years, as an usher and usher schedule coordinator for several years, co-leader of the Communications ministry for several years, served on St. David’s 20th Anniversary Celebration committee, ministry team and mission team member of the El Hogar and Bromley international ministries for many mission trips to both Honduras and Liberia, and the ministry leader for the Salvation Army Apple Tree and Holiday Coalition Angle Tree for several years. I have served with many of you here at St. David’s and my work with you, and our serving others, richly blesses me. My husband Richard and I regularly participate in the online worship service. I have served as the Clerk to the Register (attending Vestry meetings and taking meeting notes) since 2022. 

I hope that my years of experience serving at St. David’s is a testament to my dedication to this church, the parishioners, and those that we serve both locally and internationally. Probably the most important skill that I bring to the Vestry from a professional experience standpoint is that I know how to get a great deal of things done with not a lot of resources - which we have had to do from time to time here at St. David’s. Thank God for the Internet-(mostly)! While working for Richard I’ve had to figure out how to do a great many things that I hadn’t necessarily done before; but the business is going on year 26 so we must be doing something right. Working for a small firm you need to be prepared to do whatever needs to be done, and I feel the same way about serving on St. David’s Vestry. I’m prepared to do what is needed, and if I’m not the most knowledgeable about it I’ll do the research to gain the knowledge I need.   

Why did I choose to serve on Vestry at this time? I seriously considered running for Vestry last year, but because my husband Richard Easley was serving on the Discernment Committee, I was not eligible to serve at that time. After Richard resigned from the Committee, it was just a matter of days before I felt called to serve. I take to heart the scripture which says “to whom much is given much is required.” I have been unbelievably, and undeservedly, blessed in my life. I am so grateful to God for these many blessings. Worshipping here at St. David’s is most certainly one of them. The best way that I know how to say thank you is to serve God in whatever capacity he may call me. Serving on the Vestry is a very serious commitment; it involves accepting responsibility for guiding the course of St. David’s over a three year term. I strive to seek and understand the will of God and to put that before my personal wants when making decisions put before the Vestry. I also welcome input from parishioners as their representative on the Vestry. I promise that I will do my best to keep St. David’s the most special and remarkable place that it is.   

Peace be with you, 

Sharon Easley 

Margot Culhane

Completing a partial term and

running for full 3-year term

Why am I running for Vestry?

 I love St. David’s. I love the vestry. I love you. I want to serve. I feel the Holy Spirit leading me to run again. Two years ago, I was nervous about joining the vestry. I had done little to no service in the church. I had been online because of Covid. I was relatively new to being “in the faith” again, after a half century in the Wilderness. I did not know what I had to offer. I had recently bought a painting of woman saying “I will walk By Faith Even When I Cannot See…” I had been praying for a place to serve. So, I Leapt! 

I cannot explain the depth and breadth of faith and amazing Grace I found in the vestry community. I am overwhelmed and weeping as I write this. Because I never thought I could really be of any use to anyone outside my tiny little world. I never knew love could grow in this way to this degree just because I heaved a heavy coffee pot onto a table a couple times a month, or put out a wagon for Loudoun Hunger, or bagged food for hungry children through Backpack Buddies. My grandmother was a teacher. I thought I would follow. I never did. When Black History Month came up and I reached out to my sister Liz, and my favorite teacher – Bobbie Johnson (of St David’s!) and the bulletin board came to life – it was such a wonderful moment for me. Every single thing I do here feeds my soul and pushes me to do more. It is so true, that “For it is in Giving that we Receive”. I have a life now that I never would have had if I had not walked into St David’s one Saturday at Six and heard that the Lord knew me and called me by name. And then I heard my name.

I came to church faithfully, waiting for something to happen. I sought a deeper relationship with God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit. And then came a call for the vestry and my life was made anew. When the band was fiddling around before service on the day I was accepted into the Episcopal Faith, one of them played a familiar tune - Emerson, Lake, and Palmer – “From the Beginning”. The chorus “You see it’s all clear – You were meant to be Here – From the Beginning”. Some call it a coincidence. I know it was not. It was a clear message. Prove to me that I’m wrong. 

So if you hear your name called, or someone approaches you to serve St David’s and the community, give it a whirl. You will not know where it could lead, unless you close your eyes and leap. Joining all the rest of the folks here who have done the same – past, present, and setting examples for the future. God bless St. David’s. 

Thank you for your time and consideration. Should you so discern, I would be honored to serve again. 

Agenda & Meeting Minutes

Please join us for our hybrid Vestry meetings on the third Wednesday of each month at 7 pm. Join via Zoom or in person in the Adult Education Room. All are welcome.
 
Click here for Zoom call information

Meeting ID: 895 2239 411
Passcode: 0093353