church leadership

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The Very Reverend Sanford (Sandy) Key is a retired police officer from Charleston (SC) who, after five years on the force, followed his lifelong dream of pursuing a life in ministry. In 1997, Sandy and his wife, Laura, moved to Sewanee, Tennessee, where he received a Master of Divinity from the School of Theology, University of the South. Fr. Sandy comes to us after serving as a Rector and Associate Rector in both New York and Connecticut. Prior to his arrival in the Northeast, Fr. Sandy served several churches throughout the South—in particular, Charlotte, NC; Charleston, SC; and Williamsburg, VA. He is still a southerner at heart.

In his former positions as a priest, Fr. Sandy served the communities in which he lived in a variety of ways, including volunteering as a New York State Fire Chaplain, City of Rye Police Chaplain, and the City of Rye and Town of Somers Volunteer Fire Department Chaplain. He also served on the boards of At Home in Somers, NY (an eldercare alliance), and the Whole Child Coalition for the Somers school district. Additionally, Fr. Sandy created a church Food Pantry, a church Golf League, a Theology on Tap forum, and a Tuesdays with Sandy adult forum and a daily Podcast.

Laura and Sandy have two sons. Will, a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology in its Industrial Design program, and Christopher, a graduate from the College of Charleston with a business degree.

To read Fr. Sandy's full bio, click here.

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The Ven. Sarah Woodard has made her home in Durham for a number of years and has been active in the community. After graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill, she began working in Durham at CCB’s Trust Department, National Humanities Center followed by a 42-year career at Duke University and the Health System, most recently in Human Resources.

Sarah was ordained to the diaconate in 2009 and has served at St. Titus’ Episcopal Church and at the Episcopal Center at Duke. She is interested in community outreach and pastoral services. She is a longtime hospital chaplain and serves as Dean of the Durham Convocation.

Her community activities have included serving as President of the Junior League of Durham and Orange Counties and Sister Cities of Durham. Currently, she serves on the boards of the Eno River Association, the North Carolina Council of Churches, and the Johnson Service Corps. She is a two-term president of the Sir Walter Cabinet, the organization of spouses of elected state officials.

Sarah’s hobbies include reading, walking and hiking. Sarah is married to Mike Woodard. They are the parents of Molly, their beloved English Cocker Spaniel.

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The Rev. Stephen Elkins-Williams served as Rector at Chapel of the Cross, Chapel Hill from 1985-2015. He grew up in a devout Roman Catholic family in Missoula, MT. At age 20, he joined the Society of Jesus and earned a degree in philosophy at Gonzaga University; he followed with a Masters of Divinity degree at Regis College in Toronto. His education kindled a keen interest in Ignatian Spirituality, and he was ordained a Catholic priest in 1975. While working in campus ministry at Seattle University, he met a member of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, Betsy Elkins, of Durham, North Carolina. Their friendship deepened, and after a year of discernment, Stephen left the Jesuits, and he and Betsy were married in 1978. They joined the staff of St. Stephen's, Seattle as youth ministers, and Stephen was received as an Episcopal priest in 1982. They moved to Chapel Hill and raised two sons, Tyler, a plastic surgeon in local practice, and Peter, with The Washington Post (Sr. Director for Global Partnerships and Corporate Development). Tyler and his wife, Priti, have two sons, Walker and Sutton, and a daughter, Palmer. Peter and his wife, Katie, have a son, Henry. The Word of Love, a compendium of about 80 of Stephen’s sermons, is available on the Amazon or Barnes & Noble websites.

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Dr. Jeremy Godwin joined St. Stephen’s in the summer of 2013, just after graduating from Yale Divinity School with a Master of Divinity degree. Prior to that time, he received his bachelor’s degree in music education from East Carolina University in 2003 and then taught middle and high school choral music for three years. He completed a Ph.D. in education in 2019 at UNC-Chapel Hill, where he focused on cultural studies and qualitative research. St. Stephen’s was also the site of his dissertation research that led to the launch of the Creative Belonging project at our parish, a program that seeks to build community across lines of difference, especially race. He and his wife, Elizabeth, along with their two sons, Isaac and Nathan, love being a part of this parish family.

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Vacant.

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Susan Steel joined St. Stephen's staff in October of 2022. She is a resident of Raleigh, NC for the past 7 years and a resident of the US for 34 years. Susan her husband Martin, moved here from England, originally living in Philadelphia, PA then Sparta, NJ before moving to North Carolina. They have two children, Jack, aged 33 and Alice, aged 31. Martin and Susan are active members of Trinity Episcopal Church in Fuquay Varina.

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Matty Alexander joined St. Stephen's staff in August 2024. He is a resident of Durham and a lifelong North Carolinian. Matty holds a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MA from Duke University. He is an active parishioner at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in Raleigh. Matty's door is always open if you have a request, question, or just want to stop by for a chat.

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Andy McDaniel, and his wife, Wanda and have attended St. Stephen’s for over 8 years. They have been active volunteers in many food-related activities, yard sales and most recently the renovation of the cottage. Before St. Stephen’s Andy attended St. Luke’s in northern Durham for over 30 years. Andy and Wanda have a precious rescue dog named Peaches who is part chihuahua and pug. Between the two of them they have 5 children, with the youngest being 42 years old. Andy was a Project Manager / Forensic Chemist at RTI International for 43 years before retiring in 2020 during COVID.