The Very Reverend Dr. Peggy Patterson is Assisting priest at All Souls Episcopal Church in Berkeley and recently retired after ten years as Dean of the Cathedral Church of Saint John in Wilmington DE. She has also served as Chaplain and Head of the Religion Department at The Episcopal School of Dallas, Canon Pastor of St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Dallas, and Associate Rector at the Church of the Holy Faith in Santa Fe, NM. In retirement, Peggy also served as a Hospice Chaplain in Santa Fe and surrounding Pueblos and villages. Peggy has three children and five grandchildren. They live in suburban New York, Dallas, and Albany, CA. Her passions are music, travel, dinner with friends, reading, Centering Prayer, and Pilgrimage. Peggy has led Pilgrimages to Assisi, Taizé, France, and Chartres and loves her ten-day Silent Retreats at St. Benedict’s Monastery in Snowmass, CO. She has also taught Introduction to Pastoral Theology at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific as Adjunct Faculty (2018 and 2019). She moved to Albany a few years ago to be closer to her daughter Harriet, the mother of her recently born sixth grandchild.
The Reverend Duane Sisson, Assisting Priest
Karen Sjoholm, Parish Administrator
email or 510-525-1716
Steve Zimmerman, Bookkeeper
Steve joined our team in July, 2018 and is in the office on Tuesday afternoons.
Steve has lived in the Bay Area since 1968 with the exception of two years in Stockton while attending the University of the Pacific and two years in New York finishing his undergraduate degree at Syracuse University. Steve has prior experience with church finances and previously served as the internal auditor for the Diocese. He was born in Johnstown Pennsylvania and is a life-long Steelers and Pirates fan. Steve has two adult children, and four wonderful grandchildren living in Pittsburg (CA). He is an avid cyclist having completed numerous 100 mile bike rides. In addition to cycling, Steve enjoys kayaking and hiking, and of course spending time with his grandkids.
Richard Cushman, Ph.D., Organist
Richard Cushman has been a church organist since his first years of high school. He began to play professionally at. St. John’s Episcopal Church in Petaluma, where he conducted several choirs and oversaw a highly successful rebuild of the pipe organ. Though always dedicated to sacred music, Dr. Cushman devoted his graduate study (UC Berkeley) to renaissance . lyric and drama,especially sacred verse. He has taught at Stanford University, where he received the Walter J. Gores Award for Faculty Excellence in 1997. He has also taught at USF and the College of the Holy Names. Most recently, Richard has taught courses in literature at the College Preparatory School in Oakland, where he now teaches classes in classical Greek and Roman literature, Dante, Shakespeare and early twentieth-century fiction. Among Dr. Cushman’s interests he counts tea, walking, gardening, and supporting young musicians.
Becky Osborn-Coolidge and Sondra Lavrov, volunteer Parish Administrators
Becky and Sondra staff the office on Fridays from 9 am – 1 pm. They produce our Sunday bulletins, manage filing and other important tasks. And, they are friendly people who love St. Alban’s!
You can reach them at the Parish Administrator’s email address (see Karen, above).
Morel Briones, Sexton
Morel has been keeping things clean and rolling along at St. Alban’s for well over a decade. A passionate bicyclist and skilled repairman, he keeps in shape peddling all over the Bay Area and beyond!