Parish Clergy

The Rev. Stephen V. Schneider, Rector

rector@grace-memorial.org

The Reverend Stephen V. Schneider, Rector, has served Grace since 1994. He is the fifth rector of the parish, which was established in 1908. From 1989 to 1994 Stephen served at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Portland where he was Canon Residentiary. Before his ordination as a deacon in 1989 and as a priest in 1990, Stephen was on the staff of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO) from 1970 to 1986. He served as the associate director of EMO and director of the Center for Urban Education (CUE), an Ecumenical Ministries agency.

Stephen was educated as an undergraduate at Wheaton College in Illinois where he was a philosophy major. He received a Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary and a Certificate in Anglican Studies from The General Theological Seminary in New York City.

In addition to serving as Rector at Grace, Stephen was the founder and first President of Grace Institute, an agency created by the parish in 1996 “to develop programs and projects that creatively engage the challenges and changes facing the city and its neighborhoods.” Stephen is currently a member of the board of directors of Holladay Park Plaza, a retirement community. After serving two terms as a trustee of Pioneer Courthouse Square, he is now an honorary trustee of the Square.

In recent years he has been president of the Board of Directors of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO), as well as a member and secretary of the Board of Governors of the City Club of Portland, and a trustee of Oregon Episcopal School. He has chaired the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects for the Northwest Region of Kaiser Permanente and over the years has served on numerous other community boards.
His public sector service includes advisory committees in public education, housing and cable television. He has also taught urban studies and communication courses at Portland State University.
He is presently the Dean of the Metro East Convocation of Episcopal Churches and served for many years as Ecumenical Officer for the Diocese of Oregon. He also was co-Chair of the Peace and Justice Commission for the diocese.

The Reverend Esme Jo Culver

Associate for Mission and Ministry

esme@grace-memorial.org

Esme joined Grace Memorial in July, 2006 as a transitional deacon and was ordained as a priest in 2007.   Prior to arriving at Grace, she completed two years of field education at St. Clement’s Episcopal Church in Berkeley, and for one and a half years served as Chaplain at the Oregon State Hospital at its facilities in Salem and Portland.  Esme received a B.Sc.Degree in Business Administration/Psychology from Portland State University in 1981. She received a Masters of Divinity Degree from The Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, California.  Esme was a long time member of Trinity Cathedral in Portland, where her numerous ministries included serving on the Cathedral Chapter and Search Committee for Dean of the Cathedral.   

In addition to her pastoral duties, Esme serves as Administrator for Grace Memorial and as Executive Director for Grace Institute, a non-profit affiliate of Grace Memorial which offers the highly successful summer Grace Art Camp.  She also assists Grace Foundation in its development work on behalf of Grace Parish and Grace Institute.  

Esme’s deep interest in global service and people-to-people connections has helped to launch Global Grace, a global outreach program at Grace. Esme currently serves as co-chair of the Ells Culver Vision Fund, a fund established by Mercy Corps in memory of her husband Ells Culver, co-Founder of Mercy Corps, a world-wide relief and development agency based in Portland, Oregon.  

Prior to entering seminary, Esme accumulated 25 years of experience in recruiting, placement, career guidance, marketing and sales management.  For 20 years she helped to build and run a successful full-service staffing agency, ProTem, which she ultimately led as CEO and partner for ten years.  ProTem received many awards for its high standards, socially responsible and ethical practices and was recognized nationally for innovative programs for working women.   

Esme has presided over several boards:  The Portland Metropolitan Business Association, The Oregon Association of Temporary Services, the Oregon Commission for Childcare, appointed as Chair by Governors Barbara Roberts and John Kitzhaber,  The Oregon Child Development Fund and Altrusa International.  She was the founder of The Emergence  Foundation, dedicated to training and job-placement for unskilled young parents and has served on The Oregon Community Foundation Leadership Council among other community activities.  Esme has been invited as keynote speaker on a wide range of issues for numerous conferences, seminars, colleges and universities in the United States and in Asia.  She has been a featured columnist for a daily business paper for three years.  

She is currently completing her second year as a member of Fresh Start, is a member of the Policies on Resolutions Committee for the Diocese of Oregon and begins her tenure as Chair of the Clergy Conference for the diocese in 2009.

Esme was born in England and raised in Wales and is half Turkish.  She has three grown children, Amber Eden, Glyn Owen and Geoffrey Rymer and resides in North Portland.