Pastor

Our Pastor and Head of Staff, Dr. William C. Poe, has been with St. Philip since Easter of 1999. He and his wife, Betty Anne, are both native Houstonians, and have served Presbyterian churches in Texas and Arkansas for more than 30 years. Bill is a graduate of the University of Houston, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and McCormick Theological Seminary. He has also done post-graduate study at Rice University. Betty Anne and Bill are the parents of Sarah and Christopher. Sarah and her husband Michael live in Austin, and are the parents of Ellie. Christopher is married to Kimberly, and they are the parents of Ethan and Abby.

Associate Pastors

Shawn Coons and Carrie Smith-Coons began their ministry with St. Philip on April 1, 2006. Their Pastorate includes the areas of Youth, Young Adult Ministry, and Adult Education, in addition to sharing pastoral and worship responsibilities with Dr. Poe . Carrie and Shawn are both graduates of Union Theological Seminary and the Presbyterian School of Christian Education, receiving Divinity degrees as well as Masters’ Degrees in Christian Education.

Carrie has special interests in the area of intergenerational ministries, women’s ministries, art and spirituality. Shawn is a geek in many senses of the world, but especially online where he is a blogger, podcaster and avid follower and user of Web 2.0 technology.

Director of Music

Keith Weber, choral and orchestral conductor, vocal coach, choral clinician, organist, pianist, harpsichordist, and collaborator is widely known for his musical versatility and excellence.

As producer, conductor and principal performer of the Grace Note Music Series in Tyler, TX, he managed, for 15 years, a September through May festival of chamber, choral/orchestral, solo vocal and keyboard music; including a string of successful commissions, among them Bruce Neswick’s Paschal Mysteries, Daniel Burton’s Lux Sancta and Craig Phillips’ Dies Gratiae, as well as much of the standard Choral/Orchestral repertory, including all of Benjamin Britten’s oratorios and canticles as well as the opera Noye’s Fludde. Keith produced the premiere performances of Conrad Susa’s church opera, The Wise Women, for the AGO National Convention in 1994.

As liturgical musician, he was on the staff of Holy Innocents’ Episcopal Church in Atlanta, GA from 2002 to 2004, and served also as Liturgist and Music Consultant to Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School. A native of western Pennsylvania, he holds a B.M., cum laude, in Organ Performance from Southern Methodist University, an M.M. also from SMU and an M.S.M. from Perkins School of Theology. From August of 1988 until the Fall of 2002, Keith was Director of Music at Christ Church, Tyler, TX, overseeing a fully-developed program including the renowned Grace Note Music Series. He served as Chair of the Music Commission of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, through which he directed the Leadership Program for Musicians, is Past Dean of the East Texas Chapter, American Guild of Organists, and has served on the Board of Directors of the Tyler Civic Chorale.

Keith was the founding Associate Musical Director of the Lyric Opera of Dallas, and was recently a coach with the 2005 Summer Festival, Opera In The Ozarks. As a recital collaborator and accompanist, Keith has worked with dozens of singers and instrumentalists and maintains ongoing relationships with singers such as Vern Sutton (with whom he appeared on Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion” in May of 1999 - celebrating the release of a CD on the Ten Thousand Lakes [Schubert Club of Minnesota] label) and Mezzo-soprano Natalie Arduino. During the 1997-98 academic year, he was appointed Visiting Professor of Collaborative Musicianship at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, working with internationally-known collaborator Margo Garrett.

His disc of Fanny Mendelssohn Lieder, with soprano Julianne Baird, was released by Newport Classics in January of 1999. He played the Texas and Midwest premieres of Ned Rorem’s concert-length song-cycle for four singers and piano, Evidence of Things Not Seen. Three recordings are planned under the GSI label, with Ms. Arduino, Laura CLaycomb and guitarist David Pulkingham. Keith also works regularly with the Marilyn Horne Foundation, presenting and accompanying their artists. As an organist, Keith won the Dora Poteet Barclay Award (outstanding Undergraduate, SMU), the Roy and Sue Johnson Award (Outstanding Senior, SMU), the 1982 B’nai B’rith Music Scholarship, the Ninth Annual Organ Competition of the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation, the 1991 Region VII National Young Artists = Playing Competition of the American Guild of Organists, was named finalist of the 1992 Spivey International Organ Competition and is widely known for his engaging organ recital programming.

He served as Interim Organist at The Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas, TX. As a pianist, Keith made his formal orchestral debut in 1997 with The East Texas Symphony Orchestra, Kate Tamarkin, conducting, and as keyboardist-of-all-kinds has been a frequent guest artist with the Ars Lyrica Houston, Houston’s Mercury Baroque, the Tyler Civic Chorale, The (former) Texas Baroque Ensemble, The Dallas Bach Society, The Orpheus Chamber Singers, The University of Texas/Tyler Chamber Orchestra, The New Texas Festival, The Victoria Bach Festival and the International Festival-Institute at Round Top, TX. Keith was named keyboardist of the East Texas Symphony Orchestra for the 2002-2003 season. Keith is Artistic Director of Grace Song, Inc., a wide-ranging non-profit production company.

Organist

St Philip organist Matthew Dirst is the first American to win major international prizes in both organ and harpsichord. He currently serves as Associate Professor of Music at the Moores School of Music, where he teaches courses in music history and performance practice, and as artistic director and founder of the period-instrument group Ars Lyrica Houston Prof. Dirst's degrees include a PhD in musicology from Stanford University and degrees in organ and sacred music from the University of Illinois and Southern Methodist University. A Fulbright scholar to France, he received the coveted prix de virtuosité in both organ and harpsichord. The author of numerous articles on the music of Bach and its reception, he is the author of Bach as Idea: Strategies in the Reception of the Keyboard Works, 1750-1850, forthcoming from Cambridge University Press.

Volunteer Parish Associate

Rev. Dr. Jack Boelens brings over forty years of pastoral experience to St. Philip. He has served churches (ranging in size from 50 to 2600) in the Midwest, the Washington DC area, New York, and Texas churches in El Paso, Houston, and Angleton. He served as the General Presbyter (the highest administrative position) of the Presbytery of New Covenant, from which he retired in 1995. He has been an active preacher, speaker, and teacher for his whole career. Here at St. Philip, he focuses on pastoral duties, especially in teaching and pastoral ministries. He has earned degrees from Calvin College and Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from Pikeville College, Pikeville, Kentucky. He is married to Joan, and has three sons and five grandchildren.

Director of Children's Ministries

Judy Gunn came to St. Philip in January of 2002 with a wealth of experience with children. She spent over twenty-five years as a teacher in the Goose Creek Independent School District, and has also worked in educational ministries in churches in Baytown. She oversees all children's ministries, and also acitve in leadership with our Wednesday Night Children's Choir School. She has developed new minsitry programs, strengthened our existing ones, and is also active with programs outside of children's offerings such as our monthly luncheons at the retirement home next to St. Philip. She is working towards her certification as a Christian Educator within the Presbyterian Church (USA). She has two daughters.

Office and Property Staff

Karen St. Laurent – Office Administrator
Nancy Craig – Office Administrator Assistant
Wilbert Parada – Facilities Manager
Dimas Parada – Facilities Worker