Sundays
8:30am Worship Service, Rite 1
9:30am Bible Study in Griswold Room and via zoom
10:30am Worship Service, Rite 2
10:30am Godly Play
Vestry
The Vestry of the parish has the responsibility to work with the Rector in oversight for the earthly concerns of the parish, and to support the priest and parish as they oversee the spiritual concerns of the parish and community. The Vestry determines the annual budget and oversees all programs, organizations, activities, and ministries. The Vestry is comprised of four officers (two Wardens, Treasurer and Secretary) and seven members who serve as liaisons to parish ministries. All Vestry members are elected by vote of parish members at the Annual Meeting. The Vestry meets on the second Monday of each month. Meetings are open to all parishioners.
Charlie Potts, Senior Warden
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Charlie joined Saint Ann’s Parish in 2016, after moving to Old Lyme from Freeport, ME, with his artist wife, Lindy Lyman. They have four sons, two daughters, three daughters-in-law, seven grandsons, and two granddaughters. He and Lindy are most grateful for the warm and always welcoming community of Saint Ann’s.
Charlie has degrees in Psychology, Business, and Education. Professionally, he has been an employee benefits consultant, a Manufacturer’s Representative, a Registered Investment Advisor, and a principal in a Real Estate and Investment company. In 2011, he received Secondary Educator’s Certification, first in English, and later in History, Economics, Business, and Humanities. In 2020, Charlie completed Education for Ministry, a multi-year seminar course in theology offered through The Beecken Center for Faith, Learning, and Ministry at Sewanee.
Jacob Hale Russell, Warden
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Jacob, a life-long Episcopalian, grew up in New Hampshire and Boston, but has lived all over—New York, Philadelphia, California, Maine, and now here in Old Lyme. Jacob and his family, Elizabeth and August, joined Saint Ann’s in 2023 shortly after their arrival.
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Jacob has found it easy to make Saint Ann’s his parish home given its warm and welcoming community. He serves at the altar and has chaired the Stewardship Committee this past year.
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Jacob is a law professor, teaching business and property law at Rutgers Law School in New Jersey. In the community, Jacob is on the board of the Old Lyme Land Trust. He enjoys cooking, kayaking, hiking with his five- year-old son, August, and has recently developed a love for birding.
Peter Griffin, Treasurer
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Peter is a life-long Episcopalian and has been a member of Saint Ann’s for 40 years. He has served Saint Ann’s in various positions over the years including Treasurer and Senior Warden.
Peter and his wife Candide were married at Saint Ann’s in 2005. Peter’s first wife Pam and his parents Gloria and Robert (Grif) are interred in our Memorial Garden. He is an engineer by training with B.S. and M.S. from Cornell University and MBA from UConn. He has recently retired after 22 years as President of Essex Products Group and Greaves Corporation, a manufacturing company located in Centerbrook, CT.
Jill Whitney, Clerk
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Jill is a licensed marriage and family therapist who lives and works in Old Lyme, focusing on couples and adult individuals. She loves doing what she can to make people’s lives a little better.
Jill’s two children, Jordan and Kirsten Brink, were raised and confirmed at Saint Ann’s. They now live in Norwalk and Boston, respectively—fortunately, not too far away!
In her 35 years at Saint Ann’s, Jill has served as a lector, clerk of the vestry, church school teacher and Godly Play storyteller, volunteer for the Shoreline Soup Kitchen, and on committees including Youth Ministry, Pastoral Care, the board of the ECW/Women of Saint Ann’s, and two discernment committees. She’s grateful to have participated in one of our mission trips to the Dominican Republic.
​​Karin Larsen, Christian Formation
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Karin is a lifelong Episcopalian, growing up in Middletown, CT, at The Church of the Holy Trinity, where she met her husband, the late Rev. Erik Larsen. Over their 37 years of marriage, Karin accompanied Erik as he served at parishes in Connecticut, Hong Kong, and Rhode Island. When their sons were older, Karin took posi- tions as Church Music Director in CT, and later RI, retiring in 2022. She also worked at various other jobs as the family moved, such as teaching music, special education paraprofessional, parish administrator, and physical therapy office assistant. She has also composed several choir anthems and service music settings.
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Karin came to Saint Ann’s shortly after retiring from St. Andrew’s-by-the-Sea, RI. She lives in Waterford and knew Mother Anita from when they were both in RI. She enjoys running, traveling, playing with her grandson, walking her dog, Barnacle, helping her 94 year-old mom, and occasionally substituting on the organ for various churches. She’s also learning about gardening, with mixed results.
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Karin holds a Music Education degree from the Hartt School, and has 2 grown sons, who don’t live close enough to Waterford, in her opinion. Greg is a scientist for the National Park Service in Juneau, AK, and Ben is a cellist in NYC, married to Hyungjin Choi, a pianist. They have a 6 year-old son, Phillip, who has Karin com- pletely wrapped around his finger.
Mark Read, Building & Grounds
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Mark Read was baptized and confirmed at Christ Church in Rye, NY, and was active in the youth fellowship there. He attended Amherst College (earning a BA in English), where he was active in the Amherst Christian Fellowship. He has attended Grace Church in New York City, where he led a Bible study group for 7 years, and St. Dunstan’s in Carmel, CA.
Mark works full-time for Sensei Project Solutions where he advises clients on project management systems based on the Microsoft platform. His clients include multinational corporations, municipal and state agencies, and non-governmental organizations.
Mark served on the Berkeley City Club Board of Directors (and as President for 3 years) overseeing operations and restoration projects for this 90-plus-year-old organization, and is currently treasurer of Little Simon Proper- ties Inc, a 120-year-old Adirondack camp.
Mark moved to Old Lyme in 2022 after 25 years in California to be with his mother Jean, a long-time parishio- ner at Saint Ann’s. Mark was married this past year at Saint Ann’s to Anne Redfield. Anne serves on the Town of Old Lyme’s Open Space Commission. We both have two children each from previous marriages.
Tom Angers, Nearly New Shop
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Tom joined Saint Ann’s in January of 2022 when he and his husband, Tim VanDaff, moved from their former parish of Saint Stephen’s in East Haddam. In 2024 Tom was elected to the Vestry of Saint Ann’s. Tom is a member of the Stewardship Committee and serves as the Vestry Liaison to the Neary New Shop.
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Tom received a BA in Classics from Colby College and an MBA from Columbia University. He is a retired Ex- ecutive vice President of BNY in New York City where he worked in various human resources roles for 25 years, including serving as the Head of Human Resources for the company for 9 years. In addition to his work in Human Resources, Tom served as the Chief Adimistration Officer for Global Issuer Services, Global Pay- ments and Trade Services at BNY. While living in New York City, Tom was a member of Saint Bartholomew’s Church in Manhattan, and was invited to join the board of Episcopal Charities of New York where he served for 8 years and was on the audit committee.
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Since retiring from BNY, Tom and Tim have lived in Lyme since 2012 and Tom has been involved in a number of assignments. Serving on the vestry of his former parish for 6 years, Tom was also on the stewardship com- mittee and administration/finance committee. When the rector of his former parish was called to a new parish, working closely with the diocese, Tom worked on the search committee for a new priest, who now has been name rector. In addition to his parish work, Tom also served on the board of the Lyman Allyn Art Museum for 6 years where he was a member of both the finance and the education committees and he served as the museum secretary.
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Tom and Tim are devoted members of the Saint Ann’s family, and hope to contribute to the growth of the parish in the years ahead.
Alden Rockwell Murphy, Communications
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Alden has been a member of Saint Ann’s for 30 years, since she and her husband Jamie moved here from NYC with their sons Alec and Graham. During her time here, Alden has served as Clerk, Jr. Warden and Sr. Warden; she has taught Godly Play and co-founded the Becoming Beloved Community Committee. She co-chaired, along with Charlie Potts, the Lift-Up, securing funds to install a lift at Saint Ann’s, thus making our campus fully accessible. Her greatest love at Saint Ann’s is singing in the choir.
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Before coming to CT, Alden worked in publications at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. After relocating to CT, Alden worked as a music therapist on the staff at CT Hospice. Alden is President and one of the co-founders of Musical Masterworks, a chamber music series in Old Lyme. She is also a devoted member of The Anglican Singers, along with several other Saint Ann’s folks.
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Alden enjoys hiking and yoga, travel and spending time with her family, especially their newborn grandson John Slater Murphy!
Becca Pote, Outreach
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A retired teacher, Becca and her husband, John have called Old Lyme home for over four decades. They have been members of Saint Ann’s for almost as long. Their daughters, Emily and Chelsea, were raised, confirmed, and served as acolytes here.
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Raised Baptist (Mom) and Greek Orthodox (Dad), Becca was confirmed here by Bishop Rowthorn. Past iterations of her service to the church include vestry member, search committee member, Nearly New and soup kitchen volunteer, church school teaching, pageant coordination, lecturing, ushering, and ECW/Women of Saint Ann’s board member.
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Becca enjoys reading, walking, gardening (mostly chasing deer), and being four-year old Leo’s Gran.
Dan Vakili, Fellowship
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In late September of 2022, I moved to Old Lyme with my daughter, Carina. I was newly separated and looking for a fresh start.
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In my youth I served as an acolyte at St. James Episcopal Church in Oneonta, NY, and remembered the sense of community and the support being a member of a church provided. So, as part of that fresh start, I decided that I would begin going to church regularly.
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I chose Saint Ann's Church because it was Episcopalian and it was close. As a community, this parish has been and continues to be incredibly welcoming to both myself and my daughter. Since joining I try to make the most of opportunities to be useful and help where I am able.
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I enjoy many things including cooking, running, and hiking. I also like dogs and hope to get one soon. But most of all, I love being Carina's Dad.