St. Richard's Vestry and Officers

Bonnie Page Danner

Senior Warden

 Bonnie has been a member of St. Richard’s for over five years. When she’s not at St. Richard’s, our Senior Warden Bonnie Danner is a Project Manager/Senior Systems Security Engineer with Northrop Grumman, currently working a contract with the USAF for Distributed Mission Training (simulators on a secure network).  Despite huge time and travel commitments for this work, Bonnie also serves St. Richard’s on the Executive Committee, Flower Guild, Education Committee, Stewardship Committee, Outreach, and Sunday School (Substitute Teacher).  She has two married children, Holly and Phillip, who have given her a combined four beloved grandchildren: Bryce, Aidan, and Carsyn Manke, and Matthew Danner.

 Bonnie cherishes “the warmth and friendliness of the people who truly reflect the Love of Christ, and the holiness and majesty of the Sunday Choral Eucharist…and her “greatest hope is that St. Richard's Church discerns God's will and recognizes a spiritual purpose for parishioners in this place and time.  With such understanding and purpose, my hope is that St. Richard's Church will thrive all the more as a loving Christian community of faith.  My hope is that the people of St. Richard's Church, including the children, become active participants in church ministries to serve the Lord. 

Nina A. Schuerman

Nina has been a member of St. Richard’s for about twenty years.  In spite of the fact that Michael’s and All Saints are both closer to her home, she says that from her first experiences here, St. Richard’s has been a real church home to her.  She is now retired from her job with Sprint, and makes many trips per week to the church to help out.  She is a member of Altar Guild, a Lay Reader, a Lay Eucharistic Minister, and a Lay Eucharistic Visitor.  A former president of Daughters of the King, she is now in charge of compiling the monthly prayer list for the Order.  She is a member of our vestry and the vestry representative to our day school. Nina can be found at morning prayer and bible study on Friday or somewhere helping out someone almost any day of the week.  Her two sons live in Montana and Pensacola, respectively, and her daughter lives in Port Charlotte.  She has five grandchildren.  Her husband, Bill, was also a long-time member of St. Richard’s until his death in 19????

 Nina is enjoying all the activity at St. Richard’s and looks forward to having study groups in her home.  In order to spot our newcomers, Nina has volunteered to become part of our Foyers Group.  What’s that?  Ask Nina!

Raymond (Ray) F. Erker 

Raymond (Ray) F. Erker has been attending St. Richard’s for the past five years, and was baptized here.  He and his wife, Marleen, were married here just one and half years ago.  Together they are blessed with seven grandchildren.  Ray majored in business at the University of Missouri and for twenty years was an Assistant Vice President of the St. Louis Country National Bank.  After moving to Florida, he took on several ventures, including owning/operating an I-Hop and Larry’s Ice Cream, and as a distributor for the Orlando Sentinel.  Currently, Ray is an Independent Financial Consultant specializing in stocks, bonds, insurance, and annuities.

 Ray was elected to our vestry last year, and is now Chairman of the Stewardship Committee.  His love for St. Richard’s is evident in his aspirations for our future as we begin to grow.  If you have questions about your financial contributions to the work of God at St. Richard’s, Ray is the person to call or email.

Kathryn (Kay) Davidson-Bond

 Kay has been a member of St. Richard’s for eight years.  A former certified tax paralegal, architectural marketing director, and college humanities teacher, Kay is married to Rollins’ professor Alex Boguslawski, and has two sons, JD. and Shane, each married with three children, and two stepdaughters, Julia and Tonia.  She has been a member of the Altar Guild and is currently a Daughter of the King, a Lay Eucharistic Minister and a Lay Eucharistic Visitor and helps with writing and editing for the Almanac and other church-related writing.

 Kay’s comments show her delight in St. Richard’s.  “I have found friends to laugh, cry, play, and work with, and what is so important to me is that they are all people who care about my spiritual growth.  I believe that at St. Richard’s people are truly seeking to live Christian lives, to work together, to forgive and love one another “seventy times seven.”  I have learned to help and I have been helped, and I trust that the Lord will bless us as a parish family as we continue on the path of lifelong Christian reconciliation and in sharing Christ’s powerful love with others.”

Patricia  (Pat) Townsend

Clerk Of The Vestry

 Pat and her husband, John, moved to Florida about twenty years ago and chose St. Richard’s as their church home.  Pat was almost immediately offered a job at the Diocesan Office in Orlando and served as the secretary to the Canon to the Ordinary until her retirement in 1998.  Since then she has contributed greatly to the parish and the diocese.  She has done diocesan-wide fundraising and represented St. Richard’s as a delegate to the Diocesan Convention in 2003 and 2004.  So, if you’re a newcomer to the Orlando area, Pat’s got a wealth of local church history to share with you! 

At St. Richard’s, you will find Pat in the office almost every morning, keeping the parish “wheels” rolling.  In addition, she serves as a Lector, usher, and greeter – and can always be counted on in an emergency.  Pat also served for three years as a vestry member, but the vestry voted unanimously to serve as our Clerk and she graciously accepted.  She and John, our Treasurer, have been married for 45 years and have two sons and four grandchildren.  An enthusiastic supporter of St. Richard’s, she says she is “grateful for the enthusiasm and growth” that St. Richard’s is experiencing.  We’re grateful for Pat!

Stephen (Steve) D. Mc Connell

Steve began his relationship with St. Richards in 1992 when he started dating the daughter of Carol and Rex Alves.  Carol and Susan have been long-time members of St. Richards.  Before their marriage at St. Richards in October of 1997, Steve took confirmation classes with Father Garvin, a wonderful teacher who taught him the many aspects of history associated with St. Richards and the Episcopal lifestyle.  Steve’s classes led to confirmation by Bishop Hugo that year.  The family of St. Richard’s grew to mean even more to the McConnells with the birth of daughter Emma in January of 2001, who was baptized at St. Richards, and they were blessed with another lovely child, Aidan.  Aidan, now one, was baptized in 2004. 

Steve is currently employed at the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office where he manages a computer support staff whose main goal is to reduce crime and the fear of crime in Seminole County.  Steve’s dedication to his job is fueled by his desire to make Seminole County a great place to raise kids and live a wonderful life, and when he isn’t working, he spends most of my time with his family.  His calm demeanor and organizational abilities are put to good use on the vestry and appreciated by all.  

Steve begins the second year of his three year term as a member of the Vestry this January, and is frequent Usher during our services.  He says, “St. Richard’s runs on volunteer effort and I am pleased to see how everyone in the St. Richards family can work together with no barriers and worship as one in Christ’s Name.  God has given us many blessings…  I look forward to making St. Richard’s a church where my children and many others can grow and learn the Christian lifestyle from being surrounded with the family and friends of St. Richards.”

Bill Platt

Bill’s resume reveals that his qualities include a curious mind, determination, and flexibility, good qualities for our vestry!  Born in Akron in 1940, Bill’s able mind and curiosity led him to earn degrees from Purdue (BA), Chapman (MA), and Indiana (PhD).  He also served in the Marine Corps during the Viet Nam war and retired from the reserves with a rank of Lt. Colonel.  He was later recruited by the Navy at the Naval Training Equipment Center in Orlando (now Baldwin Park), and later worked for Harris Corp., his own consulting company, and is now employed by the Federal government at the Veterans Benefits Administration, and looking forward to retirement.  When that arrives, he will have more time to devote to his other interests, building, painting, drawing and sculpture.

Bill joined St. Richard’s when Fr. Barry Howe was rector, but business travel made it impossible for him to be in church every Sunday.  He took time when possible to be active in the church, and has committed himself to helping St. Richard’s grow.  He is the co-leader of the Men’s Fellowship, is working on our facilities problems, as well as being newly elected to the vestry.  You will see Bill, perhaps in his trademark suspenders, faithfully flipping pancakes at our Men’s Fellowship breakfasts on the last Sunday of each month!

Marc Gutierrez

Marc was born on the island of Luzon in the Philippines and moved to DeLand with his sister in 1986, two years after their mother established residency.  He was baptized in the Roman Catholic Church and was confirmed at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in DeLand, but he says, “From the spiritual influence and simple persuasion of my Anglican mother, I attended services at St. Barnabas and fell in love with the Episcopal Church.  He is a graduate of DeLand H.S., and earned his B.A. in Humanities from the University of Central Florida.  He discovered St. Richard’s during his time at UCF, and in 2004 he says he realized the parish’s commitment to be a welcoming church.  He was received into the Church in January, 2005 and became a member of our vestry shortly thereafter.

When not ministering at St. Richard’s, Marc spends time with one of his primary loves, cooking, and kayaking, camping, and spending time with family and friends.  He was an active volunteer in the 2004 presidential campaign and is currently a member of the Simple Living Institute and Downtown Media Arts Center.

Marc says, “What I lack in experience, I make up in willingness to learn and commitment to give 110%.  Through faith in God and inspiration from the people at St. Richard’s, I hope to help increase its membership by creating and promoting family programs and activities that will not only enrich its current but also future members.”

Elenita E. Brodie

Elenita was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and baptized at the Church of England mission at the British Embassy, which means she is a “real” Anglican!  She has attended Episcopal churches all of her life, and became a member of St. Richard’s in 1990.  She works as a computer systems analyst for a title insurance company, and has two grown children who live in the area.  She is an avid scuba diver and traveler and last year visited the Galapagos Islands, Cozumel and Honduras.  When she is home, she also enjoys doing needlepoint, including some chrismons for the church tree.

Elenita remembers that, “when my husband died several years ago, the community of St. Richard’s reached out to me and my children in ways that I cannot begin to describe.”  Through the years she has been a member of the bell choir, the choir, Chair of the Outreach Committee, is a Lay Eucharistic Minister and a Lay Eucharistic Visitor.  She has served on the vestry twice in the past, and begins a new term this year.  The kindness of St. Richard’s parishioners through the years inspires Elenita to repay them with her service, and her service inspires others to commit themselves to service to St. Richard’s!

Sally Downs

Sally is an Orlando native who lives just four blocks from where she grew up.  She remembers when St. Richard’s was first organized and its early “glory days.”  She participated when the Taize brothers taught the congregation to sing the psalms in prayer, doing the brass rubbings, and was inspired by the “powerful teachings of Verna Dozier.”  Sally has two daughters who live close by her; one is an attorney and one a recovery room nurse.  Her son, a police officer, lives in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and another daughter lives in Salida, Colorado where she works as a horse clinician.

Sally has served on the vestry at Holy Spirit, Resurrection, and the Chapter at St. Luke’s.  She says, “St. Richard’s has always been a spiritual leader in the Diocese.  Let us continue.” 

John Townsend

Treasurer and Parish Administrator

John has been at St. Richard’s since he moved to Central Florida in late 1983. He settled on St. Richard’s as his parish home when he discovered the warmth, friendliness and openness of the St. Richard’s family. John was raised outside of Detroit and became an Episcopalian after his sister and he went Sunday School shopping, and the local Episcopal Church had the best one. John is retired from the U.S. Navy and after a successful career in the telecommunications/computer industry, John retired in 1998. Prior to coming to Florida, John served as a vestry member, youth group advisor, and on various committees. John is currently the Regional Chair of the National Cathedral Association for the Orlando area, and when in the Washington area he ushers at the Washington National Cathedral. John has been a St. Richard’s delegate to last 4 Diocesan Conventions. He participates in other diocesan and national meetings. John and his wife Pat have two grown boys, John and Marshall, and 4 wonderful grandchildren. John keeps his slim figure by swimming almost every day.

John has been treasurer for the last 3 years and has seen St. Richard’s go through some tough times. He is confident that St. Richard’s is now on a path that will provide a good and strong future for the parish. His wish for St. Richard’s is that it continues to bring back the spark, and continue to enlarge our tent.

Peter Oliva

          Confirmed at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Gainesville, Florida in 1964, Peter and Ruth Oliva joined St. Richard’s in 2000. Peter is retired professor of education, having taught at the University of Florida, Florida International University, and Georgia Southern University. He has served St. Richard’s as vestryperson, usher, lector, and is active in the Men’s Fellowship.

Married since 1946 Peter and Ruth have two children, Eve (Casselberry) and Marc (Redding, California, and four grandchildren. The Olivas appreciate the friendly atmosphere of St. Richard’s and its attractive setting. Their wish for the church is growth with the addition of many younger parishioners.