Nominee for Senior Warden

Mike Ogborn: I am humbled and honored to be nominated to serve as the Senior Warden at St. Andrew’s. Jill and I visited St. Andrew’s 14 years ago for a church home. We knew it was where we belonged from the moment we stepped into St. Andrew’s. The same thing that has drawn others to us – the loving and welcoming community, the liturgy, the sermons, and the music – has kept us here.

Over the years, I have been blessed with opportunities to be involved in several committees, task forces, and ministries, including serving on the vestry from 2015 to 2018 and again from 2022 through 2025. I currently serve on the Mission and Outreach Ministry, Welcome Ministry, the Stewardship Committee, and the Fund Raising Committee. Like many churches, we face many challenges, and I believe my life experiences and involvement with parish life would allow me to contribute to addressing those challenges. It would be my privilege to serve as Senior Warden if elected.

I am a cradle Episcopalian, having been raised in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and attending the cathedral in that city. I went to high school there and attended the University of South Dakota, earning a B.A. and J.D. After graduation, we lived in Sioux Falls and then Lincoln, Nebraska, and then moved to Denver in 1984. For over 25 years, I worked for a company that owned small railroads all over North America, retiring in 2012 to start my own consulting business. Jill and I have two adult children and four grandchildren.

Reaffirming the Junior Warden for his Second Year

Roger Kilgore: Roger and his wife Sue have been members of St. Andrew’s since 2001. After moving from Washington, DC, the fit at St. Andrew’s quickly seemed right, emphasizing liturgy, excellent music, progressive theology, and a wonderful community. Roger has served on numerous committees, including Outreach, which planned and implemented the church expansion, the Sacred Vision Sacred Space capital campaign, the Building our Vision committee, and the Senior Warden. He has also served as a greeter and reader but never an acolyte and never in the choir for the good of all.

Candidates for a Three-Year Term on the Vestry:

Nadine Kerstetter: I'll never forget my decision to join St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. My daughter invited me to the church to hear my grandsons, students of St. Elizabeth School and choir members, sing during an evening service. I saw a woman at the altar and the practice of an open table to receive the Eucharist.  I thought, “As of this moment, I am no longer Catholic. I am Episcopalian!” That was in May of 2019, and since then, the truth in “all are welcome” has captured everything I believe to be just, right, and equitable according to Christian teachings. I earned a master's degree in education at Regis University in 2013, and I taught children for a short time. It didn't take long to realize that children only do well if their parents do well. In January of 2016, I was hired to teach at Denver Women's Correctional Facility. A couple of years ago, it became particularly difficult to work for the Department of Corrections, and I thought I wanted out. Funny thing... I stopped struggling (arguing with God) when it became apparent that His assignment for me was to stay where He put me. I needed only be grateful and faithful; with that came peace. I teach a college and career readiness course that prepares incarcerated learners to realize their goals for themselves and their children when they return home. It is a blessing to be a member of St. Andrew's and be engaged in a few of its ministries.  I am involved with the Welcome Ministry, Social Justice Ministry, and most recently, Eucharistic Visitors. I am thrilled to have any part in the future of St. Andrew's, where all are welcome.

Wilbur Lin: My name is Wilbur Lin. My wife Tiffany and I moved to Denver in 2023 and found our church home at St Andrew’s immediately after attending one online and one in-person service. Due to both of our work obligations, when we’re not here on Sundays, tuning into the live stream has become one of the constants in our busy travels. While the same limitations will still apply going forward, I am honored to be a candidate for the vestry and would like to explore ways to be more involved in church ministries. Growing up in a largely non-denominational tradition, I was first drawn to the Anglican community while working as a choirmaster and organist at a small Church of England parish in Northern England. As a musician, my early career was mainly supported by working in churches. I have been through the Church of England, the United Church of Christ, and the United Methodist Church, and I found myself gravitating back to the Anglican tradition, not only because of the beauty in its liturgy but, specifically in the case of the ECUSA, also its social stance and mission. Both Tiffany and I finally joined as a member of Christ Church Cathedral in Cincinnati in 2020, then moved to the Chicago suburbs and joined, incidentally, St Andrew’s at Downers Grove, IL. Outside of church, I am currently the associate conductor of the Colorado Symphony and music director of the Missouri Symphony and Denver Young Artists Orchestra. When I’m not conducting one of these three, I travel around and guest-conduct other orchestras, mainly around the US and Taiwan.

Zoey Green: My name is Zoey Green.  I began attending St. Andrew’s Christmas of 2022.  The music and the ambiance were sublime, and the liturgy was one that I had not experienced before.  I was hooked.  I found a wonderful community that accepted me as I am, a gay trans person.  I continued attending as the worship called to me; St. Andrew’s brand of Episcopalian/Anglican stylings resonated with me on a deep, personal level.  Getting baptized by Mother Elizabeth during the Easter vigil on my birthday, April 8, 2023, was a profound spiritual experience, and I was incredibly happy to have been able to share that with this community. My focus here at St. Andrew’s is on the liturgy that so calls to me and the outreach that I believe calls to us all.  For the first part, I’m privileged and honored to serve with the Acolyte team at the altar.  For the second part, I have a strong interest in our livestream and social outreach to the community and the wider Internet.  If elected, I would like to increase our outreach along these existing channels in a way that I think will resonate with the young professionals who overwhelmingly make up both our neighborhood and those thirsting for spirituality these days. I have a degree in Graphic Design, and my professional experience is in Information Technology as a systems administrator, database and web programmer, and technology evangelist. I like to take complicated technical problems, break them down, and ensure that everyone has access to the solutions generated.  Outside of St. Andrew’s, I enjoy video games with complicated economic systems and reading crunchy theological books.  I have a wonderful girlfriend who supports me on my spiritual journey, and I have a black cat named Bang who keeps me up all night with her loud meowing.

Matalee Smith: My name is Matalee Smith and I would like to tell you about myself.  I have put myself forward to be considered for membership on the vestry. I have been attending St Andrews since 2018.  The reasons are manifold.  The congregation is remarkable and welcoming.  I adore the music.  The Anglo-Catholic service resonates with me.  I appreciate the mission of social justice.  I currently volunteer as a Greeter and on the Gardening Committee. Prior to moving here, I attended St Michael’s, the Idaho Episcopal Cathedral, in Boise.  I was active in their Parish Nursing program and their community outreach program called Baby Steps. I currently volunteer with Reading Partners, a tutoring program that supports students in mastering key reading skills.  I am also on two committees at my condominium.  The Design and Grounds committee involving a lot of landscape and common area upgrades.  The other is the Building and Finance Committee where we assist in developing the operating budget as well as prioritizing capital projects and monitoring expenditures on these. I graduated from Tulane (Newcomb College), obtaining a language degree. I then received a BSN in nursing from the University of Wyoming and an MBA from Boise State University. I spent all my career in the hospital setting, most of it as a case manager.  I was the manager for case management for many years for two hospitals in Boise with a total of 500 beds.  When I moved to Denver at age 60 I scaled back to being a case manager again.  At 65 I went to half time and at 69 fully retired. I have three wonderful children, one remarkable daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren.  I moved to Denver to be closer to them. I would love to offer my services to our church if you think I would be an acceptable candidate.

Ross Jacobsmyer: Having become acquainted with Tim and M.B. from St. Martin’s Chamber Choir, I decided to explore their spiritual home here at St. Andrews.  I joined the choir first but became more immersed in the life of the parish, prepared for reception into the Episcopal Church under our beloved Fr. George Magnuson, and was received into the church at a festive liturgy at St. John’s Cathedral on June 18, 2011. I was married to the love of my wife, Mojgan Taherynia, at St. Andrews on August 17, 2019, with my choir mates providing a splendid soundtrack to our special day.   (Our first ‘date’ was at a Sunday liturgy four years or so earlier – my courtship pace was practically Victorian during the early period of our relationship).  Mojgan and I love to travel (especially throughout Europe), and I’m a huge railroad fan (especially steam locomotives).  I’ve been known to drive or fly long distances to ride a vintage steam train and have even been a student in a brief ‘steam engineer school’ in middle-of-nowhere Ely, Nevada.  I have decided to run for the vestry because of a desire to see St. Andrews grow as a destination parish for the metro area as well as become a hub and community center for our Five Points/Uptown neighborhood.  I would like to see us strengthen our bonds and partnerships with other downtown faith centers and social justice organizations.  Our parish is blessed with a beautiful, historic structure; a music program unsurpassed in a church of its size (or indeed, many much larger); a tradition of thoughtful, engaging, and thought-provoking preaching; an attention to beauty in liturgy; and a tradition of serving others through social justice initiatives.  Sadly, and amazingly to me, at least, it is also a parish that remains unknown to many, even in our immediate neighborhood, not to mention the greater Denver metro area.   In this sense, at least, we are failing as a community. I would be honored to be elected to the vestry to play my part in helping to rectify this situation and to help tend the ‘tree of life’ that is growing here. 

Emma Young: Hello! My name is Emma Young, and I have been attending St. Andrews since April! The beautiful music, liturgical services, and wonderful people drew me in. I’m from Denver and attended DU, where I studied mechanical engineering. I like to rock climb, ski, knit, and cook! I am excited to be in a church community with people who are so welcoming and kind.