Sunday Worship at 8:30 & 10:30 Details

  2100 Hilton Ave, Columbus, GA 31906  ·    706.324.4264  ·       Give

St. Thomas Episcopal Church
  • Welcome
  • Worship
    • Worship Services
    • Music
    • Sermons
    • Children's Chapel
    • Spaces for Prayer & Meditation
  • Learn
    • Episcokids
    • Youth
    • Young Adults
    • Adults
    • Parish Theologian
  • Serve
    • Serve at St. Thomas
    • Serve Our Members
    • Outreach Partners
  • Gather
    • Parish Groups
    • Parish Life Events
    • Wednesday Dinner
  • Connect
    • News & Events
    • Prayer Requests
    • Member Resources
    • Calendar
    • Subscribe
    • Job Postings
    • Join
    • Staff & Clergy
    • Day School
    • Give
    • Contact Us
  • Give

Staff & Clergy

By virtue of Baptism, we are all called and equipped by the Holy Spirit for ministry through the Church and in the world. Our staff lead ministries of worship, formation, service, community, administration, and hospitality to help St. Thomas members grow in love for God and demonstrate love for neighbor.

Rev. Grace Burton-Edwards
Rector
|
Roxane Gwyn
Associate Rector for Pastoral Care
|
Rev. Darius Sudayi
Associate Rector for Mission
|
Seth Burgamy
Kitchen Manager and Sexton
Dr. Denny Clark
Parish Theologian
|
Wilson Ford
Assistant to the Sexton
Katie Holbrook
Children’s Ministry Assistant
Rick McKnight
Organist & Choirmaster
|
Taylor Mack
Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries
|
Meg Olive-Allison
Director of Parish & Community Engagement
|
Erin Redden
Director of Children’s Formation & Parish Life
|
Patty Slembarski
Director of Parish Administration
|
Evie Smith
Nursery Assistant
Sandy Trent
Nursery Assistant
Dorothy Uwanawich
Nursery Assistant
Nick Williams
Livestream Coordinator
Frances Woolfolk
Housekeeping

Rev. Grace Burton-Edwards

Rector

Grace Burton-Edwards, came to Columbus in February 2014 from Indianapolis, IN. She was originally ordained as an American Baptist pastor in 1994 and served in American Baptist, United Methodist, and ecumenical settings before discerning a call to the Episcopal Church.

That call began during a college semester in London where she met God in new ways through Anglican liturgy. It reemerged as she served as a youth minister with an Episcopal church. It deepened when she enrolled in a Doctor of Ministry program at an Episcopal seminary and learned more about our baptismal covenant and commitment to God’s mission in the world.

Grace was confirmed in 2004 and ordained as a priest in 2007. Grace graduated from Mississippi College in Clinton, Mississippi, attended the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, completed her MDiv at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, and completed a Doctor of Ministry in Congregational Development at Seabury-Western. She is married to Taylor Burton-Edwards, who works with United Methodist Communications and serves as pastor in the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America). They have two adult sons.

Roxane Gwyn

Associate Rector for Pastoral Care

Roxane is grateful for the evolving journey she's taken through Lutheran, United Methodist, and house church settings, and for landing in The Episcopal Church in 2004. She received her MDiv from Duke Divinity School (concentration in Gender, Ministry, and Theology) and her STM from General Theological Seminary. Ordained to the priesthood in 2011, she has served parishes in the Dioceses of New Hampshire, North Carolina and Atlanta.

Roxane is grateful for the gifts of time and energy to spend in these ways: conversation with God, guided meditation and dreamwork, hiking and woods/yard work, reading with or without a purpose, yoga, learning about diverse spiritualities, two young Aussiedoodle pups, and tending relationships. She is continually on a quest to figure out how to use her incarnation as a launching pad for serving and contributing to the healing of God's good world.

Roxane is grateful for the support and love of siblings, friends, colleagues, a daughter who lives in Asheville NC, and a son, daughter-in-law, and two happy toddler grandsons who live in Chapel Hill NC.

And she's grateful for the opportunity to live among and minister to the good people of St. Thomas as pastor and priest.


Rev. Darius Sudayi

Associate Rector for Mission

Darius originates from Dodoma, Tanzania where his knowledge and love of Jesus Christ originated. Born to an Anglican Pastor as a father and devout mother, Darius received the foundations of the Christian faith that launched him on a life-long journey of obedience and faith. He attended seminary and received training in ministry at Msalato Theological Seminary in Dodoma, Tanzania.

In 2006, Darius was invited to the United States to visit and further explore opportunities in theological training. While in the United States, Darius was recommended by the standing committee of the Diocese of Central Tanganyika for ordained ministry
He was ordained to the diaconate in 2006 and to the priesthood in 2007. He has been serving in this capacity since 2006.
In addition to his degree in theology, Darius earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology and two Master’s degrees in Organizational Leadership and Cyber Security.
Darius is married to his loving wife, Anna Jonas and is blessed with three children, Lovick, Hagulwa, and Teddie.
Darius’ life mission is to love and serve others wherever God plants him. He is grateful for the calling and opportunity to serve St. Thomas as a priest.

Seth Burgamy

Kitchen Manager and Sexton

Dr. Denny Clark

Parish Theologian

Denny Clark has been teaching religious studies for well over thirty years, involving a wide variety of biblical, theological, and other religious courses — twenty-two years of which were at The College of Idaho. While there he was also on the Board of Directors for the Bethsaida Excavations Project in Israel and led multiple study tours to Israel/Palestine for college and community members.

He was previously a Lutheran pastor (ELCA), including service as the pastor-developer of a new congregation and as Lutheran campus pastor to the University of Chicago. Since moving to the Columbus area nearly ten years ago, he has taught part-time for a variety of educational institutions (including Columbus State University), and continues to teach online courses for Saint Leo University, a Benedictine Catholic university based near Tampa. In addition, he worked for Chattahoochee Valley Episcopal Ministry, and been involved in fostering inter-religious understanding and cooperation in the Columbus area.

Denny graduated from Aurora University with a B.A. in Theology and heavy minors in both Biology and Chemistry. Both his M.Div., which focused on Constructive Christian Thought and on Pastoral Ministry (which also included six months of Clinical Pastoral Education at the University of Chicago Hospitals & Clinics), and his Th.M. in New Testament were from Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. His Ph.D. in Biblical Interpretation was from The Iliff School of Theology and the University of Denver.

Wilson Ford

Assistant to the Sexton

Katie Holbrook

Children’s Ministry Assistant

Rick McKnight

Organist & Choirmaster

Rick has been a member of St. Thomas for over 25 years and has served as Senior Warden, Chair of the Stewardship Campaign, and Acolyte Master. In 2000 the Rev. Lori Lowe, Rector of St. Mark’s (LaGrange) asked if he would play the organ and direct the choir for three weeks, and that three weeks turned into three years!

Rick has also served as the President of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and the Cultural Arts Alliance. In 2004, Rick answered the call to serve St. Thomas as Organist-Choirmaster. During his years at St. Thomas, the St. Thomas Choir has grown to almost 40 singers. In addition to singing weekly, the choir has sung at Washington National Cathedral and our own St. Philip’s Cathedral. Rick has served on the Diocesan Music and Liturgy Commission and led the 100th Anniversary of the Diocese of Atlanta Celebration at the RiverCenter in Columbus.

Rick is proud of the musical accomplishments of the Choir, but the spirit of community and care that is fostered among the members is what gives him the most gratitude. He is married to Marquette McRae McKnight, who serves St. Thomas as a Verger, Lector and Lay Eucharistic Minister, and on the Flower Guild. They have two children, Mac McKnight and Mitchi McKnight Wade.

Taylor Mack

Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries

Taylor grew up in Columbus and attended St. Thomas as a child. During her teen years, Taylor became involved with the St. Thomas youth group and began to develop a more personal relationship with faith. She graduated from Georgia Southern University where she was a leader of the Episcoapal Campus Ministry. In 2021, Taylor returned home with her husband, Jeremy Mack, who is also a Columbus native. They now live in Phenix City with their corgi puppy, Gus.

Taylor believes that youth and young adults are not the "future of the church," but rather, a vital part of the present church. She is proud to serve the young people of St. Thomas, providing them with a fun and safe church home.

Meg Olive-Allison

Director of Parish & Community Engagement

Meg has been serving at St. Thomas since 2016. She grew up in Columbus in the Baptist tradition and attended McAfee School of Theology in Atlanta, Georgia. She was surprised and delighted by the opportunity to be back home serving at St. Thomas. Meg is committed to making St. Thomas a place where Christian formation happens in ways that lead to deeper love and service, and she believes good communication can help this happen.

Meg and her wife Susie are proud parents to two daughters and one son. They are also proud foster parents and have fostered 15 children since becoming licensed in 2013.

Erin Redden

Director of Children’s Formation & Parish Life

Erin has been a member of St. Thomas since 1996. While working on her B.A. in Music Education (Columbus State), it was her passion for music and liturgy that brought her to the Episcopal Church as a staff soloist and Children’s Choir Director.

Erin earned her MSEd (Troy State) in Instructional Leadership and has been a music educator for over twenty years. She enjoys using her educational and leadership experience to develop Christian Education programming and faith-filled experiences for “kids” of all ages. Her mission is to answer Christ’s call as outlined in the Baptismal Covenant and to proclaim God’s love for all people.

Erin is married to Roger, a music educator who serves St. Thomas as a musician. They have two adult children, Madison and Hugh.

Patty Slembarski

Director of Parish Administration
Patty grew up in central Florida and graduated from the University of Florida where she met her husband Chris at the Episcopal Chapel of the Incarnation. They moved to the Columbus area in 1999 where they attended Trinity Episcopal Church for a few years until finding St. Thomas in 2003. She began working as the office assistant in 2006, became Parish Administrator in 2008, and added financial responsibilities in 2010.
Patty and Chris live in Harris County with their lab/beagle mix Winnie. They have two grown children.

Evie Smith

Nursery Assistant

I’m Evie Smith, a current student at Columbus State University studying psychology. I’ve been a member of St. Thomas ever since I was in middle school. It is a warm and welcoming place, and as I entered young adulthood, I realized that I wanted to help out in this wonderful community, especially with our youngest members.


Sandy Trent

Nursery Assistant

My name is Mrs. Sandy Trent
I'm a proud mother of 5 children and 3 stepchildren. I've been working in the medical/nursing field for a very very long time. I was born in Germany, and grew up in Georgia. My favorite place to be is in our garden planting flowers. My second place is to be around my kids watching them spread happily like butterflies. So thank you for not just having me as apart of your church but also part of the nursery too.

Dorothy Uwanawich

Nursery Assistant

My name is Dorothy and I'm the youngest of six. I have a chihuahua named cookie. I enjoy event planning and baking cakes. Well because I'm the youngest of six I grew up taking care of nieces and nephews and that's something that just came easy to me taking care of kids.

Nick Williams

Livestream Coordinator

Frances Woolfolk

Housekeeping

Share this page: Staff & Clergy
Who We Are Staff & Clergy FAQs About The Episcopal Church The Diocese of Atlanta

© St. Thomas Episcopal Church
2100 Hilton Ave · Columbus, GA 31906
706.324.4264

The Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta


Privacy Policy · Powered by Membership Vision

  View Entire Post

Service Times

Sundays in-person and online at 8:30am and 10:30am. Join us on YouTube, Facebook, or at St. Thomas Online.

Sunday Morning: 8:30 am A brief service from the Chapel led by clergy with no music.

Sunday Morning: 10:30 am A service from the Nave led by clergy and worship leaders that includes sacred music.

Location

St. Thomas Episcopal Church
2100 Hilton Ave
Columbus, GA 31906

Contact Us
706.324.4264

Newsletter Signup

Welcome I'm New Who We Are Joining St. Thomas Covid-19 Protocols

We are a church of loving, committed and searching Christians who value diversity and cherish the gifts of young and old alike. We welcome ALL God’s children into our sacramental community, respecting the dignity of every person as we are called to a ministry of reconciliation and inclusion. You are welcome here as God’s own.

Like the apostle Thomas, we encounter the risen Christ in our lives together and find ourselves transformed.

We invite you to worship, learn, and serve with us!

Learn More

We know finding a church can be hard. We were all new to St. Thomas once, so let us tell you a little about ourselves.

We are named for the apostle Thomas, whose life was changed when he encountered the risen Christ. His confession of faith, “My Lord and my God,” is printed above our altar.

Like Thomas, we encounter the risen Christ in our life together and find our lives transformed. We invite you to worship, learn, and serve with us.

I'm New

St. Thomas was founded in 1958 and is a congregation of about 400-600 people. A few folks have been here for a long time, but a lot of us are newcomers! Some of us grew up as Episcopalians, some of us came from other Christian traditions, and some of us have no religious background at all!

Who We Are

It is easy to join St. Thomas as a member. Just tell us you want to belong, and we'll enroll you as a baptized member of the congregation. If you've never been baptized, contact Rev. Grace to schedule a time for Holy Baptism. We look forward to being in touch with you.

Contact Patty in the church office at [email protected] with questions.

Joining St. Thomas

The pandemic taught us a lot about preventing the spread of disease when we gather. Read the current practices at St. Thomas by clicking on the button below. Our Vestry reviews and updates these each month.

Learn More
Give Online Now Stewardship 2023: The St. Thomas Story Give Time & Talent Capital Fund Offering Pet Memorial Garden

We are grateful for God’s provision through all who give to St. Thomas.

Click here to give!

Click here if you would like to log in to ACS before you give

For a one-time gift, you will be asked to load a form of payment to be debited when you make your gift. You can log in to your St. Thomas Member Portal account to give or view past gifts.

Our Stewardship Committee decided to focus this year on sharing the “St. Thomas Story” with our wider community. “Love God. Love Every Person. Learn and Serve Together.” summarizes our mission.
St Thomas is a blessed community of the faithful. We look what is needed in the year to come, with your support.

Make a Pledge Learn More About Stewardship

Everyone plays a part in creating our beautiful life of worship, learning, and service through St. Thomas.

What part will you play in the coming year?
Our Ministry Sign-up Form highlights ways to participate and serve in the life of St. Thomas over the next year. Please review prayerfully. Mark the things you are already doing and wish to continue along with the activities you would like to join for the next year.

Thank you for for the part you play in the beautiful tapestry that is St. Thomas as we worship, learn, serve and gather together.

Click here for the 2022-2023 Ministry Sign-Up Form.

We continue to invite gifts above your pledge to the Continuing Faithfulness Capital Fund so we are prepared to address major capital needs as they arise. There is still more to be done, and we are determined to meet these needs in stride with a reasoned and forward-looking approach.
Learn More

The pet memorial garden is a garden for the remembrance of our beloved pets. It provides a permanent resting place for the pets who live on in our memories and in our hearts. It is a place to give thanks to God for the companionship of beloved animals and to commit ourselves to care for all of God’s creatures. Engraved bricks are arranged in the garden around the cross. Engraved bricks are available for purchase as a permanent way to remember your pet. The fee covers, the brick, installation of the brick, maintenance of the garden, and a donation to PAWS Humane Society of Columbus, Georgia.

Learn More Brick Order Form