The Rev. Cynthia O. Baskin, who usually goes by “Cindy,” came to St. James’ as rector in August, 1999. Prior to that, she served as associate rector at a parish in Midlothian, Virginia. A native of Minnesota, Cindy received a B.A. from St. Olaf College, then spent two years serving on the foreign mission field as a teacher in the Territory of Papua New Guinea under the auspices of the Lutheran Church. Upon her return to the United States, she received a M.A.T. degree from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota and then moved to Florida where she taught middle school science for 10 years. During these years, she found her way into the Episcopal Church and eventually became the full-time lay Director of Program in a congregation in Gainesville, a position she held for eleven years until she accepted a call to ordained ministry. She attended and graduated from Virginia Theological Seminary in 1995 with an M.Div degree.

Cindy delights in working with others to develop a parish community life that enables Christ’s message of love and reconciliation to enter people’s lives. She believes the Church enacts Christ's mission through the ministry of all its members. Therefore she seeks to empower broad cooperative efforts among all members of St. James’, striving to develop a communal and spiritual life rooted in worship, nurtured by study, and celebrated in outreach to the world.

The Rev. Elton O. Smith, Jr. has been Assistant Rector since September 2005.  After his retirement in 1994 as dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral in Buffalo, N.Y. he served at Washington National Cathedral and Grace Church, Georgetown. He holds a Master in Divinity degree and honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from The General Theological Seminary in New York City. In his part-time position he serves regularly in Sunday worship, and has major responsibilities in stewardship, communication, parish evangelism, and fund development. A native of Springfield, Missouri, his first two parishes were in the Kansas City, Missouri area. He has four married children and ten grandchildren.

Newton Lewis arrived at St. James' in November, 1999. He began playing organ and conducting choirs for churches as a freshman in high school in Huntington CT. He went on to Middlebury College in Vermont and received a BA in Religion. After school he pursued a career in real estate while substituting at several area churches including St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral in Burlington. While a close association with St. Paul's developed, he felt called to church music and went on to earning a Masters in Organ Performance at New England Conservatory in Boston and a Masters in Church Music from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ. Since then he has held posts in Connecticut and Pennsylvania as well given organ recitals including Washington National Cathedral.

More on the music program at St. James'

Don Mullins has been the youth director at St. James’ since 1997. He has worked with youth for many years having served as a baseball and soccer coach and Cub Scout den and pack leader before handling the youth activities here at St. James’. Don is responsible for youth group weekly meetings and special events for middle and high school youth and a biweekly Bible study for high school juniors and seniors. Each summer he coordinates and leads the fundraising for a mission trip for the high school youth, which usually is to a work camp somewhere in the eastern U.S. to help repair houses for needy or elderly residents. Last summer’s trip was very special as it was broadened to an intergenerational trip to San Jose, Costa Rica, to assist an orphanage and day care center. In 2002, Don conceived, planned, and executed a work camp for Montgomery County, Maryland, at which 350 teens and 75 adults from across the country repaired 64 houses and raised $25,000 in donations for the effort. In addition to working with the youth, Don maintains the church’s computer systems.

Deborah Hokanson has been a member of St. James’ since 1982.  As her three children grew up through the Sunday School she often volunteered to teach the different age groups.  As time went on she acted as an interim director for one year and then became a team director with Janice since 1999.  Debbie has always loved children; while growing up she babysat and was a mother's helper .She graduated from college with a BS in education that focused on special and elementary education.  Currently she is teaching a special education K/1 class. Our Sunday school is a warm and welcoming place for students of all ages and it is always so rewarding to see each class having students learning about God's word in an environment that promotes interactive and hands on activities to bring the bible stories alive.

Janice Genter has served as Debbie’s partner in coordinating Children’s Ministries since 1999.  She shares this lead role in program planning for children’s activities and works actively with Debbi in the programs on Sundays and at other special events.  As a member of St. James’ since 1967 Janice was especially active in programs for children and youth in which her daughters were involved.  She has also served as a member of the Altar Guild.  Janice was graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a BS degree in English Literature and Elementary Education.  Away from St. James’, Janice taught preschool, and has been an elementary teacher for 28 years in public and independent schools.  She has two married daughters, both confirmed at St. James;, and one granddaughter who was baptized there.  Janice feels blessed to have the opportunity to enrich the lives of God’s youngest believers with His word.

Parke L. Brown, Children's Church

Parke L. Brown has served as leader of the Children's Church Service for ages 3-Kindergarden since he and his wife, Karen, arrived in Potomac on March 1, 1968. Prior to that they lived in Connecticut where his service as a Lay Reader for children's services began. He graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy in 1957 and served in the Navy for 20 years. He then spent 17 years in the financial services sector. He and Karen moved to Potomac with seven children and added two more. All were confirmed at St. James'. He became treasurer in December 2003. He and Karen have five grandchildren.

Mary Lou English has been the Director of St. James' Children's School since September 1995. She has a degree in education from the University of Maryland, and taught home economics, family studies and child development for Montgomery County Public Schools for 12 years. With MCPS, she also had experience writing curriculum, planning budgets, and supervising other staff. For several years, Mary Lou owned her own meeting and event planning business. These skills serve her well as she currently oversees 100 children from 85 families, plus a staff of 30. Mary Lou and her husband, Craig, have two grown daughters who grew up as members of St. James' Episcopal Church.

Linda Knutsen has served as a part-time member of the office staff since March 2004, now as Facilities and Personnel Administrator.  Her service in our parish administration has drawn upon her many years of experience in that field.  Present responsibilities focus primarily on coordinating facilities maintenance and personnel payroll and benefits.  She also meets other general administrative needs, including personal assistance to the rector, benefiting from her active membership in the parish.  Linda has a B.S. degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from Penn State University .  She and her husband, Richard Rosano, have one daughter, now in high school.

Grace Lo, Parish Administrator

Grace Lo joined the parish staff in February 2008, assuming the role of Parish Administrator in our parish office.  She is responsible for coordinating all administrative functions, in collaboration with the clergy, other staff members, and lay leaders.  Grace is assisted by several office volunteers whose work she plans and oversees.  Grace received her BBA degree from the University of Texas — San Antonio , and her MBA degree from Mississippi State University .  In the past, she had long experience as a self-employed meeting planner working mostly on government contracts.  Grace and her husband, George, have two grown children, a son and a daughter.