St Johns Newport Clergy & Staff

The Rev’d Nathan J.A. Humphrey, Rector

Before accepting the call to St. John’s, Newport in August, 2013, Fr. Humphrey was Priest-in-Charge at Saint Paul’s Parish, K Street, in Washington, DC. Fr. Humphrey served three years as Vicar of St. John’s before being elected the fourteenth Rector in June, 2016. Fr. Humphrey grew up in Southern California and attended Saint John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland, and Yale Divinity School. He is married to Anne Stone, originally from Newburyport, Massachusetts, formerly a senior editor at National Geographic and now a communications professional. They have two elementary school-aged children, a girl and a boy.

[email protected]
facebook.com/SaintJohnsNewport
(401) 848-2561

The Rev’d Leroy Buck Close, Deacon

Deacon Close comes to Saint John’s from Saint Stephen’s in Providence where he also serves the Diocese as a member of the Hispanic Ministry Committee. Deacon Close was born in South Carolina, graduated from Tulane University with a BA in Economics and Latin American Studies. He and his wife, Lucy, served with the Church World Service in Nicaragua and have also started a not-for-profit job creation agency, 1000 Jobs/Haiti. The Closes live in Little Compton and have three grown children.

[email protected]
facebook.com/SaintJohnsNewport
(401) 848-2561

Peter Stoltzfus Berton,
Organist & Music Director

Peter Stoltzfus Berton arrived in June 2014, having previously directed choir programs at St. John’s Church, West Hartford, CT, All Saints Church, Worcester, MA (where he grew the program from 2 boys to 35 boys & girls in 4 years), and Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims, Brooklyn Heights, NY. He grew up in Lancaster, PA and attended the University of Michigan and Yale. Integral to his training was serving as Assistant Organist at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Detroit, Trinity Church on the Green, New Haven, and Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, NY. He lives at St. John’s with his wife Jenn and two musical daughters.

[email protected]
thechoirschoolri.org
facebook.com/thechoirschoolri.org
(401) 848-2562

Melanie Ventura,
Parish Administrator

Melanie Ventura has roots in Middletown and joined St. John’s in 2017 after a long career in Boston print journalism. She has a degree in Journalism with a minor in Animal Science from URI and lives in Middletown with her school-age son, where she strives to keep clutter and spiders at bay.

[email protected]
facebook.com/SaintJohnsNewport
(401) 848-2561