Staff and Vestry

The Rev. Carren Sheldon was called to serve as St. Luke’s Interim Rector, on September 1, 2020. She has previously served as Interim Rector to three other parishes, most recently All Saints’, Redding.

Carren is a late-vocation priest, after a long career in radio broadcasting. She has worked as a restaurant server, fruit packer, hospital chaplain, market research assistant, lobbyist’s assistant, offset printer, children and youth minister, Godly Play Trainer, and parent to three grown children with three grandchildren and three grand dogs to love.

A lifelong Episcopalian and a native Californian, Carren has learned most everything else the hard way. She studied at Church Divinity School of the Pacific in 2012, receiving a Master’s of Divinity (emphasis on Christian Education and Pastoral Care). She favors walking meetings, and thoughtful conversations, likes being outdoors, writing, and tinkering with broken things that are way-too-good-to-throw-away (also how she might describe herself). She hasn’t yet learned to like socks or slithery creatures.

She is eager to know and to serve the good people and ministries of St. Luke’s, Woodland and its surrounding community.

Dean Mora has been playing organ and piano for various denominations since 1989, including services for Presbyterian, Lutheran, Catholic, and Episcopal churches.  Dean is a recent transplant to the Sacramento area, having moved here from Los Angeles in 2014.  He received his Bachelor of Music degree from California State University, Northridge.  In addition to his duties here at St. Luke’s, Dean is also the choral accompanist for the River City Chorale and the Yuba-Sutter Master Chorale, and has also worked with the Opera Department at CSU Sacramento.  In addition to church organ, Dean also plays theatre organ, most notably in accompanying silent movies since 1991, and as a staff organist at Disney’s El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood.

Laurie Moore has been involved in the early childhood field for the last 40 years. She has a BA in early childhood education from Sacramento State University, attended the early childhood education and leader ship program at Pacific Oaks College, and recently graduated from UC Davis’s extension studying professional work/life coaching. Laurie‘s background includes working as a lead teacher with infants through pre-K children. She has been an associate, co-director, and director at various private nonprofit, church based center, and state funded programs. Laurie worked five years as a program director overseeing eight centers in Northern California. Laurie enjoys mentoring early childhood students, teachers, directors, and has led a number of Center’s through the NAEYC accreditation process.She has spoken at a variety of teacher and parent education conferences and workshops. Laurie‘s experience include’s serving young children and families from diverse social economical, cultural and ethnic backgrounds at several different early childhood learning centers. She has a number of years experience creating and maintaining effective programs that serve the practical needs of staff, children, and families. She believes in the importance’s of providing a high-quality learning environment for young children, teachers, and families.