Bill Barnsdale
I am Bill Barnsdale, a military and law enforcement retiree.
I began my Episcopal Church membership in 1961 at St. Albans’ on the Mount Parish, Washington D.C. St. Albans is the Parish grounds on which the National Cathedral has been built. Our Ladies’ Guild ‘mothered’ five other D.C. area local parishes – which is to say we were an active and growing Parish!
St. Dunstan’s is my wife’s, her mother’s and her grandmother’s home parish. (She was raised in Richmond Beach, WA.) We rejoined St. Dunstans shortly after we retired and moved back from California in 2013.
Most of my time here at St Dunstan’s I have been involved in maintenance, repairs, improvements and expansions. This includes building a storage shed, framing out sections for our (now completed!) new Ortloff organ, and a number of signal, electrical and plumbing projects.
From 2015 to 2017 I served as our Junior Warden, sometimes called the “People’s Warden”. I was replaced for the following 3 years by Chris Johns who has done a magnificent job!
Chris was my understudy while I was Junior Warden, and I was his for the next 3 years. I have told Fr. David and Chris that I will happily stand for election as our Junior Warden as long as Chris agrees to continue our mutual support pact!
There are a number of building tasks that I hope to complete during our 2021-2023 post Pandemic period. This includes grading & paving our sloped walkway from the main doors down to the Columbarium and our East and West parking areas. I also expect to design, propose to the Vestry and help install some improvements and new equipment in our Church Kitchen back room.
Sarah Roskam
I am Sarah Roskam, mother of 3 adult children. I am a recently retired Internist from UW Medicine.
I grew up in the Evangelical church having been a member of the Covenant Church for 50+ years and more recently University Presbyterian Church. I heard Eugene Petersen give advice to a pod cast listener that one should join a church in one’s neighborhood. As many evangelicals have done, I find comfort in the liturgy and rhythms of the Episcopal church.
Since retiring in October, I have been attending morning prayer and Compline as part of my participation at St. Dunstan’s. Prior to the pandemic, I enjoyed 8 am services on Sunday and David’s teachings Sundays. I even started in the Bell Choir!
My hopes for serving on the vestry at St. D’s? To be supportive of the clergy staff, to speak what God lays on my heart in a thoughtful manner and to join with the other members of the vestry in supporting God’s work in Broadview.
Jonathan Thoms
My name is Jonathan Thoms – (step-)dad to Luke and Lucy, who many of you have seen around at church. I’m a software engineer and I grew up in Canada, raised by half of my family as Anglican and by the other half as Roman Catholic. I joined St. Dunstan’s in 2016 for the great Sunday School program shepherded by Mary E. Pacher and others, the church’s hospitality of homeless encampments, and because of the church’s acceptance of gay rights. Shortly after joining, I started working in the Sunday School, and a little later, on the vestry.
I look forward to serving on the vestry again and hope to facilitate the long-term health of our church.