Staff
A dedicated staff serves the St. Paul's community, along with a host of parish volunteers.
Greta Getlein, Dean and Rector
Welcome to the website of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul! We are glad you found us and pray that you find a warm welcome here, and a place to call home.
I grew up in Connecticut, pursued a B.S. in Nursing, and spent 20 years in that career, mostly in hospice work, first at the bedside and then in administration. In 2006, I entered Yale Divinity School/Berkeley Episcopal Seminary and graduated in 2009. I was ordained to the transitional deaconate in June 2009, and to the priesthood in January of 2010. My first call was to Christ Church in New Haven, CT where I served as curate from 2009 – 2010 when I was called to return to Berkeley Divinity School as Associate Dean for Anglican Studies and Formation. While there, I continued on at Christ Church as a Pastoral Associate. In 2014 I was called to serve as Rector of St. Paul’s in Pawtucket, RI where I remained until April of 2020, when we packed up our house and moved to Vermont so I could serve as the Dean & Rector of this wonderful Cathedral.
I have been a singer all my life (soprano, in case you are wondering) and spent much of my adulthood singing in choirs – city chorales, professional church choirs, and professional chamber choirs. Music and singing has always been my first access to God and God’s deep love for us. In support of that, I have served as chaplain to the Royal School of Church Music’s Newport summer course (Newport, RI) since 2016, thoroughly enjoying talking and working with young singers and adult musicians from all over the country. In addition to music, I love baking, cooking, reading, long walks in the woods, country drives, and quiet evenings with family and friends by the fire inside or outside.
I am married to Wanda Strickland who I met in 1995 while living and working in Northern Virginia. We have three grown children and two beautiful grandchildren. We live in Williston with our shelter dog, Joe, and our rescue kitty Mac, who we bottle raised from one week old.
Two practical things to note: my last name is pronounced Get-line, and it’s fine to call me Greta, though Mother Greta and Dean Greta are also fine, if that is what works best for you.
Greta can be reached at [email protected].
I grew up in Connecticut, pursued a B.S. in Nursing, and spent 20 years in that career, mostly in hospice work, first at the bedside and then in administration. In 2006, I entered Yale Divinity School/Berkeley Episcopal Seminary and graduated in 2009. I was ordained to the transitional deaconate in June 2009, and to the priesthood in January of 2010. My first call was to Christ Church in New Haven, CT where I served as curate from 2009 – 2010 when I was called to return to Berkeley Divinity School as Associate Dean for Anglican Studies and Formation. While there, I continued on at Christ Church as a Pastoral Associate. In 2014 I was called to serve as Rector of St. Paul’s in Pawtucket, RI where I remained until April of 2020, when we packed up our house and moved to Vermont so I could serve as the Dean & Rector of this wonderful Cathedral.
I have been a singer all my life (soprano, in case you are wondering) and spent much of my adulthood singing in choirs – city chorales, professional church choirs, and professional chamber choirs. Music and singing has always been my first access to God and God’s deep love for us. In support of that, I have served as chaplain to the Royal School of Church Music’s Newport summer course (Newport, RI) since 2016, thoroughly enjoying talking and working with young singers and adult musicians from all over the country. In addition to music, I love baking, cooking, reading, long walks in the woods, country drives, and quiet evenings with family and friends by the fire inside or outside.
I am married to Wanda Strickland who I met in 1995 while living and working in Northern Virginia. We have three grown children and two beautiful grandchildren. We live in Williston with our shelter dog, Joe, and our rescue kitty Mac, who we bottle raised from one week old.
Two practical things to note: my last name is pronounced Get-line, and it’s fine to call me Greta, though Mother Greta and Dean Greta are also fine, if that is what works best for you.
Greta can be reached at [email protected].
Robert Leopold, Canon for Adult Formation
Robert "Bobby" Leopold was raised in coastal South Carolina and East Tennessee, where he developed passions for storytelling, music, education, and the Episcopal Church. He began his career as a bass player before transitioning into ordained ministry almost twenty years ago. Bobby now lives with his wife Lisa, a music teacher, and their two children in a renovated 1940s lake house.
While earning degrees in Music and Religious Studies, he served the Episcopal Campus Ministry at the University of Tennessee. While studying at Virginia Theological Seminary, he served The Episcopal Campus Ministry at Howard University. Once he finished seminary, he was tasked by the Diocese of East Tennessee to restart – you guessed it – an Episcopal Campus Ministry, at the University of Tennessee’s Chattanooga Campus. After the successful transition of that ministry, Bobby was instrumental in founding Southside Abbey, a nontraditional Episcopal Worshipping Community in Chattanooga, comprised primarily of those experiencing homelessness. Later, he earned a doctorate based on that work, and a master's degree in storytelling, focusing on the personal experience story in preaching.
He has served at parishes as diverse as: a resource-sized downtown parish in the South, a new church start, a multicultural parish in Ottawa's Chinatown, and a suburban congregation in transition. For several years, he taught innovative liturgical practice at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, as well as mentoring seminarians at the School of Theology at Sewanee. As an Episcopal Church Foundation Fellow (2015–2018), he traveled across North America starting and supporting innovative church models. In 2017, he moved to Vermont, serving interim roles at Christ Church, Montpelier, and St. Andrew's, Colchester, where he was made “priest-in-charge,” before joining the staff of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Burlington.
At St. Paul's Cathedral, he serves as Canon for Adult Formation, which includes work with younger adults (18+ and out of high school, college students from various institutions, and the 20s-30s+ group).
Bob can be reached at [email protected].
While earning degrees in Music and Religious Studies, he served the Episcopal Campus Ministry at the University of Tennessee. While studying at Virginia Theological Seminary, he served The Episcopal Campus Ministry at Howard University. Once he finished seminary, he was tasked by the Diocese of East Tennessee to restart – you guessed it – an Episcopal Campus Ministry, at the University of Tennessee’s Chattanooga Campus. After the successful transition of that ministry, Bobby was instrumental in founding Southside Abbey, a nontraditional Episcopal Worshipping Community in Chattanooga, comprised primarily of those experiencing homelessness. Later, he earned a doctorate based on that work, and a master's degree in storytelling, focusing on the personal experience story in preaching.
He has served at parishes as diverse as: a resource-sized downtown parish in the South, a new church start, a multicultural parish in Ottawa's Chinatown, and a suburban congregation in transition. For several years, he taught innovative liturgical practice at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, as well as mentoring seminarians at the School of Theology at Sewanee. As an Episcopal Church Foundation Fellow (2015–2018), he traveled across North America starting and supporting innovative church models. In 2017, he moved to Vermont, serving interim roles at Christ Church, Montpelier, and St. Andrew's, Colchester, where he was made “priest-in-charge,” before joining the staff of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Burlington.
At St. Paul's Cathedral, he serves as Canon for Adult Formation, which includes work with younger adults (18+ and out of high school, college students from various institutions, and the 20s-30s+ group).
Bob can be reached at [email protected].
Peter Stoltzfus Berton, Director of Music and Cathedral Arts
I joined the Cathedral team in 2024. I grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in a Methodist church which sang robustly from the hymnal of its Evangelical United Brethren predecessor. Encouraging strong congregational singing has always been one of my passions. A chance occurrence with the men and boys choir of All Saints Church, Worcester, MA in 1988 led me on a journey to the Episcopal Church and three assistantships with intergenerational programs which were integral to my training alongside traditional coursework: first at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Detroit, then Trinity Church on the Green, New Haven, and finally at Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue where for two years I was immersed in the country’s last remaining residential choir school of world-class intensity. My degrees are from the University of Michigan School of Music and the Yale School of Music; my principal teachers in organ and church music have been David Bartlett, Robert Glasgow, Gerre Hancock, Charles Krigbaum, Walden Moore, Thomas Murray, and Carl E. Schroeder.
Following a return to All Saints, Worcester as music director for seven years, and fruitful posts developing intergenerational programs in Brooklyn NY, and West Hartford, CT along with concert series production, I was called to Newport, Rhode Island in 2014 to found the Choir School of Newport County. This was organized initially as a group after-school project of three Episcopal churches and later became an independent non-profit program. For the decade before my arrival in Burlington, I trained intergenerational choirs which sang services and concerts locally and undertook educational touring to New York City, Washington, DC, England, and Argentina. During this rewarding time, my wife and two daughters were among the regular singers.
Our family also includes a cat, a dog, a vast number of plants, and model trains. I am a runner (Galloway method) and have completed two marathons and several half-marathons. I also enjoy composing, cooking, reading, and connecting with nature.
I feel blessed to be a part of the fantastic staff at the Cathedral with many devoted volunteers and deeply engaged congregation. I am excited by the ever-ongoing opportunities to connect with musical colleagues in Burlington and further the Cathedral’s offerings in the community, while developing the gifts of singers of all ages.
Peter can be reached at [email protected].
Following a return to All Saints, Worcester as music director for seven years, and fruitful posts developing intergenerational programs in Brooklyn NY, and West Hartford, CT along with concert series production, I was called to Newport, Rhode Island in 2014 to found the Choir School of Newport County. This was organized initially as a group after-school project of three Episcopal churches and later became an independent non-profit program. For the decade before my arrival in Burlington, I trained intergenerational choirs which sang services and concerts locally and undertook educational touring to New York City, Washington, DC, England, and Argentina. During this rewarding time, my wife and two daughters were among the regular singers.
Our family also includes a cat, a dog, a vast number of plants, and model trains. I am a runner (Galloway method) and have completed two marathons and several half-marathons. I also enjoy composing, cooking, reading, and connecting with nature.
I feel blessed to be a part of the fantastic staff at the Cathedral with many devoted volunteers and deeply engaged congregation. I am excited by the ever-ongoing opportunities to connect with musical colleagues in Burlington and further the Cathedral’s offerings in the community, while developing the gifts of singers of all ages.
Peter can be reached at [email protected].
J. Stannard Baker, Deacon
I began my journey at the Cathedral in 1999. This was when my husband, Peter, and I were plaintiffs in the Freedom to Marry lawsuit and, after attending one service here, we knew it was the right place for us – we felt supported and surrounded by friends. I was ordained as a deacon in 2009 and assigned by Bishop Ely to the Cathedral after serving internships at Christ Church Montpelier and Calvary Underhill as well as chaplain training at Fletcher Allen hospital. As Cathedral Deacon my responsibility is to connect our faith to the needs of the world. I love reading the Gospel each Sunday but this diaconal role would be incomplete without attending to the needs all around us in our community. My major focuses are on the social justice and outreach activities at the Cathedral and on formation. I am proud that we are a designated Jubilee Center and look forward to our Cathedral’s continued involvement and growth through JUMP, VIA, Migrant Justice, support for the Sudanese Community, and many other ministries. For the Episcopal Church in Vermont, I serve on the Commission on Ministry (COM), the Standing Committee, and I am co-coordinator of our diocesan Safe Church training program. I serve the wider Episcopal Church as a member of the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music (SCLM), and I am a Clergy Deputy to General Convention.
I grew up as a Quaker. Silent worship, with its direct connection to the Holy Spirit, helped me form my early relationship to God, but my spiritual home is here in the liturgy and deep and powerful sacramental worship of the Episcopal Church. My “day job” is as a private practitioner psychotherapist (BTR Psychotherapy). Previously, I worked as Clinical Director for Howard Center Developmental Services, and before that as Mental Health Director for the Counseling Service of Addison County. I have a background in child development and am a child and family therapist as well as Registered Play Therapist – Supervisor. I play the cello and guitar and love music of all kinds. I love to read, take long walks and be by the water. I collect nativities, fountain pens, and books. My husband, Peter Harrigan, is a Professor of Theatre and Chair of the Fine Arts Department at St. Michael’s College.
Stan can be reached at [email protected].
I grew up as a Quaker. Silent worship, with its direct connection to the Holy Spirit, helped me form my early relationship to God, but my spiritual home is here in the liturgy and deep and powerful sacramental worship of the Episcopal Church. My “day job” is as a private practitioner psychotherapist (BTR Psychotherapy). Previously, I worked as Clinical Director for Howard Center Developmental Services, and before that as Mental Health Director for the Counseling Service of Addison County. I have a background in child development and am a child and family therapist as well as Registered Play Therapist – Supervisor. I play the cello and guitar and love music of all kinds. I love to read, take long walks and be by the water. I collect nativities, fountain pens, and books. My husband, Peter Harrigan, is a Professor of Theatre and Chair of the Fine Arts Department at St. Michael’s College.
Stan can be reached at [email protected].
Jennifer Sumner, Cathedral Operations Manager
I joined the staff at St Paul’s Cathedral in 2016, after a few years of searching for a position that would be fulfilling, make a positive difference in my community, and enable me to be present for my very busy family including myself, my husband and our three daughters.
I graduated from Emory University in Atlanta and have held a variety of positions, most recently as an Administrative Assistant in the Burlington School District. I enjoy swimming, reading, music, and the fantastic community we’ve come to know here in Burlington.
Jennifer can be reached at (802) 864-0471 or at [email protected].
I graduated from Emory University in Atlanta and have held a variety of positions, most recently as an Administrative Assistant in the Burlington School District. I enjoy swimming, reading, music, and the fantastic community we’ve come to know here in Burlington.
Jennifer can be reached at (802) 864-0471 or at [email protected].
Katie Gonyaw, Children's Formation Coordinator
Katie joined the St. Paul's team in July, 2021.
Adam Skiff, Property Steward
I became involved with the Cathedral Church of St. Paul back in 1974. In my early life at St. Paul's, I was an acolyte and sang in the choir. I truly love supporting this great Cathedral every day, acting as a lay minister in the two services, keeping the property secure, and participating faithfully in the weekly vigil to end racism.
I am an avid photographer and piano player. As property steward, I hope to ensure the Cathedral is a welcoming place for all.
I am an avid photographer and piano player. As property steward, I hope to ensure the Cathedral is a welcoming place for all.
