A pastoral associate is a deacon, religious or lay ecclesial minister delegated by the pastor to assist in fulfilling the pastoral ministry of the parish.
A pastoral assistant is a deacon, religious or lay ecclesial minister delegated by the pastor to assist in a specific ministerial area, such as religious education, youth ministry, or administration.
Lay ecclesial ministers are non-ordained members of the church who are called to participate in the life of the church through specialized ministerial, pastoral, and formational service.
Excerpts from "MANY GIFTS, ONE SPIRIT: CHURCH GOVERNANCE THROUGH CONSULTATIVE LEADERSHIP"
Have questions for our staff? You can fill out the online question form by clicking here, and completing the inquiry. We'll send it to the right person!
You can also call the office anytime: (206)448-8826
Deanna Tighe counts herself to be one of the lucky ones to have been born and reared in Seattle. After high school, she studied Religious Studies and Political Science at Hamline University in St. Paul, Mn and Glasgow University in Glasgow, Scotland. Graduating Cum Laude with her bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies and Political Science, Deanna went on to pursue her Master of Divinity degree at Yale Divinity School in New Haven, Ct. with an emphasis in New Testament Studies and the Pauline Epistles. Her time at Yale was deeply influential in her spiritual journey and was where she was received into the Catholic Church after having been baptized Dutch Reform as an infant. After receiving her MDiv, Deanna felt called to serve alongside the poor and disenfranchised in a more concrete manner. She joined the Maryknoll Lay Association as a Lay Missioner and lived in Tanzania and Kenya, ministering in both rural and urban parishes during her stay there. After moving back stateside, she worked for Catholic Relief Services as a project manager for their Strategic Plan’s Justice Strategy and had the great honor to facilitate international interreligious workshops on Catholic Social Teaching from Pakistan to Jerusalem/West Bank. Deanna has also had the privilege of serving as Director of Youth Ministry, a Campus Minister at Duquesne University, and a pastoral associate for stewardship before beginning her position at Christ Our Hope in 2017. Animated by the Christian call to love our brothers and sisters, Deanna attempts to put her faith into concrete action and considers it a privilege to serve alongside the many loving parishioners of Christ Our Hope in Downtown Seattle.
Originally from Florida, Thomas Varas moved to Seattle in 2005. Throughout high school he sang in the St. James Cathedral Choir, was a rehearsal accompanist for choirs at his high school and worked as accompanist for the Norwegian Ladies’ Chorus of Seattle. After graduating from Ballard High School in 2012 and with nine years of piano and organ study, he went on to be the associate organist at St. Cecilia on Bainbridge Island. In July 2013 he took the position as primary organist for Holy Family in Seattle where he would work for the next five years while also accompanying for the Norwegian Male Chorus of Seattle. Beginning as a volunteer, Thomas sang in the growing Choir of Hope before being asked to take over as pianist for the 7 PM and 5 PM Spanish masses.
Dr. James Savage is the director of Choir of Hope. He has a doctorate in music and served as music director and St James Cathedral for over 30 years. After retiring, he was convinced by our founding pastor, Fr. Paul Magnano, to volunteer his time forming a new choir at Christ Our Hope for evening mass.
Paula Holmes is a founding parishioner of Christ Our Hope. As a 30-yr resident of Belltown, Paula is passionate about serving our downtown resident and visitor communities. Paula retired from a 35 year career at Seattle Children's, and is grateful to be able to share her skills and experience on behalf of the mission of Christ Our Hope.
Yuly Kopkin is a native of Ekaterinburg, Russia calling Seattle home. Conservatory-educated in his birth land, he also holds a degree of Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Washington on a Fulbright scholarship. Vita in Canto, an internationally acclaimed university choir he founded in 2003 in his birth city, has been a prize-winner at a number of national and international choral festivals and also enjoyed the most enthusiastic reception during their two concert tours of the USA. In his free time, Yuly enjoys exploring the incredible beauty of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. Among his favorite fun activities are travels, hiking, ferry boats rides, sing-alongs around the piano, badminton, and summertime swimming. His latest passion is learning harp.