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Jonathan Melton
RectorIn January 2023, Fr. Jonathan was called to serve as the 8th Rector of St. James Episcopal Church and School, having previously served for 15 years in a variety of settings, as rector, associate, and university campus minister in both Wisconsin and Texas. An East Dallas native, Fr. Jonathan is a skilled listener, connector, and lover of the Gospel. He dabbles in guitar and stop motion animation, majoring in family life (he and his wife Rebekah are busy raising 4 kids) and, well, probably just that. But he loves to read, write, and hike, and is always up for coffee with new friends. A lifelong Episcopalian, Fr. Jonathan studied economics at Wheaton College and has an M.Div. with a concentration in Anglican/Episcopal Studies from Duke Divinity School in Durham, NC.
Rev. Phil Snyder
DeaconPhil Snyder and his wife, Beverly joined St. James Episcopal Church in 1995. He began the Ordination Process in 2000 and was ordained a Deacon on June 5, 2004 and assigned to St. James. In August 2011, when Trinity Episcopal Church faced serious issues, Bishop Stanton assigned Deacon Phil to that congregation to help them grow. On the First Sunday of Advent 2018, Deacon Phil returned to St. James.
Deacon Phil enjoys serving Christ in serving the hungry, homeless, sick, and those in prison. With his wife, he has been serving in the Kairos prison ministry since 1995 and prison ministry remains a passion of his. He actively serves at the Austin Street Centre with the St. James teams. He also enjoys teaching and preaching. He recently retired from his “day job” and is devoting more of his time to prison ministry, serving as a volunteer chaplain at the Coffield maximum security prison.
Sophie Lowrance
Parish AdministratorEmail:sophie@stjamesdallas.org
Jared Phares
Director of OperationsAfter more than a decade of working in youth ministry roles at churches in the Dallas area, Jared is now taking on the responsibilities of directing the operations at St. James Episcopal Church.
Jared has been married to his wife, Andi, since 2015 and welcomed their first son John Henry (Hank), in November 2017. In their free time, they love spending time at coffee shops, going to baseball games, and enjoying live music when they can. Jared, Andi, and Hank live in Rockwall with their dog Mavis.
Jing Ling-Tam
ORGANIST & CHOIR DIRECTORJing Ling-Tam is an internationally acclaimed conductor, educator, and clinician, known for her dynamic artistry and innovative approaches to choral and vocal music. She has conducted in over 45 U.S. states and 20 countries and frequently presents at major conferences such as the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA).
She served 16 seasons with the Fort Worth Opera Association as Associate Conductor, Chorus Master, and Principal Coach Pianist, and taught for 11 summers at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. Her work as a guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator has taken her to festivals and competitions worldwide.
Ling-Tam was first appointed choir director at age 15 at Taipei Wesley Methodist Church in Taiwan. She later served as organist and choir director at West Medford Congregational Church (Massachusetts), St. Andrew’s Cathedral (Anglican, Singapore), First Christian Church (Denton, Texas), Church of the Holy Apostles (Fort Worth, Texas),and St. Andrew’s Catholic Church (Fort Worth, Texas).
She is currently Professor of Music at the University of Texas at Arlington. A choral series published by Alliance Music of Houston bears her name.
Dr. Angela Urick
Director of Formation for Children & Youth
Pamela Pedraza
Nursery Worker
Jeanette Paramo
Nursery Worker
Loree Birkenback
Head of SchoolLoree Birkenback is the head of school at St. James. She has a degree in Life Sciences from Louisiana Tech University and a Masters of Arts in Education and Curriculum Design. She received her Montessori training from Dallas Montessori Academy and her lower elementary certification from the American Montessori Society.
Mrs. Loree taught at St. James for 12 years where she spent 3 years in an all school gardening and art program and 9 years as the lead teacher in the Lower Elementary classroom. In this time, she evaluated and designed curriculum for up to 5 different age levels and coordinated field trips to tie into the curriculum. She added several programs to the school including the bi-annual science fair, career week, and the elementary camp out.
She completed courses in Junior Great Books, Teaching for the Multi-Intelligence, Chicago’s Everyday Math, Hands-On-Algebra, Hands-On Science, and the Shelton Summer Series for Learning Differences. She also has served on two Accreditation teams for the Southwestern Association of Episcopal Schools.
Mrs. Loree lives in Rockwall with her husband and youngest child, Logan. Her son Dylan is in the Air Force stationed at Barksdale. Her youngest daughter Coral works at St. James in the Mother’s Day Out program. Her youngest son attended St. James beginning with the toddler program and continued through the fourth grade. Her other two children live locally and visit often.
Mrs. Loree enjoys spending time camping, canoeing, and mountain biking with her family.
Lisa Wilson
School AdministratorMs. Lisa began her SJES journey as a substitute in 1995 – the same year her daughter, Jordan, started as a 3 year old. Then in the fall of 1997, she became a full time employee, serving various roles from assistant in the primary classroom, to school administrator. In the fall of 2011, Ms. Lisa took over as Head of the After School Care Program and continues to serves as school administrator. Jordan continued as a student at St. James through 3rd grade and graduated from the University of Arkansas in the spring of 2015.
Lisa enjoys watching movies and walking her dog Charlie during her free time.
email Lisa:lisawilson@stjamesdallas.org