Rev. Marlee Norton
The Rev. Marlee R. J. Norton became priest-in-charge of Grace Church on March 1, 2014. She has been priest-in-charge of St. James the Greater in Bristol Borough since March 2009, and now serves both churches. She also has served Church of the Redeemer, Andalusia, and worked as administrator of benefits for the diocese’s clergy and lay employees. She has served on the Commission on Clergy Compensation and Employee Benefits and the Church Foundation Board of Directors, and Diocesan Council.
Marlee received her Master in Divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, VA, in 2006. During seminary she served as a chaplain at the University of North Carolina Hospitals, Chapel Hill and worked at Wicomico Parish Church, Wicomico, VA, Calvary Episcopal Church, Front Royal, VA and for the Bishop of the Diocese of Washington.
As a lay person at St. George’s, Arlington, VA, she served on Vestry, chaired stewardship, newcomers, and Honduras ministries, led lay ministry development, did two mission trips in Honduras, led the development and teaching of workshops on spiritual gifts, and played a key role in creating a quasi-Benedictine Rule of Life community within St. George’s.
Prior to entering the ordination process, Marlee was Vice President of International Programs for the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association in Arlington, VA. She also worked for the United Nations, the World Bank and several non-profit organizations involved in cooperatives and international development.
Sheron Drennen
Sheron took on the role of part-time Parish Administrator in October 2009. She also worked part-time as the Parish Administrative Assistant at St. James the Greater in Bristol. Before working part-time for two Episcopal churches Sheron worked for 8 years as a Human Resources Administrator for a musical instrument company located in Bensalem. Sheron is a life long Episcopalian. She has been a member at Trinity Church, Oxford (Northeast Philadelphia), St. Margaret's Episcopal Chruch (Boiling Springs, SC), and The Memorial Church of St. Luke (Northeast Philadelphia).
Lisa Birnbaum
Lisa came to us in the fall of 2008 insisting she was only interested in being an interim organist until a full-time one could be found. Within six months, we had won her over... especially the personable choir!
Prior to moving to Pennsylvania, Lisa was Director of Music/Organist at another Episcopal Church just outside of Boston, MA for almost twenty years where she directed Senior, Junior, Angel, and Handbell choirs. She also taught middle school music. Mrs. Birnbaum was active with Rose, Thistle, and Thorn, an early music group, performing on harpsichord, flute, and vocals at historic places such as the Paul Revere House and at the bicentennial anniversary of the USS Constitution.
Lisa holds a B.S. in Music from Mansfield University (PA) and an M.M. Ed. in Music from Ithaca College (NY). She has done post-graduate work at Villanova. In addition to her responsibilities at Grace Church, Mrs. Birnbaum is the Academic Dean and Middle School teacher at Philadelphia Christian Center Academy (Bensalem) and coordinates a holiday program and directs a spring musical.
Grace Church strives to combine traditional music with contemporary worship styles to ensure there is something for everyone
