Leadership

Lay Leadership

A dedicated pool of lay leaders contribute their talents to all the ministries that make St. Stephen’s a vibrant, caring church community.

 Clergy

The Reverend Paul V. Olsson joined St. Stephen’s in November, 2020 as our Priest-in-Charge. 

Father Paul was born and raised in South Jersey. College took him to Baltimore, and an early interest in East Asia and international relations drew him to New York for graduate study at Columbia University. Following a career in university administration at Columbia and NYU, Fr. Paul pursued his true calling to ordained ministry and attended The General Theological Seminary. Ordained in 1999, he first served as Assistant at Christ & St. Stephen’s Church in Manhattan, where he developed the parish’s ministry with children and families. In 2003 he was called to St. Paul’s in Morris Plains, NJ, a parish he served for 17 years. When you meet Fr. Paul, you immediately know that he loves being a priest. Fr. Paul, though grounded in Anglican tradition, is keenly aware of the need for the church to address the many challenges of the changing times in which we live. In December 2023 we officially called him as our next Rector.

The Reverend Charles Nichols joined St. Stephen’s in December, 2023 as our Deacon.

Charlie grew up on the NH Seacoast, attended local schools, and was ordained a Deacon in 2017 in the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire. In 2019, Charlie and Christine moved to Provincetown, MA where Charlie served at St. Mary of the Harbor. In January 2023, they moved to Shelburne.

In his first half of life, Charlie worked for several community banks in operations and technology. In his second half of life, he served as a patient and family volunteer for a community hospice, and attended seminary in Portland, ME. While on the Cape he delivered meals for the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod, served on the steering committee for Food4Kids Cape Cod, and recently served as co-convener of the Nauset Interfaith Association, a 25-member interfaith consortium. He eagerly looks forward to being part of St. Stephen’s and the Middlebury community.

Peter Dempewolff, Facility Manager  

Annemarie Deering, Parish Administrator

Robert Ludwig, Director of Music

Robert Ludwig joined St. Stephen’s in November, 2023. Email: rludwig@ststephensmidd.org

Now retired from full-time music positions and living with his wife, the Rev’d Nancy Ludwig, and dog Thurza, Robert served for decades as Director of Music at Christ Church, Lexington, KY; Cathedral of the Incarnation, Garden City, NY; Community Church, Garden City, NY; and St. John’s Episcopal, Bangor, ME. He was also Professor of Church Music at the George Mercer, Jr. School of Theology, Director of Vocal Music and Music Theory at Garden City High School, and Artistic Director of the Bangor Area Children’s Choir. An active member of professional church and school music organizations, he also served many years as Assistant Music Director of the Montreal Boys Choir Course sponsored by the Royal School of Church Music. He holds degrees in music from Davidson College and Yale University, with additional studies in Vienna and The Netherlands. His passions include historically informed performances, musical education of children and adults, vocal jazz, liturgy, hymnody, walks in the woods, Jeopardy, and University of Kentucky basketball. 

Michael Reeves, Christian Formation Director