Pastor/Vestry

  Bio

Rev. Bruce Shipman

bruceshipman@sbcglobal.net

(860) 446-2238

Michele (Shelly) DiAcri

Michele (Shelly) DiAcri has been a member of Holy Advent for the past four years.  She has lived in Clinton for the past 30 years with her husband Frank (a member of Holy Advent Facilities Committee).  They have two children, who were adopted from Colombia, Kendra (married) and Marc DiAcri (deceased).  She has three grandchildren (Dontrell, Kenyin, and Sadie) who attend Holy Advent Church School.  Shelly is a retired corporate officer of a local utility and currently works part-time as an instructor at Albertus Magnus College’s New Dimensions program.  Her interests are travel, gardening, cooking, and reading.

When asked what called her to serve on the Vestry at this point in time, she responded with: “The call to serve did not come out of the whirlwind.  Rather, the call came over the phone from the nominating committee.  I am surrounded by others at Holy Advent who do more than a share of the work necessary to keep our community vibrant.  I simply thought it was my turn to serve the parish as warden.”

Art Wiley

Art has been attending Holy Advent since 1978.  He lives in Madison with his wife Jean, who you can read about under “Clerk” of the Vestry.  Together they have two grown children, Art and Beth, and two granddaughters ages 5 and 6.  Art was a school teacher in Madison for 12 years and then became involved in purchasing and sales of building supplies for a local lumberyard.  He recently retired and is looking forward to spending more time with his granddaughters and enjoying his hobbies which include sailing, woodworking, reading and listening to bluegrass music.

When asked what called him to serve on the Vestry at this point in time, he responded with: “I have served on the Vestry on and off through quite a few years, always hoping and praying that I can in some way help Holy Advent minister to this little corner of God’s world.”

awiley@snet.net

(203) 245-7429

Charles Stannard

Charles has been a member of Holy Advent all of his 67 years.  A native of Clinton, he lives here with wife Linda.  They have two grown children, Julie and Philip.  Charles is a retired middle school math teacher and is now a substitute teacher as well as the organist at the Westbrook Congregational Church.  In his leisure time, he enjoys sailing, music, and gardening. 

When asked what called him to serve on the Vestry at this point in time, he responded with:  “Helping Holy Advent to go forward.  In the past I had had the experience of serving as assistant to the treasurer, on the Vestry, as Jr. and Sr. Warden.  I had chaired committees, been a 32 year employee and watched and been involved with the continuing changes of a non-static parish.  I believed these experiences would be a good basis when considering what direction Holy Advent could move in as long as the Spirit gave the go-ahead.”

Donna Gagne

Donna has been a member of Holy Advent for about 13 years.  She and her husband, John, live here in Clinton and have four children; two grown sons John, Jr. and James, who came as a package deal with John, and together they have two daughters Stephanie (19) and Courtney (15).  Donna is employed as the controller of a software development and consulting firm located in Wallingford.  Donna enjoys spending time with family and friends, watching her girls play soccer, being involved in community and church activities, singing, reading and playing Set Back.When asked what called her to serve on the Vestry at this point in time, she responded with:“I knew we were at turning point in this Parish. I honestly had little hope that it could be turned around.  I didn’t want to, I felt I had to be a part of this Vestry so that, if the doors closed and the lights dimmed for the last time, I HAD to know I’d done all I could to prevent that from happening.  I couldn’t just walk away and wonder, “Would things have been different if I’d just stepped up and helped?”

Bruce Aiken

Bruce has been a member of Holy Advent for 8 years.  He lives in Centerbrook with his wife Eileen, they have two grown sons, Brent (37) and Todd (32) and a daughter, AmyLynne (34).  They have 3 Granddaughters Mairead (5), Aislinn (3) and Alyssa (8 months).  He works in outside sales and has special interests in the youth of the community having coached football, baseball and soccer has also lent his talents as a disk jockey for 7 years and has been the Voice of Cheeseborough Ponds/Unilever Blue Fish Festival Children’s Day for 15 years.When asked what called him to serve on the Vestry at this point in time, he responded with: "My commitment to the Good Lord, Jesus Christ”

Lorraine Anderson

Lorraine has been a member of Holy Advent for 37 years.  She and husband, Ron, live here in Clinton and have three grown children Kristin, Ronnie and Ryan.  Lorraine works as a Recreational Director for retirement communities and in the healthcare field.  She enjoys reading, creating jewelry and making crafts. She’s also just beginning to learn the piano.  Also, since her children live in Manhattan, California and Hawaii, Lorraine and Ron love to travel.When asked what called her to serve on the Vestry at this point in time, she responded with:“I’ve been on and off the Vestry for many years.  I believe that God has a special calling for Holy Advent and we’re now in the process of finding that out.”

Mary Luchuk

Mary has been a member of Holy Advent for about 8 years.  She, and husband Christopher, live here in Clinton with their four active boys, Jacob (17), Joseph (9), Elijah (8) and Matthew (6).  She is a Director for Mary Kay Cosmetics and works as a substitute teacher in the Clinton Public Schools.  When she has the time, she loves to read, ski, sing karaoke, cook, shop and play with the kids. 

When asked what called her to serve on the Vestry at this time, she answered with: “Someone asked me and I said yes!  I continued to serve because I LOVE our church and Holy Advent has become our second family.  I wanted to help lead our church to do whatever it is God has planned for us to do.”

Bob Smith

Bob has been a member of Holy Advent for 9 years.  He and his wife Susan live here in Clinton.  They have two children, Kyle (9) and Kelly (5).  Bob is a stay-at-home Dad.  He is also a Jets season ticket holder and a Yankee fan.  He cooks and likes to do simple woodworking projects. When asked what called him to serve on the Vestry at this time, he responded with:“I was asked and I thought, the church has always been there for us and offered us whatever was needed, now the church was asking for me to do something for it.  Being on the Vestry is my giveback to the parish for all the parish has done for my family and me.”

Trudy Valenti

Trudy, having been baptized, confirmed and twice married here at Holy Advent, describes herself a lifelong member with “lapses”.   She and her husband, Michael, reside in Clinton where she has spent most of her life, leaving only briefly to live in Niantic, CT and Rhode Island.  She has three grown children, John Robert Schoen, Jacqueline Re (Schoen) Cacase and Nicholas Michael Pont, from previous marriages.  Jacqueline has given her four grandchildren who range in age from 4-18.  She was employed by Unilever for 36 years and retired in 2003.  She enjoys spending time with family & friends, likes to cook/bake, read and play computer games. 

When asked what called her to serve on the Vestry at this point in time, she responded with this: 

“Just up the road from my home is a field, with two horses in it. From a distance, each looks like every other horse. But if you stop your car or are walking by, you will notice something quite amazing. Looking into the eyes of one horse will disclose that he is blind. His owner has chosen not to have him put down but has made a good home for him. This alone is amazing. If nearby and listening, you will hear the sound of a bell. Looking around for the source of the sound, you will see that it comes from the smaller horse in the field. Attached to her halter is a small bell.
It lets her blind friend know where she is, so he can follow her. As you stand and watch these two friends, you'll see how she is always checking on him, and that he will listen for her bell and then slowly walk to where she is, trusting that she will not lead him astray. When she returns to the shelter of the barn each evening, she stops occasionally and looks back, making sure her friend isn't too far behind to hear the bell. Like the owners of these two horses, God does not throw us away just because we are not perfect or because we have problems or challenges. He watches over us and even brings others into our lives to help us when we are in need. Sometimes we are the blind horse being guided by the little ringing bell of those who God places in our lives. Other times we are the guide horse, helping others see.  I spent most of my life blind, for a short time, while I can, I'd like to wear the bell.”