Clergy and Staff

The Rev. Jarrett Kerbel was educated at Northwestern University, the University of Chicago and Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He was ordained Priest in 1995 in Danville, Pennsylvania where he worked as a Hospital Chaplain and a Head Start teacher. Pastoral positions followed at the Church of St. John the Evangelist in Flossmoor, Illinois, St. Paul and the Redeemer in Chicago, and then Rector at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Park Ridge, Illinois. After following his wife, the Rev. Dr. Alison Boden, to her new position in Princeton, New Jersey, he was called to be the Executive Director of the Crisis Ministry of Mercer County. The largest food pantry and the gateway agency for Homelessness Prevention services in Mercer County, the Crisis Ministry also runs a Welfare to Work program and an innovative free farmers market. Jarrett became Rector of St. Martin’s in February 2011. He formerly served as the co-chair of Philadelphians Organized to Witness Empower and Rebuild (POWER). Jarrett serves as Dean of the Wissahickon Deanery and is an Associate of the Order of the Holy Cross. He is an Adjunct Professor at Princeton Theological Seminary where he co-teaches a regular class on Faith Based Community Organizing, Theology and Practice. Jarrett has been published in Sojourners, the Huffington Post, Yours the Power, and the Journal of Public Theology. He is the father of two children, Timothy and Martha.

Barbara joined St. Martin’s in 2014. In June Barbara’s family moved from State College to Philadelphia, where her husband works at Drexel University. They’re excited to be a part of St. Martin’s vibrant faith community. Barbara’s family includes her husband, Jess, adult son, Jesse, and high school-aged daughter, Hannah. Non-human family members include Tara the rat and Oakley the dog.

Barbara hales originally from northeast Ohio, where she grew up and went to school. She received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and a master’s degree in pastoral ministry from Ursuline College.

Barbara’s ministry background is based largely in the Roman Catholic Church where she worked for more than 17 years in a variety of faith-based positions, including parish faith formation director, campus minister, newspaper reporter and program coordinator for Catholic Relief Services. She also worked for eight years in a performing arts ministry as a retreat leader, songwriter and storyteller.

Most recently Barbara worked for Episcopal Relief & Development as a training coordinator in US Disaster Preparedness and Response. She joined the Episcopal Church in 2010, with the long-term goal of priestly ordination.

Woven through her work in ministry is a passion for social, economic and environmental justice. Over the years, Barbara has worked on issues of peace and non-violence, cultural understanding, global and domestic poverty, sustainability and environmental stewardship.

For fun Barbara loves to read, make music, and turn broken things into mosaics. You’ll probably also see her riding her bike around West Mount Airy and Chestnut Hill. She might even stop and ask you for directions.

Barb began seminary in the fall of 2017. Read more here.

In June 2019, Barb was ordained a Deacon in the Episcopal Church, on her path to full priestly ordination later in the year. Read more about becoming a deacon here.

On Friday, December 13, 2019, Barbara was ordained to the Priesthood at St. Martin's.

The Rev. Carol Duncan attended the Shipley School and William Smith College in Geneva NY, majoring in English Lit. After school, she moved to Canton, Ohio to run the remnants of a family business.

She married her husband Bob, who was Vice President Smyth Systems, a data processing firm specializing in country club and golf tournament systems. Their daughter Christie was born in 1968, Kate in 1973.

At St. Paul’s Canton she served on the vestry and as a church school teacher. With the Diocese of Ohio she served on the Peace and Justice Commission. She received the Betty Leo award for outstanding social justice work.

In 1988 she became the Housing Development Coordinator of ICAN Housing Solutions, a non-profit that developed permanent supportive housing for the homeless living with mental illness. She served as president of the board of Coalition for Homelessness and Housing in Ohio (COHHIO), a nationally respected homeless advocacy organization.

She was ordained to the Diaconate in 1996. Her first parish was Trinity Alliance. In 2000 she returned as Deacon at her home parish St Paul’s where she served until 2011. Bob died in 2009. She retired from ICAN and moved to Philadelphia in September 2011. Her daughter Christie Duncan-Tessmer is General Secretary of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends.

Carol is Co-Chair of the Economic Dignity Team of Philadelphians Organized to Witness Empower and Rebuild (POWER). Its primary campaign is to create Philly solutions for Philly Poverty. A main thrust is to raise the minimum wage to $15 while supporting local businesses. Carol also serves on City Council’s Living Wage Committee and on the boards of Deaconess House Foundation, Teen UpRise, and Friends of the Chestnut Hill Library.

Interim Music Director, Dr. Lyn H. Loewi is “thrilled to be joining the work and mission at St. Martin’s. While visiting with the Reverend Jarrett Kerbel last month, I was struck by some really positive, appealing things. You are a congregation with diversity of backgrounds and views, and your approach is to find common ground where all feel welcome. The choir has both a strong sense of identity, and a sense of purpose. You not only sing well, you sing with spirit! What more could any musician ask?”

Originally from Cleveland, Lyn studied organ and conducting at the University of Michigan; the Schumann Institute in Dusseldorf, Germany; received her Doctor of Musical Arts at Stanford, and unanimous Grand and First Prizes in Organ at the National Conservatory in France, where she spent two years with the legendary Marie-Claire Alain. She served churches in Austin; St. Louis; and Portland, Oregon as music director, as well as teaching at Lewis and Clark College and the University of Minnesota.

Lyn comes to Philadelphia from Denver, where she was Assistant Organist and then Interim Organist and Music Director at St. John’s Cathedral in Denver. She has a long-standing interest in the music of women composers, both instrumental and choral, and was a featured speaker on this topic at last summer’s Association of Anglican Musicians meeting in Boston.

Lyn and husband, David, have three grown sons, the youngest of whom is a candidate for the ministry.

Tyrone writes, “I am beyond excited to have been appointed as the next Director of Music at St. Martin-in-the-Fields and I cannot wait to begin working with you all. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work in such a faithful, progressive, and musical church with such a wonderful tradition. My husband, Sean and I look forward very much to meeting you all.”

A prize-winning organist and conductor, Mr. Tyrone Whiting is a graduate of Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and the Royal College of Music, both in London, UK.

In September 2017, Tyrone was appointed Director of Music at Grace Church in Newark, New Jersey, USA and began work there in February 2018. At Grace Church, Tyrone extended the Chorister Choir School program, developed and expanded the adult choir, and founded a brand-new adult chamber choir, Brick City Chorus, raising the profile of music at Grace Church and the Arts in Newark, NJ.

He has been fortunate to perform at some of the top churches and venues including Westminster Abbey, the Royal Albert Hall, St. Sulpice and Le Mans cathedral in France, as well as featuring in Trinity Wall Street’s Pipes at One series last summer.

Prior to Tyrone’s arrival in the USA, he was Director of Music at St. Mary’s Parish Church, Battersea from 2012 to early 2018. At St. Mary’s, Tyrone established a biennial recital series as well as a new fully funded choral scholarship program, and conducted several large-scale concerts including Mozart and Fauré’s requiems, J. S. Bach’s St. John Passion, and Stainer’s Crucifixion. Collaborative work included conducting a recent commission by prominent British composer Simon Bainbridge written for the Choir of St. Mary’s, as well as working as accompanist for the Philharmonia Chorus under conductors Stefan Bevier and Yaron Traub.

Passionate about teaching, Tyrone was awarded the Licentiateship diploma of Trinity College, London (LTCL) in Instrumental/Vocal Teaching with a high distinction and worked in and around London as a teacher of organ, piano, and theory. He was formerly Head of Music at Elmhurst Independent School for Boys for 3 years and worked as an animateur in London schools and the London Mozart Players.

As a pianist, Tyrone has studied with Philip Fowke, Andrew Zolinsky, and Alvin Moisey. He performs often as a soloist, accompanist, and répétiteur, holding the Licentiateship diploma of the Royal School of Music (LRSM) in Piano Performance.

More information about Tyrone can be found at www.tyronewhiting.com.

Prior to St. Martin’s Natalee Hill worked for the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia for nearly eight years, starting as the Administrative Intern and moving up most recently to Communications Manager. Natalee is a graduate of Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA from which she graduated in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre with concentrations in Stage Management and Performance. There, she worked as a Stage Manager for both college productions and the professional Summer Music Theater, and also held a work-study position assisting the Director of Marketing & Development in the Department of Theatre & Dance.

Natalee grew up in Connecticut a member of the UCC, where she was an active member in her church, participating in the choirs, Youth Fellowship, and teaching at Vacation Bible School and for Sunday School. In 2003, upon moving to the Philadelphia area for work, Natalee joined a United Methodist Church. There she sang with the church choirs and volunteered with the youth program. In 2006, Natalee and her husband took over the Youth Director position part-time. They led the program until 2011, including a yearly summer mission trip on Appalachia Service Project and events and fundraisers throughout the year. She travelled to Haiti in 2012 with UMC Volunteers in Mission to witness and assist with continued rebuilding after the 2010 earthquake.

Natalee joined St. Martin’s staff in 2011. Since then, she has earned her certificate in Church Management from Villanova School of Business. She and her family joined the Episcopal Church in 2017. Natalee is a member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Swarthmore where she sings and leads the children’s ministry. Natalee serves on the Board of Episcopal Communicators. She lives in Delaware County with her husband Nathan and two boys, Liam and Ezra.

James worked as the weekend Sexton for many years at St. Martin’s assisting with set-ups, special events and Sunday hospitality before being hired on full time in December 2011. James lives with his wife Avis. Their adult son Joshua also lives in Philadelphia.

Zachary (Zach) Dean returns as our interim Office Assistant. He was with us last summer during Mary Button's CPE. A final-year student at United Lutheran Seminary, Zach returns to us having just completed his internship at Calvary Lutheran Church in West Chester.

Arlene V. Edmonds grew up in the NYC area and has lived in the same townhouse in Mt. Airy for her whole adult life. She has a BA in journalism from Temple University, where she studied poetry with Sonia Sanchez. She earned her MA in English/Writing Studies from St. Joseph’s University with a poetry thesis directed by April Lindner. Recently, she earned her MFA in Creative Writing from Rutgers University.

Besides writing poetry, fiction, literary nonfiction, and magazine articles, Arlene has been a prolific freelance newspaper journalist with more than 10K bylines, a news editor, a music/piano/dance teacher, a feng shui expert, and for the past 12 years an adjunct professor in PA, NJ, and MD. Arlene also has two adult daughters, Juliana and Janielle.

Mike lives in Malvern, PA. He has been married to Betsy Wolford since 1990. They have a daughter, Molly, who attends college in Maryland, and an adorable Bichon Frisé. Mike was received into the Episcopal Church in 1993 at Christ Church in Reading, PA after being raised Lutheran. He and his family have been members of Good Samaritan in Paoli since 1998.

Lacy Powell is a Midwest girl living in a Philly world. She grew up in the rural Missouri Ozarks & graduated from Drury University with a degree in Psychology & Education in 2008. She has been married to her husband Daniel for 7 years and they share one son together, Jaxon. Lacy is an is an Army spouse, a passionate communicator, an energetic doer, and an open ear. She grew up in an area where food insecurity and poverty were mainstays for a lot of people. Unable to do much as a child, SUPPER brings her the welcome opportunity to get her hands dirty & work towards a solution as an adult. She’s passionate about meeting the physical, spiritual, and communal needs of our friends and neighbors as we grow and invest in the SUPPER community. When not working, you can find Lacy doing urban beekeeping, making stained glass windows, or cooking up a storm.

When St. Martin’s Church welcomed volunteer singers into the adult choir in 1981, Connie volunteered. She is still singing, and the choir has grown from nine to 35. Her St. Martin’s journey has included choir librarian, three soup kitchens, board of Women of St. Martin’s, outreach committee, book room (now out of circulation) reorganizer and coordinator, clerk of the vestry and, her favorite, playing Peppermint Patty in St. Martin’s production of You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown in 1986. Currently she works alongside over 100 parishioners as liturgical coordinator, with hopes that many more will come on board. A graduate of Cornell University with a major in English, Connie taught in Ithaca High School and in the Wissahickon School District for 17 years. She and her husband, Dick, a retired research chemist, have lived in their Fort Washington home for 46 years where they raised three sons. They are fortunate to have three grand-daughters who live nearby. When Connie and Dick are not busy at St. Martin’s, they enjoy musical events, visits with family and friends, and travel, near and far.

Daniel Cooper is a young Audio Visual professional in Philadelphia. He has worked with many churches including Swarthmore Presbyterian Church and Grace Epiphany Episcopal Church. For the past five years, Daniel has operated audio systems small to large at churches and at concerts. Daniel has been a member of St. Martin's his whole life and has recently started as The Associate for Audio Visual Technology. Daniel has certifications for audio from Shure, Audinate and QSC. Daniel also has taken almost 10 courses from ETC and has worked with multiple lighting softwares such as ETC Nomad and GrandMA2. Daniel is on his way to a CTS certification, an audio visual certification from the organization AVIXA and is taking networking courses with Cisco online. Daniel looks forward to further sharing his talents with the church and bettering systems for the future.