During the worship service on Sunday, Nov. 23, Calvary parishioners will elect five people to serve three-year terms on Calvary’s vestry.
Following Calvary’s bylaws, the nomination committee, comprised of 2024 Sr. Warden, Ben Boeving, and the five third-year vestry members (Franklin Barton, Kate Connell, Terri Dulaney, Jessica Flynn, and Clay Woemmel), presents the following slate for election to the 2025 vestry.
Additional nominations may be made until 48 hours before the election. If you know someone you wish to nominate, please get in touch with Sr. Warden Jessica Flynn no later than 10 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 21. Please be sure to obtain that person’s permission first, and then find two other parishioners with whom to make the nomination.
Joe W. Brandenburg (68) was confirmed at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Middlesboro, Kentucky, in 1985. When he moved to Memphis in 2011, he settled on Mud Island and planned to visit a few Episcopal churches before deciding where to attend. “Calvary was first on my list since it was the closest to home. From the moment I walked in, I was greeted with such warmth and kindness, and I was really impressed by all the ways to get involved in the church’s ministries.” Joe holds a BA in Mass Communications from Western Kentucky University and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He recently retired from the University of Memphis after a 45-year career working in journalism, public relations, and professional fundraising. He currently serves on the Memphis Speech and Hearing Center Board of Directors. Joe serves as an usher and greeter, as a member of a Pastoral Care Team, and on the Funeral Guild. “These roles have deepened my sense of connection to our parish community and to the work of caring for others.” He has participated in Room in the Inn and Education for Ministry, and he recently represented the parish as a delegate to the Diocesan Convention. He feels called “to help strengthen the church’s ministries by focusing on the parish stewardship efforts.”
Jordan Stephens Edmundson (36) was raised Southern Baptist and is the granddaughter of a Southern Baptist minister. She started attending an Episcopal church after college “to find a fit to the questions of ‘why?’” she kept finding herself asking. “I didn’t get any answers – I just found that the question felt welcome.” Jordan and her husband, Bryan, fell in love with the community and the role it plays in the city that has loved us so well. Their son David was born in 2021 and baptized at Calvary. Jordan began EfM in 2018 and “graduated under the mentorship of the beloved Richard Hendricks in 2022.” She currently teaches children’s formation classes for Kindergarten – 2nd grade and helps with Children’s Chapel. Jordan and Bryan have hosted gatherings of young families. Jordan graduated from Collierville High in 2008 and earned a BBA and an MS in Finance from the UofM in 2010 and 2012, respectively. She is a financial advisor for UBS. In the community, Jordan serves on the boards of Page Robbins Adult Day and RiverArtsFest. As a vestry member, she will focus on stewardship and outreach, while “helping to strengthen community engagement and connection with young families within the church.”
Leanne Kleinmann (65) graduated from Northwestern University and has worked as a journalist most of her career. When she and her husband, Andy Alsenas, moved to Memphis from New York in 1990, she became the editor of Memphis magazine and then the features editor at The Commercial Appeal. In 2009, she took a job as the director of advancement at St. Mary’s Episcopal School, and in 2016, she launched her company, Leanne Kleinmann Communications, focusing on communications and fundraising strategy. Leanne and Andy’s son, Tomas, was baptized at Calvary and now lives in Boston. Leanne was a longtime board member of Calvary Place and has served on the boards of Memphis Planned Parenthood and Leadership Memphis. She grew up in the Episcopal church in Ohio and found Calvary through the Lenten Preaching Series. She sang in the yearly Messiah choruses beginning in the early 1990s and joined the choir around 2004. The family left Calvary in 2011 and attended St. Mary’s Cathedral until Tomas graduated from high school. “I found my way back to Calvary during the pandemic; I’ll never forget the luminous (online) Lessons and Carols of 2021, weeping over Marie Howe’s incredible poem, The Annunciation. It was time to come back.” She is “not sure of my focus as a vestry member, though I hope I’ll be able to be a part of keeping Calvary open to the needs of the community, both inside and outside the church.”
Heather Heath Grosvenor (58) earned a BA in Art History at SMU in 1989. In Houston, she worked as a buyer, in sales, and in furniture design. She owned several businesses, including catering, floral design, and party planning. She worked in commercial real estate in Houston and Aspen. She was a member of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Houston, TX, until 2000. In Aspen, she was an active member of Aspen Community Church (Methodist), including chair of their annual home tour. She moved to Memphis in 2007 when she married her husband, Henry. They joined St. John’s Methodist and volunteered in their food pantry. Since they lived downtown, they found their way to Calvary. “We fell in love with the open hearts, minds, and doors that truly in every way were lived out at Calvary.” Their son Beau (12) is an acolyte and lector. Heather takes part in the Tuesday women’s bible study, various Wednesday night groups, and is a member of the flower guild. She volunteers with Room at the Inn, the Lenten Preaching series, and the Emmanuel Meal. Heather is an active community volunteer (Children’s Museum, Memphis Library Foundation, Central Gardens Association, Literacy Memphis, Theater Memphis, Junior League, MIFA, Memphis Garden Club, and Grace-St. Luke’s school). As a vestry member, she wants to find “new creative ways we can reach out to and connect with our community.”
Richard Weskett (Wes) Nelson (35) was raised at the First Centenary United Methodist Church in Chattanooga. He was introduced to Calvary by his wife, Molly Crenshaw Nelson, when he moved to Memphis in 2018. Molly & Wes were married by Scott Walters & Mimsy Jones in 2019, and “the love and care those two showed during that process solidified that Calvary was the place for me.” Wes was confirmed in 2019. Wes & Molly are the parents of sons, Sam (4), and Henry (3), and often worship alongside Molly’s parents, Lucia & Hal Crenshaw. “Our family loves to attend as many parenting and children’s events that Jocelyn Busby offers as possible!” A graduate of the University of Georgia, Wes worked six years in public accounting before spending the past seven years at Greystar Real Estate Partners, specializing in student housing. He serves on the fundraising committee of the Boys & Girls Club of Memphis. “Given my financial background, I am very excited to learn more about the business and budgeting aspect at Calvary,” as a member of the vestry.