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Born and raised in India, Milind was ordained in the Church of North India, which is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. He served churches in the Diocese of Nagpur before moving to the US to pursue further studies at Princeton Theological Seminary. He was canonically transferred to the Episcopal Church in 1997.
Milind served as Assistant Rector at All Saints’ in Princeton, NJ and at Church of the Redeemer in Bryn Mawr, PA before he was elected Rector of All Angels’ Church in Manhattan in New York City. He served there for 17 years. During his time there, he oversaw the expansion of church’s ministry to the unhoused, including a weekly overnight shelter, healthcare provision through networking with city agencies, Section 8 housing assistance. The church developed an alternate service to bring housed and unhoused communities together for worship through innovative music programming.
Milind is deeply drawn to St. Mary’s vision statement as “A community of imperfect and infinitely beloved people worshiping, learning, and working together to love God, our neighbors, and creation.”
Milind is married to Ajung who is also a priest in the Episcopal Church, currently serving as Rector of All Saints Church in Palo Alto. They make their home in Mountain View. They have two grown up children: Senti who lives in Brooklyn and works for Planned Parenthood and Anjali who works in animation at DreamWorks in Los Angeles.
Milind is an avid reader, a history buff, a strong advocate for social justice and racial reconciliation. He is a trained Life Coach. He and Ajung love to hike and travel.
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The senior warden is the chairperson of the Vestry. In addition, during a pastoral transition, when a rector is not appointed, the senior warden is the primary officer of the parish.
Clergy and Staff
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Dr. Elliot Jones has led music programs at Pioneer UCC in Sacramento, Mountain Shadows Presbyterian Church in Tucson, Asbury United Methodist Church in Delaware, and at the Episcopal Church of the Apostles in Oro Valley, Arizona. He has served as music director of the Arizona Repertory Singers, conducted the annual Tucson Messiah Sing-In, and was the founding artistic director of the Rainbow Chorale of Delaware, the state’s first GALA choir. Prolific as a conductor of works for chorus and orchestra, he has led performances of Bach’s Magnificat, Handel’s Israel in Egypt, Mozart’s Requiem, Haydn’s “Lord Nelson” Mass, Fauré’s Requiem, Honegger’s King David, Finzi’s In Terra Pax and Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors. He has twice conducted performances at the National Cathedral in Washington, most recently of Gregorio Allegri’s iconic work, Miserere. A passionate advocate for new music, he conducted the East-Coast premiere of Jake Heggie’s Anna Madrigal Remembers (text by Armistead Maupin) in addition to premieres of works by Karen Siegel and Ricky Ian Gordon. The Arizona Daily Star and Tucson Weekly have described his ensembles’ performances as “powerful,” “sublime,” “outstanding,” and “chill-inducing.”
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Although she majored in French, Wendy’s early pursuits were writer, events organizer, and partner in a quilt shop. She came to St. Mary’s by-the-Sea with Kevin in 1972, when their daughter Jennifer was baptized there. They soon became very active and enthusiastic members. In 1984, she became Sunday School Coordinator and then Fr. Dwight Edwards asked her to be his administrative assistant.
Fr. Edward’s sermons, deep immersion in the Bible and worship, and the Education for Ministry course, set Wendy on a radical spiritual journey. Eventually she heard God calling her to ordained ministry. She commuted to the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, and in 1997 was ordained transitional Deacon at St. Mary’s and then Priest at St. Dunstan’s. She was assistant and priest-in-charge at St. Dunstan’s, Chaplain at All Saints Day School, and interim or transition priest at St. Luke’s, St. Paul’s, Good Shepherd, and St. George’s.
After retiring, Wendy returned to beloved St. Mary’s, serving as Assisting Priest since 2018. She loves parish ministry in all its parts, and feels blessed to be able to serve as needed.
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Penny Portillo started her career in the software industry, first working in technical support and later in management positions for Santa Cruz Operation and IBM.
Drawn to higher education, the next phase of her career was at the University of California. She initially led the international student and scholar office at the Santa Cruz campus, and later served over 10 years as Assistant Dean for Finance & Administration for the School of Humanities at the Irvine campus, the position from which she retired in 2022. An undergraduate alumna of UCI, she holds two graduate degrees from Stanford — an MA in Education and an MBA.
She and her husband Roni were active in their church in Irvine, where Penny sang in the choir and served on the administration board for several years. Penny and Roni were delighted to move back to the central coast and to live closer to their daughter Sofia.
Penny’s hobbies include singing, knitting, plant-based cooking, and going on walks in beautiful places.
Lay Delegates and Alternates to Convention
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Norah Schramm
Delegate
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Stephanie Pastor
Delegate
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Jackie Frey
Delegate
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Elizabeth McCorkle
Delegate
St. Mary’s by-the-Sea is a parish in the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real. The delegates attend the annual Diocesan Convention and represent St. Mary’s by-the-Sea.