Our Staff
Our Staff
Lauren Azeltine
If you think you’ve never met me, you might be surprised – try calling the office one day, and if I don’t answer right away, you’ll hear my cheerful voice on the recording! And if not from there, maybe you’ve seen and heard me sing in the St. James’ Evensong Choir.
I was brought on staff at the suggestion of Jim Buonemani (who, since 1998, regularly hired me to sing with the choir for Evensong), in the fall of 2011 to help with the 2012 centennial celebration for the parish. At that time, I worked 8 hours per week, researching lost parishioners, designing note cards and t-shirts, invitations and flyers. After the Centennial, I stayed on, continuing to add hours to my week.
Over the last 5 1/2 years, I’ve learned all about what comes into the office to be processed/addressed such as donations and bills alike, keeping company and individual information up to date, and learning about and organizing many of the things that pertain to the operations of the parish. I’ve also been the Parish Communications liaison, including producing the weekly Update, parish e-blasts,
printed materials (we’ll soon have a new offering envelope!) and I’m learned how to add things to the new website. Just recently, Bishop Roskam appointed me Parish Administrator. I look forward to taking on the additional responsibility and serving St. James’ in this position for a long time.
Previously, I was the Parish Secretary of St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal in Studio City for five years. I also served in a long-term temporary position at the Church of Our Saviour in San Gabriel, and consulted for St. John’s Pro Cathedral (before it actually was the Cathedral) and Church of the Epiphany in Agoura Hills, helping them to design communications materials for their respective parishes. I also served on the Bishop’s Program Commission for Communications. My home church is All Saints’ Episcopal in Beverly Hills, where I’ve been a staff singer since May of 1995.
I had the honor of singing with the Choir of St. James’ on the 2010 Pilgrimage to Canterbury, which is still one of the highlights of my singing career. I was also a longtime member of the Los Angeles Chamber Singers and Cappella, singing on all of its recordings, namely Padilla Sun of Justice, which won the 2006 Grammy® Award for Best Performance by a Small Ensemble (I actually went in a limosine to the ceremony that year!), and I’ve toured twice with John Alexander and and Pacific Chorale.