ST PAUL STAFF
PASTOR
Pastor Ross Goodman is a graduate of Wake Forest University, Princeton Theological Seminary and the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He received a Doctor of Ministry from Andover Newton Theological School in 1995. Since arriving here in 1996, St. Paul has expanded in membership, staffing, programming, outreach, and facilities. While he is full time in his ministry here, Pastor Goodman also consults with Children’s Hospital Chaplaincy, coaches clergy, and serves on the boards of Ascentria Care Alliance (formerly Lutheran Social Services) and Bethany House of Prayer. He has supervised twenty-four pastoral interns here with over forty pastors sent into various ministries from St. Paul over the years. He loves people, preaching, and all kinds of seafood, including Hákarl.
ASSOCIATE PASTOR
Pastor Elizabeth (Liz) Senft has been worshiping here at St. Paul since late 2019. She is a retired ELCA pastor having served congregations in Maryland and Ohio. She also worked as Director for Church Relations for Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. Currently she is on the Institutional Review Board, reviewing clinical trials at Boston Children’s Hospital. Liz has rich experience and wisdom through her ministry of growing and developing congregations.
There is a longstanding tradition in our sister Episcopal Church of welcoming retired clergy into the congregation as Pastoral Associates, offering both a pastoral role and receiving the many gifts clergy can offer in retirement. She will occasionally preach, preside, teach, and be available for pastoral care. Pastor Liz lives in Winchester near to her daughter’s family.
VICAR
Vicar Katie Linthicum (she/her) was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa. She graduated from Wartburg College in 2019 where she studied Social Work and Religion. After graduation, she participated in the ELCA’s Young Adult in Global Mission (YAGM) program where she served in Adelaide, South Australia. Katie spent the last three years living in Chicago and pursuing her Master of Divinity at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. Katie enjoys spending time with her fiancé, Eric, who is also a Vicar in the Boston area, crocheting, knitting, reading, and playing board games.
DIRECTOR OF MUSIC
Croatia-born pianist, organist, accompanist, music director, and piano teacher Ana Zecic Jeffers is an active soloist and chamber musician. Ana holds a Master of Music in Piano Performance degree from the University of Zagreb, Croatia, a Concert Diploma from Schola Cantorum Paris, a Master of Music degree from Conservatory Niedermeyer, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, and a Master of Music in Piano Performance degree from Boston Conservatory at Berklee. A passionate organist, she is a student of Christian Lane and a part of Boston Organ Studio. Her previous positions include a Music Director job at University Lutheran Church in Gainesville, FL, and a Music Director job at the First Presbyterian Church in Brookline, MA. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she organized a virtual choir and has done all the video editing. Ana lives in Acton with her husband Scott and three kids, Adam, Noah, and Izabela.
INTERIM DIRECTOR OF CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILY MINISTRY
Sarah grew up in Metro-Boston, and has wonderful memories of this region from her childhood. After graduating High School, Sarah moved to Ohio to attend Wittenberg University. While there, she studied History and Education. It was there that she also met her future husband, Matt. The two of them lived together in Michigan, and eventually moved to the Boston area for family and career reasons. Sarah has been an active member of St. Paul Lutheran Church since she and her family joined in 2009. In that time, Sarah has been on the Children, Youth, and Family Committee, and was instrumental in instituting the Our Whole Lives Program that is run in the church. She has helped to find and implement the middle school curriculum. Sarah is a mother to three children: Geneva (11th Grade), Owen (7th Grade), and Beatrix (5th Grade). Sarah has dedicated her time and energy to many volunteer opportunities around town, including Girl Scouts and PTA. Sarah worked as a middle school social studies teacher and school librarian before having children. Managing her household and finding ways to work on different committees take up most of her time. Sarah also enjoys Square Dancing, reading, and working on puzzles.
BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR
Paul became St. Paul’s business Administrator in 2014. He brings with him over 35 years of financial experience ranging from being the Chief Financial Officer at a nonprofit social service agency, to managing the finances and administrative responsibilities at a residential remodeling company. Paul majored in accounting at Providence College, graduating with a degree in Business Administration. When he is not in the office, Paul enjoys woodworking, cooking, and traveling around New England. He lives in Woburn with his wife, with whom he shares three grown children and eight grandchildren.
PARISH ADMINISTRATOR
Jennifer White and her family have been members of St. Paul Lutheran Church since 2011. From North Reading, Massachusetts, she is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire and is a graphic designer, working in book publishing for many years. She lives in Arlington with writer husband, John Turner, and twins Charlotte and Stella Turner, who are at Arlington High School. Jennifer’s interests include gardening, traveling around New England, singing in the choir, and doing puzzles at a frightening speed.
PROPERTY MANAGER
Dennis O’Brien takes care of upkeep and routine maintenance at St. Paul. After graduating high school, he attended East Coast Aero Tech and was trained as an airplane mechanic. He began his long career in automated equipment maintenance, working at such companies as Teradyne and and Millipore (where his achievements included winning an award for modifying a machine to increase productivity). More recently, he spent six years as Maintenance Manager at Photo Etch Technologies in Lowell. With an extensive knowledge of carpentry, Dennis enjoys helping friends and family with all kinds of remodeling projects.