Candidates for Cathedral Chapter

Share

The following have offered themselves as candidates for a three year term on Cathedral Chapter. Four from this slate will be elected at the annual meeting after a 10 am liturgy on Sunday, January 23.  Please keep all the candidates in your prayers.

Mr. Thomas K. Edelmann

Mr. Edelmann has an A.B. from Fordham University and a J.D. from Washington University. He is a member of the Missouri Bar, the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, the St. Louis County Law Library, the American Bar Association and the Estate Planning Council of St. Louis.

Mr. Edelmann has been a member of the Boards of Directors of Nerinx Hall High School, Doorways, Grace Hill Settlement House and Care and Counseling. He has served on or chaired planned giving committees for the Arthritis Foundation of Eastern Missouri, the St. Louis Symphony Society, the St. Louis Effort for AIDS, St. Louis Children’s Hospital, and the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, as well as the endowment council of the St. Louis Art Museum.

Mr. Edelmann is a member of Christ Church Cathedral, and he has been a member of Cathedral Chapter for three different terms. He has served as junior warden once and senior warden twice.

Mr. Gabriel A. Johnson

Mr. Johnson was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo (then the Belgian Congo), where his father was working as an Accountant with a Belgian Import/Export firm. In 1961, his family returned to Freetown, Sierra Leone when war broke out in the Congo.  He had both my primary and secondary education in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and after graduating from Secondary School (High School), worked in the Civil Service for 3 years, as a Field Auditing Assistant in the Office of the Auditor General, whilst pursuing a diploma course in Book-keeping and Business Management from Jersey, England. He was awarded a diploma on completion of the course.

Mr. Johnson later joined Standard Chartered Bank (Sierra Leone) Ltd. as an Accounting Assistant, gained working experience in several of the Bank’s branches ending up as a Senior Accounting Assistant in the Bank’s Head Office Accounts Department, in charge of compiling and tracking the various branches monthly performance, and preparing monthly and quarterly balance sheets.

Mr. Johnson traveled to the US in February, 1990, at the beginning of the civil war, for further studies. His wife Letitia, joined him the following year, and they have been living here since. They have been married for 24 years; have two daughters, one in Laurel, MD with her family and the other in London, UK working on completing her ACCA (the British equivalent of the CPA).

Mr. Johnson has a B.A. in business administration from Lindenwood University and is currently in a training program for Electronic Health Records (EHR) administered by the DHHS that would lead to certification in Health Information Technology.

Dr. Robert Kamkwalala

Robert Kamkwalala is a professor of Finance and Business Administration at Harris-Stowe State University. He received his doctorate in management and master’s in finance from Webster University. He is an alumnus of Harris-Stowe State University where he received his bachelor’s degree in business administration with honors.

Dr. Kamkwalala has received several awards, most notably the “2007, Yes I Can Award” by the City of St. Louis, and the “2008 Best Teacher Award” by Collegiate 100.

His academic and research interests include organizational effectiveness, organizational behavior and organizational development.

In his free time, Professor Kamkwalala spends time with this children, Rebecca and Robert, Jr.

Ms. Leah Montre

Ms. Montre has attended Christ Church Cathedral since she was 13 and says the thing that has always brought her back was the people and their enthusiasm for encouraging spiritual development. Whether it is the children’s Sunday School Program, special speakers and performances, new worship styles, the congregation commits to any new change we face.

In college, Leah took a lot of religion classes to try and understand her faith. One thing that particularly stood out for her was that as life changes and the world changes, faith and the soul’s need for spirituality does not. She believes that spirituality can come in many forms and her goal as a member of chapter will be facilitate these changes will focusing on what makes the Cathedral a welcoming place for people of all backgrounds. Leah would like to expand our social mission in the community and get the entire congregation more involved in social justice.

Leah feels she would be a great asset to Chapter because of my flexibility, youth, and commitment to diversity. She says she welcomes adversity and is able to examine any new development from all sides and try and find the best compromise. As a younger member of the congregation she believes she could offer insight from a different perspective. She says growing up in Saint Louis has taught her to appreciate all sorts of people from all races, creeds, sexual orientation, etc. and believes making the Cathedral a place where everyone feels welcome would be a great accomplishment.

Mr. Donald W. Peel

Mr. Peel was born and raised in an American Baptist family in Alton, IL. He graduated from high school in 1949, and enlisted in the Air Force in 1950. In September, 1954, he entered SIUC, and graduated with a BME in 1958. He received his MME in 1964. He has served his community teaching elementary band. He has played French horn in the Evansville, IN Symphony, and served as secretary, vice president and president. He also has served on the IEA State Board. 

Mr. Peel has been married for 52 years to Carol, and has a son and a daughter. In January, 1993, they moved to Belleville to be closer to their grandchildren. On Easter, 2009, they became members of Christ Church Cathedral. They both feel that the Lord led them here.

Mr. Bob Schleipman

Bob was baptized and confirmed in the Episcopal Diocese of New York. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1952-1974, retiring as a master sergeant. He was a civilian employee of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department from 1975-1993.

Mr. Schleipman has served as an acolyte and lector in many Episcopal churches. During his time at Christ Church Cathedral, he has served on the Chapter from 1985-1988 and was junior warden in 1987. He has also been a member of the Cathedral’s stewardship committee, and currently serves on the Evangelism Team, as a volunteer garden worker and as a member of the Wednesday morning Bible Study Group. Previously, Mr. Schleipman worked as a volunteer at the Club Cathedral daily breakfast for the homeless. He and his wife, Helen, have been married 56 years and have four children and nine grandchildren.

Ms. Celeste M. Smith

Ms. Smith is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW). She is married to Tom Boyle, and they are raising a three-year-old daughter, Rose Marie Boyle.

They joined the Cathedral in September, 2009, and have fallen in love with the community, the building and the ministry. She has become a regular attendee of the Adult Forums on Sunday mornings. She has volunteered with the Cathedral Life Committee and is chair of the Community Ministry Committee.

If elected to Chapter, she will be committed to our tradition of service, our stewardship of resources, and our movement toward a vibrant future. 

Dr. Timothy William Smith

Tim grew up in the Episcopal Church. It began with St. Francis, then Holy Trinity in Greensboro, NC. and served as an acolyte through much of his school years. He went to a Methodist university (Duke) for college and medical school, where there was a small but active Episcopal Campus group.  Between college and med school, he spent three years at another Christ Church, in England, for graduate school.   He loved that cathedral, its ritual and its music, and served as an acolyte there, too.  In Boston for several years of post-medical school training, his attended Trinity Church with his wife, Miriam, where their older daughter Olivia was baptized.

After moving to Boston, it was some time before the Smith’s picked a parish, but eventually, Christ Church was the overwhelming choice.  They were drawn as much by the music as the community.  Mr. Smith served as a lector  (and as a spouse of a J2A teacher!).  Katherine, their second child, was baptized here.  The Smith family attends both the 11:15 and 9:00 services, and doesn’t believe they have to be locked into one service.

Mr. Smith is a cardiac electrophysiologist (he studies and treats the heart rhythm) on the faculty of the Washington University medical school.  The Smiths love travel when they can and he is a dedicated music lover.

Mr. Smith is eager and willing to serve the Cathedral in any way he can.