We are pleased to announce the slate of nominees for election to St. Martin’s 2021 Vestry:

Though my official name is James Kimokeo I go by Kimo Kimokeo. The story of James to Kimo has roots that goes back to the influence of the early Christian missionaries to the then Kingdom of Hawaii long, long ago. Deborah and I have been married for40 years. We moved to Davis in 1998 after a decade of living in northeastern Pennsylvania. My position with the USDA-Forest Service brought me to UC-Davis to head up a partnership with my agency, the College of Ag & Env.Sci. & The Internship. & Career Center. to assist with student advising, internships and placement. I was able to wrap up a rewarding career in this position and have enjoyed retirement since 2009. My journey of faith which has been with me since I was a child has been diverse, all over the denominational table, scary, full of wonder, frustration, sadness, joy all as a person of color (native Hawaiian) in a very westernized world…..but thankfully….Father, Son and Holy Spirit and faith communities along the way have provided me shelter, nourishment and support. St. Martins Episcopal Church is that place for me now….especially since I am separated from my other church ohana (family) at All Saints Episcopal of Kapa’a , Hawaii (Kauai). Lord willing and with God’s help I look forward to being part of the Vestry.

Lisa Leigh

I have been a St. Martin’s parishioner since moving to Davis in 1988. I have served in youth ministry, children’s formation, altar guild, choir, and worship commission. I helped to initiate Davis Community Meals as a separate organization, and I am currently a St. Martin’s representative for Saturday meals.

During my two terms as a vestry member I served as a convention delegate, clerk, junior warden, and senior warden. I was a vice-chancellor for the Diocese and currently serve as Church Attorney. My husband and I have two grown children and three grandchildren. I work in state government. I will be serving a one year term replacing Gabe Avila who stepped down in order to work as St. Martin’s technical guru.

After decades away from the church, believing I couldn’t reconcile my yearning for inclusiveness and social justice with my desire to embrace the scriptures I was raised with and the beauty of my spiritual heritage, I was led back to the church. I was delighted to learn that the Episcopal Church in general and St. Martin’s, but also a little sad that I hadn’t learned it earlier. I’ve been attending St. Martin’s for seven years now, and I’m eager to continue growing in my faith, and to becoming increasingly immersed in the life of the Church that I’ve come to love.   I’m originally from Southern California, and first came to Davis as a graduate student in the late 1980’s. Since then, I’ve been married, divorced (more than once), I have grown children and teenage grandchildren. I currently work at Sacramento City College.   Life has taken me many places, but happily I found my way back here in 2001. For the last seven years, no matter what life has handed me, I’ve always found peace, joy and comfort in St. Martin’s.

I have been a member of St. Martin’s since 1995, with years away at various times to live in Germany. When in Davis I was a professor of music at UC Davis (until retiring in 2018) and often a choir director and occasionally also organist at St. Martin’s. Having grown up as a member of the St. George’s Episcopal Church Choir in Riverside, where my father was choir director, I have sung in one choir or another most of my life. I long for the day when we can sing and worship together once again. Among the many things that Alessa and I have been grateful for at St. Martin’s over the years are its youth programs, which were a crucial help to us as we raised our son. We have also at a moment of health emergency been on the receiving end of meals and assistance from members of the church. These things — choir, youth programs, and helping hands — are just a few of the many groups and activities that have made us a remarkable and spirit-filled community. In these past trying months of virtual gatherings, I have marveled that the sense of communion we all treasured when we gathered in person has endured, transformed as we assemble week by week, household by household, on our individual computer screens. It is an honor to be nominated to serve on the vestry.

In my studies, life and work, I have focused on the individual and society in the context of the environment, with consideration of mental health, public health, and social justice. My studies have included the following areas: environmental and demographic themes in Germany, nature and mental health, the psychology, sociology and literature of the Third Reich, Psychosocial factors contributing to disease, chemical and destructive behavioral addictions, psychiatric disorders, and sociological theories of suicide. I enjoy the analysis of complex human and societal dilemmas and hope to contribute to the protection and improvement of the ecological and sociological environment through problem-solving, research, and effective and empathetic communication with diverse populations. My husband and I have two sons in college, and one daughter in junior high, two cats and a poodle mix. At St. Martin’s, I have been trained as a Stephen Minister, and currently participate in choir, Christian Formation, and Centering Prayer. My three children sang in St. Martin choirs. I was baptized as an adult at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Vancouver, Washington, the town where I was born and raised– as a Unitarian Universalist who also loved Bible camp. Later my family attended the St. James Episcopal Church in Pullman, WA, where my two sons were baptized, before relocating to Davis. As a member of the St. Martin’s Vestry, I would seek to adhere to the following principles while supporting the overarching mission of the Church: deepened inclusivity, authentic spiritual nourishment, and grounded sense of safety in community. I will endeavor to serve members and seekers from all walks of life, whether they be blessed with internal peace and external resources, or beset by inner suffering and constant struggle. I hold a Master of Social Work degree, and a BA in Germanics, journalism and literature. I have completed graduate coursework in German and teach a weekly German course for adults in the community (a labor of love). I currently work (remotely) as a social scientist and technical writer at an environmental consulting firm. Thank you very much for your support of the Vestry. I look forward to being of service in the years to come.