Clergy
The Rev. Canon Mary June Nestler (Interim Priest) The Rev. Canon Nestler was the Canon to the Ordinary for the Diocese of Utah under Bishop Scott Hayashi until 2018, acting as the bishop’s confidant and chief of staff. She also served as Canon Theologian, Formation Director, and Transition Officer for the Diocese of Utah. She recently returned from Jerusalem, where she served as Course Director of the prestigious St. George’s College. She was also Lecturer in Contextual Biblical Studies at the Anglican institution that is known for study, pilgrimages, and hospitality for all religions. Prior to serving Utah, The Rev. Cn. Nestler was Dean and President of the Episcopal Theological School at Claremont from 1992 to 2006. She also taught numerous courses and led tours throughout the Holy Land for St. George’s College. She has an extensive background in the Holy Land including her ongoing work as consulting archaeologist and area supervisor for the Mount Carmel Project, Haifa, Israel, since 1998, and was also an area supervisor at Sepphoris for seven seasons. |
The Rev. Isabel Gonzalez
(Assistant Priest: Latino Ministry) The Rev. Isabel Gonzalez is the first Latina ordained to the priesthood in the Diocese of Utah. She became a priest in February 2007 The Rev. Gonzalez grew up in Tlaltenango, a village in Central Mexico. She moved to Salinas, California, in the 1980s, where she worked in the fields, obtained her GED and gained permanent residency. In 1994, she moved to Utah and started working for the Diocese of Utah as a maintenance assistant. Acknowledging her call to ministry, the diocese created a curriculum to prepare her to become a deacon and then a priest in the Episcopal Church. After eight years of study, she was ordained to the ministry. She came to Good Shepherd to lead El Buen Pastor, the Spanish-speaking congregation, in 2006. The Rev. Gonzalez has overseen growth of the Latino congregation in Ogden with multiple baptisms, confirmations every year. She also performs quinceñeras, weddings, First Communions and other sacraments. |
The Rev. Deacon Patti Sanchez (Deacon)
The Rev. Deacon Patti Sanchez was ordained by Bishop Scott Hayashi and Presiding Bishop Michael Curry at the Convention of the Diocese of Utah in 2017.
In 2015 Patti was called by St. Peter's to become a Deacon. She completed the Utah Ministry Formation Program and pastoral certification at St. Mark's Hospital and served at St. Peter's until Bishop Hayashi asked her to consider serving at Good Shepherd. She accepted the call to serve at Good Shepherd in 2020 at the onset of the pandemic.
Prior to ordination, Patti completed the novitiate to become a Daughter of the King and served as a Reader, Eucharist Visitor and Choir member. She was actively involved with St. Anne's Homeless Shelter, now Lantern House, and served on the Board representing Good Shepherd. She and her family were volunteers for Youth Impact during its initial beginning in the basement of Good Shepherd.
Patti is a lifelong Episcopalian and was christened in the Anglican Church in Toronto, Quebec, Canada. Her extended family lived in Toronto, but her parents immigrated and became American citizens shortly after her fourth birthday.
Her family traveled from state to state within the United States and her parents ultimately settled in Sioux City, Iowa. Each new location meant finding a church as close to the Anglican faith her mother could and that was the Episcopal Church.
Patti served in the military and worked as a telephone linemen/medic and attended college when her schedule would allow. Ultimately she completed college as a non-traditional student long before that was a normal college experience.
Patti has two grown sons and three grandchildren and although she spent most of her life as a transitory vagabond, she has made her home in Utah.
The Rev. Deacon Patti Sanchez was ordained by Bishop Scott Hayashi and Presiding Bishop Michael Curry at the Convention of the Diocese of Utah in 2017.
In 2015 Patti was called by St. Peter's to become a Deacon. She completed the Utah Ministry Formation Program and pastoral certification at St. Mark's Hospital and served at St. Peter's until Bishop Hayashi asked her to consider serving at Good Shepherd. She accepted the call to serve at Good Shepherd in 2020 at the onset of the pandemic.
Prior to ordination, Patti completed the novitiate to become a Daughter of the King and served as a Reader, Eucharist Visitor and Choir member. She was actively involved with St. Anne's Homeless Shelter, now Lantern House, and served on the Board representing Good Shepherd. She and her family were volunteers for Youth Impact during its initial beginning in the basement of Good Shepherd.
Patti is a lifelong Episcopalian and was christened in the Anglican Church in Toronto, Quebec, Canada. Her extended family lived in Toronto, but her parents immigrated and became American citizens shortly after her fourth birthday.
Her family traveled from state to state within the United States and her parents ultimately settled in Sioux City, Iowa. Each new location meant finding a church as close to the Anglican faith her mother could and that was the Episcopal Church.
Patti served in the military and worked as a telephone linemen/medic and attended college when her schedule would allow. Ultimately she completed college as a non-traditional student long before that was a normal college experience.
Patti has two grown sons and three grandchildren and although she spent most of her life as a transitory vagabond, she has made her home in Utah.