Our Church Leadership
Our Church thrives because of the energy and style of the people who are a part of our leadership. Here are a few of the people that make our church community special:
The Rev. Ian Delinger - Priest
Our new Rector, Rev. Ian Delinger began his ministry with us on May 1, 2016. Prior to coming here, Rev. Ian served as the University of Chester’s Chaplain to the Warrington Campus and to the Faculty of Health & Social Care. He was born in California, and was raised in both rural western Nebraska and on the central coast of California. Fr. Ian is very interested in showing the Church and active faith in a positive light in the public arena, including in the media.
The Rev. Tom Tarwater - Deacon, Retired
Tom has served St. Stephen's and the San Luis Obispo community for many decades. As well as serving as our deacon, he has been active in prison ministries and has played trombone with the San Luis Obispo County Band for over 50 years.
The Rev. Karen Faye Siegfriedt (Associate Priest)
Pastor Karen comes to St. Stephen’s with 25 years of ordained ministry experience. Born in Boston MA, she made her way out to California in 1981 as a research assistant and later worked as a hazardous waste manager. Feeling called to the priesthood, she attended the Church Divinity School of the Pacific and graduated in 1992. She has served as an assistant at Holy Innocents in SF and St. Luke’s, Los Gatos. She was rector of St. Jude’s in Cupertino for 12 years and rector of Trinity Church in Sutter Creek for 7. She has an educational background in nursing, chemistry, environmental management, and theology. The three great loves in her life are Medicine, the Church, and Steph (her partner). She and Steph moved to Morro Bay at the end of 2017 and are delighted to be part of the St. Stephen’s family. .
Staff
Ann Pa
try - Administrative Assistant, recently retired
Ann is a long time member of St. Stephen's, an alto in our choir and served very competently as our part-time Administrative Assistant for many years before retiring recently. Until a new Administrative Assistant is hired there will be parish volunteers and temporary help staffing the office.
Berkeley Johnson - Canterbury Chaplain
Berkeley serves as Chaplain to the Canterbury Club, an Episcopal, LBGBTQ-inclusive and theologically progressive college and young-adult ministry. It's committed to building a loving, supportive and anti-racist community grounded in the Good News of God in Jesus Christ.
