Church of Good Shepherd Reading, MA
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  • Home
  • Newcomer
    • Virtual Member
    • Worship
  • Parish Life
    • A Journey By Stages
    • Parishioner Spotlight
    • Staff
    • Vestry
    • Ministries
    • History
    • Stewardship
    • Pastoral Care
    • Community Involvement
    • Church Calendar
    • Photos
  • Sunday School
  • Bargain Box
  • Realm
  • Contact Us

Vestry

The vestry is the governing board of an Episcopal parish and consists of the rector, the wardens, the treasurer, the clerk and lay members. Wardens, treasurer, clerk and lay members are nominated and elected by the congregation at its annual meeting, generally held at Good Shepherd on the last Sunday in January. 

Our vestry meets once a month and all members of the congregation are welcome.  The meetings are the second Tuesday of the month at 7 PM in the church lounge and are open to all members of the parish.

The Senior Warden is viewed as the "top" lay person and in large parishes, serves as a liaison between the rector and the parish. 

While the tasks of the Junior Warden vary from parish to parish, the majority of Junior Wardens, including Good Shepherd's are placed in charge of the Buildings and Grounds Committee. 

Next Vestry Meeting: Tuesday, June 8, 2021 at 7:00 PM via Zoom

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Senior Warden: Jane Farrar
Jane is originally from Waltham and moved to Reading when she married her husband Bob in 1987.  They have two daughters, Erin and Courtney.  Jane has been a member of the Church of the Good Shepherd for more than twenty years.  During that time she has served a previous term on the Vestry, taught Sunday School and is currently a member of the Altar Guild.  She also participated in the diocesan Godly Play curriculum training, and the adoption and implementation of the curriculum at Good Shepherd.  She has volunteered her time over the years with the Fair, Sunday School events such as the Christmas Pageant, and the Feeding Ministry. Jane has degrees from Framingham State College and Simmons College.  She recently retired from the Wakefield Public Schools after 37 years as a teacher and administrator.  She enjoys spending time with family and friends and participating in a number of volunteer activities.  

Email: srwarden@goodshepherdreading.org

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Junior Warden: Bob Newton​
​Bob grew up in Winchester and first moved to Reading in 1967 with his wife Gail. They have two great kids, Jen and Rob and three above average grandkids, Vivi, Hank and Spenser. Bob retired from the City of Boston as a Senior Project Manager in the Capital Construction Division. 

Returning to Reading in 2010, Gail and Bob joined Good Shepherd. He helped with Bargain Box, served on the Property Committee and a previous Vestry term for three years. 
Bob also served on the Real Estate Advisory Committee of the Diocese Standing Committee. In addition he served three years on the Reading Library Building Committee. 

The family enjoys spending summers at their vacation home in Wolfeboro, NH. 

Email: jrwarden@goodshepherdreading.org

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Ruby Cox: Treasurer
After moving to Reading from Lowell, Ruby married her husband Morgan (now deceased) at the Church of the Good Shepherd in 1979 and have been members for over thirty-eight years. Together they enjoyed their travels to Bermuda, Europe and throughout the United States. Ruby holds two master's degrees from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and Salem State University and is retired from a thirty-eight year teaching career in Wilmington, Massachusetts.

Currently she is serving as the church Altar Guild Coordinator and has previously been Clerk of the Vestry and has assisted in Sunday School Curriculum development. Other volunteer activities included helping with the church cleaning crews and The Feeding Ministry. She also enjoys being part of the many activities offered at The Church of the Good Shepherd

​Email: treasurer@goodshepherdreading.org

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Joyce Witham: Clerk
Joyce grew up in Maine, and as the daughter of church music director experienced several different denominations before choosing to be confirmed in the Episcopal church as a teenager. After attending Bates College in Maine, Joyce became passionate about safety and continues to pursue a career as a safety and business continuity professional at an insurance company.

Joyce met her husband Kevin while still in high school and they were married in St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Rockland, Maine after college. They are the proud parents of three children, one of whom is now an adult living in Iowa, and two teens who are active in the church. Together they have lived in Texas and Florida before moving to Reading.
 
Joyce has served on the vestry and participated in many different activities at the church and looks forward to her work as clerk.


Lay Members

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Spencer Dalby is a Hoosier. Born & raised in Indiana. After graduating from Indiana University school of business in 1970 he moved to Stowe, VT for two years. In 1973, he married Susan the love of his life. They are still in the home in North Reading they purchased in 1976. They have two children and five grandkids. Always involved with the kids he coached little league and was Cubmaster. There have been many family trips throughout the USA and abroad. For many years a member of the North Reading Gourmet Club and still loves to cook. Spencer is an amateur athlete participating in marathons, triathlons and long distance lake swimming. Now retired he continues to sign up for events and travels with his Director of Logistics, Susan, at his side.

Spencer and Susan joined the CGS in 2008. They love the close relationships formed in the small and welcoming church and the family values and spirituality afforded to all. This is Spencer's second term on the Vestry. He also serves as Eucharistic Minister. Is on the lawn mowing committee and together with Susan are a cleaning team.






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​Peter Gorman 
Raised on Long Island, Peter moved to Newton, Mass., in 1993 after being wooed by his future wife, Julie, who commented on the night they met a year earlier that she would “live and die in Boston.” Over the years, Peter has held managerial roles at several public relations agencies and software companies throughout New England, and currently owns Black Rocket Consulting, LLC., an independent PR consultancy for emerging tech businesses, which he formed in 2013.
 
In 2001, Peter and Julie moved to North Reading, where they currently reside with their three children, Will, Matt, and Grace. As a former Little League, youth basketball and lacrosse coach, Peter has long been active in his community.
 
Having both been raised Catholic, Peter and Julie joined Church of the Good Shepherd in 2014 after a long search for a faith-based community which more aligned with their strong beliefs in inclusion for all. Upon joining CGS, Peter leveraged his marketing background to help form and lead the church’s Communications Committee. He has also assisted with the church’s lawnmowing and is currently active in baking for the Bread of Life Feeding Ministry and assisting Julie with church-cleaning duties.​
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Ryan Tahmaseb 
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moved to Reading in 2016 with his wife, Katie, and their dog, Parker. They bought an old house (circa 1880) that needed lots of work, and with the generous help of family and friends, they’ve spent lots of time restoring it. Ryan and Katie love the amazing sense of community they’ve found here. Their beloved son Noah arrived on May 4th, 2017. In addition to charming everyone he meets, Noah enjoys identifying all the parts of the house that have not yet been baby-proofed.

Ryan teaches at the Meadowbrook School of Weston, and he is also a part-time graduate student at the School of Theology & Ministry at Boston College and the editor at Spiritual Parent, a website that explores the intersections of parenting and spirituality. 






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Petra Conboy
After growing up in Newton, MA, Petra and her late husband Richard moved their young family to Reading in 1986. Throughout her time in Reading she has continued her lifelong passion for engaging with and giving back to her community. As a founding member and President of Reading Recycles Plastics, Petra partnered with a passionate group of friends and neighbors to lead the effort that would eventually become the curbside recycling program we have in town today. Additionally, she spent a number of years volunteering her time and professional experience as Treasurer for the Reading Scholarship Foundation.

Faith has always been central to Petra’s life and she enjoyed her time in previous congregations as an active parishioner and religious education instructor. Seeking new opportunities to celebrate her beliefs, Petra was introduced to the Church of the Good Shepherd by a close friend and fell in love with the warmth and welcoming nature of the community. As a new member of the vestry, she is looking forward to welcoming new members to this wonderful church.​


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Erica Palm grew up in Western Mass and dreamed of living in the Boston area. After attending UMASS, Amherst she moved to the Boston area to start a career and met her husband Randall at her first “real” job. The couple moved to Portland Oregon and were blessed with their first two healthy boys, Aaron and Jake. A few years later, Erica leveraged the allure of Boston’s sports teams, warm summers at the beach and ski mountains to convince Randall to come back to the east coast. After bringing Teddy into the world in 2009, Erica and Randall baptized their three sons on Teddy’s first birthday at Trinity Church in Boston, where they initiated their family’s relationship with the Episcopal faith. After moving to Reading in 2017, Erica and Randall began their search for a new church home at The Church of the Good Shepherd and knew immediately that they need not look any further.
 
Erica, Randall, Aaron, Jake and Ted all enjoy being a part of the Good Shepherd community and have gained so much from their relationship with Rev. Brian, Rev. Pete and the entire community.

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Barbara Luddy and her husband Ray have lived in Reading and currently in North Reading for over 40 years, and have been members of CGS for almost as long. They are the proud parents of Ed and Kate and grandparents of Lina, Clara, and Rosalind. Barbara and Ray have both been active in CGS and Barbara is currently a member of Vestry and Finance Committee as well as being a Eucharistic minister.

Barbara has a degree in math and is retired from a career as an actuary at John Hancock Insurance. She currently spends her time volunteering as a math tutor as well as knitting and cooking. She and Ray love to travel, especially to see their grandchildren.









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Jill Silva grew up in East Bridgewater, MA and attended All Saints Episcopal Church in Whitman throughout her childhood. She received her Bachelors Degree in Occupational Therapy from Quinnipiac University and worked in healthcare for 16 years before pursuing her true passion, fitness. Currently, Jill is a group fitness trainer at Fit Revolution in North Reading.

Jill met Tony at a friend’s wedding and as they say, the rest is history. After marrying in 2005, they moved to Reading & welcomed two children, Derek in 2007 & Danielle in 2009. They were inspired to find a local church for Derek’s baptism and were instantly drawn to the community feel of the CGS. The whole Silva family has become involved in various aspects of church life. Tony is an usher & served on the vestry, Jill was a Sunday school teacher for four years, and Derek & Danielle have been in the church pageants and are both acolytes. Jill & Tony also both serve on the auction committee and Tony has been known to flip a mean pancake for our annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner!
 
Fun fact: the Silva’s are animal lovers and one of their cats was a stray kitten they found in Portugal, they also have another rescue cat and 6 chickens.

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Brenda Woodbury grew up in the UK & was baptized & confirmed in The Church of England. After qualifying & practicing as a RN & then midwife,she emigrated to the USA. At The Methodist Hospital in Houston,Texas, she qualified as a cardiovascular nurse specialist & worked with the pioneering heart surgeons & cardiologists. Moving to Boston in 1973, she worked at MGH & MEEI and eventually began graduate studies at MGH, IHP. She married Bruce Woodbury & moved to Reading in 1991. After graduating, she spent the final 20 of her 50-year nursing career as a nurse practitioner at The North End Health Center in Boston. She & Bruce enjoy their families, friends, cooking & gardening together. Brenda travels, attends the arts & musical offerings & loves being a member of The Good Shepherd community.







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Robert Webber
My name is Robert Webber (Rob); my wife Jane and I are new members of Church of the Good Shepherd. We are both cradle-to-grave Episcopalians and extremely happy that we found Good Shepherd after our prior church in closed. Church of the Good Shepherd is exactly the Episcopal church that we were seeking.
 
I have a bachelors degree from UMass Boston in Economics and an MBA from Babson College. Additionally, I attended the Massachusetts School of Law at Andover, needing just 3 courses to graduate.
 
I have always been active participant in church activities and leadership. I have held all Vestry positions, including Senior Warden and Treasurer. In my role as Vestry person, I intend to spend a lot of time listening to my colleagues. It is important to become acclimated into the culture and everyday operations of Good Shepherd. I hope to bring simple fundraising initiatives to the Vestry and then on to the broader church. As a Vestry member I hope to expand my participation at Good Shepherd in many areas where I can be of assistance.

Church of the good Shepherd

95 Woburn Street, Reading, MA 01867
Phone: 781-944-1572
Email: office@goodshepherdreading.org
Office Hours: by Appointment Only