Clergy and Staff

A native of Lancaster, PA, The Rev'd Dr. Anita Louise Schell has for over 40 years served in congregations and schools in New York City, Philadelphia, Vermont and Rhode Island. She holds degrees in music, English literature, and world religions from Brown University, General Seminary and the Episcopal Divinity School, where she wrote her doctorate thesis on the topic of environmental justice. Most recently Anita served for four years as President of RI Interfaith Power & Light. She is a Board Director for the Swan Point Cemetery in Providence. She currently serves as the Convener of the Environmental Network of the Episcopal Church in CT. Anita is a member of the Alumni Executive Committee of the General Theological Seminary.

Anita had been the Provisional Priest-in-Charge of Saint Ann’s Parish since August 1, 2019. On January 1, 2022 she became the seventh rector of Saint Ann's Parish.

Anita is the mother of Theo and Rachel and grandmother to Crosby and Quentin. She is married to Stephen MacAusland, a passionate environmentalist, paddler and videographer. Anita is avid about classical, particularly vocal, music, yoga, kayaking and being a vegetarian. Anita and Steve share their household with their adorable dog, a German shorthair pointer labrador named Charlotte. They are thrilled to be a part of the community of Saint Ann's Parish and to be living in coastal CT!

Contact Mother Anita at priest@saintannsoldlyme.org

Kathy Rowe, our Parish Administrator and Bookkeeper, is a cradle Episcopalian and has been employed by Saint Ann’s since 1996. Prior to Saint Ann’s, Kathy graduated from Bryant University in Rhone Island, worked in the Sales Department at Turbo Products in Ivoryton, Connecticut, and worked part-time at Scholes Insurance Agency in Essex, Connecticut. An avid lover of all things small, Kathy is accompanied to work each day by her faithful companion dogs Ember and Zoey. Kathy adores her granddaughter, Sadie, who also attends Saint Ann’s.

A passion of Kathy's is dancing, and she and her husband enjoy an active lifestyle together. Fitness, prayer and good nutrition are major components of a healthy, balanced life, along with the blessing of being a member of the Saint Ann’s family.

Contact Kathy at office@saintannsoldlyme.org or 860-434-1621.

Hector B. Migliacci, our Director of Music, is a native of Cornwall, CT, and began his service in church music as a fourth grader, playing piano at the Sunday evening church services of his childhood church in Litchfield, CT. While in high school, he became the organist at the Lakeville United Methodist Church and studied piano and organ with Annette Hunt at the Hotchkiss School.

At the Virginia Military Institute, where Hector earned a B.S. in Biology, he was the Cadet Chapel Organist and Glee Club accompanist. He continued studying organ and piano with Timothy Gaylord at Washington & Lee University, and with Marjorie Mitchell in Charlottesville, VA. From 1998 to 2010, Hector was the Director of Music at St. Michael’s Church in Greenwich, CT, where he worked to develop the music ministry, growing the adult choir and adding cherub, chorister and teen choirs to the program. From 2010 to 2013, he was the organist at St. Benedict Church in Bronx, NY; and from 2013 to 2018, he was the organist at Church of the Resurrection in Rye, NY.

Hector is an active resident member of the St. Wilfrid Club for Organists in Manhattan, and a member of the New York City, New Haven, and New London Chapters of the American Guild of Organists. He sings tenor with The Anglican Singers, and is a member of the Old Lyme Town Band, studying trumpet with Joel Baroody. Hector is a Senior Agency Producer at Avrett Free Ginsberg, one of Interpublic Group’s advertising agencies in New York City; and he resides in Old Lyme with his family.

Contact Hector at music@saintannsoldlyme.org

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Pat Lindahl is the Manager of our Nearly New Consignment Shop.

After 28 years at Yale University, School of Medicine, in various management positions, Pat retired. A friend who owned the Cedar Chest Consignment Shop in Clinton, CT asked her to help there since she had been involved with that Cedar Chest for over thirty years. When that shop was sold, she moved on to Cedar Chest III in Old Saybrook and worked there until Covid-19 struck.

When she saw the online advertisement for a Manager of the Nearly New Shop in Old Lyme, she immediately applied, not only because the job description was a fit, but also because she wanted to be a part of a worthwhile cause and Saint Ann’s mission spoke directly to her.

She reports (three days in) that she is delighted with the shop, the work and the staff and volunteers she has worked with and looks forward to meeting the others.

Maria Purdue, Assistant Manager at our Nearly New Shop, formerly of New Jersey and retired to Connecticut in 1990 when she and her husband retired from MetLife. As a child, she and her family spent summers with her aunt and uncle on Sill Lane. The property and pond seemed like paradise, and she dreamed that one day she would live in Connecticut.

Maria has 5 children, 2 daughters and a son who followed her and resides in CT, a daughter in New Hampshire and another daughter who still lives in New Jersey. She is blessed with 8 grandchildren and 1 great grandson. Maria has been a volunteer for over 18 years. The shop has been a fun and important part of her life as well as the valued friendships she made over years at the shop and Saint Ann’s Church.

Phyllis Bjornberg-Haut, one of the Assistant Managers at Nearly New is a retired nurse, living in Deep River with her UCC minister husband, two cats, Harry and Mina and her 17 year old dog, Jake. Her lengthy nursing career included hospital nursing, a Life Care management position, her own foot care business and many medical mission trips to the Dominican Republic, Haiti and El Salvador. She also held a Wildlife Rehabilitation license, caring for orphaned squirrels. She has three sons and two beautiful granddaughters which are an integral and wonder-filled part of her daily life.

Phyllis was a “frequent flyer” at NN and was struck by the positive energy and welcoming spirit there. “It was always a pleasure to shop and consign at NN.” Noticing the poster asking for volunteers, she applied and fell in love with volunteering there. That led to an opening for an Assistant Manager position, she applied and was hired. “I love my job! The shop, the customers and the wonderful friendly group of folks I work with. It’s different from nursing but the same, serving people, isn’t that what our lives are about?”

Things that make her happy: gardening, playing the piano, reading and just sitting outside with a cup of coffee listening to the birds.

Wendy Shaffer joined the Saint Ann's family in 2018 as the administrator of our Capital Fundraising Campaign and soon after became our Communications Coordinator. Wendy built and maintains Saint Ann's new website which was launched in May of 2018. She also administers our Facebook page.

Wendy grew up in Middletown, CT, earned a Bachelors Degree in Biology from Rutgers University, and graduated from Yale's School of Diagnostic Medical Sonography. During her 23 year career as the Chief Ultrasound Technician in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Yale-New Haven Hospital, Wendy also worked as an Adjunct Professor at a local Community College and as an expert witness in legal cases involving prenatal diagnosis. She left that field to pursue other interests including working at Ursel's Web Custom Framing and Gift Shop in Middletown, CT, and volunteering at a nearby cat shelter.

Contact Wendy at communications@saintannsoldlyme.org