Clergy and Staff

The Very Rev. Beth Franklin

Rector

The Reverend Beth Franklin, (formerly Magill) began her call as 7th Rector of St. Michael’s on Sunday, December 10, 2017.

A native of Alexandria, Beth grew up in the Diocese of Virginia. From a young age her parents instilled in her that participation was the most important part of worshipping in community. As a result, she was very active in the church, community, and Diocese, including serving as a counselor at various Shrine Mont camps.

Beth attended William & Mary as an undergrad, receiving a BA in Sociology. Soon after, she attended Yale for her Masters of Divinity and Diploma of Anglican Studies. Ordained in 2009, Beth’s first call took her to the Diocese of Texas where she served as an Associate Priest at St. David’s, Austin.

Her next call was as Missioner to the Episcopal Student Center at the University of Texas, where Beth served for five years. She is still convinced that this is the most fun job in all of the Episcopal Church! After her work at UT, she served as Missioner for Congregational Initiatives for the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. In this role, Beth oversaw all campus misssions in the Diocese, including the start of six new campus ministries, and traveled throughout the state working to enhance congregational ministry.

Beth is trained as facilitator in The Daring Way ^TM, the work of Dr. Brene Brown. She was a founder of Magdalene House, Austin, a community she co-founded for survivors of human trafficking. Beth serves as the Dean of the Arlington Region in the Diocese of Virginia.

Beth and her husband Nic love being a part of the vibrant community in North Arlington. In addition to enjoying the beautiful trails, they can often be found at Nationals baseball games, cooking elaborate meals, or chasing their sons, Warner and Pierson.

Mike Schmidt

Music Minister

Mike is thrilled to be joining the staff at St. Michaels. A native of Pennsylvania, Mike joined the faculty of Episcopal High School in Alexandria, VA as Director of Choral Music in 2022. Mike began his music career as church musician at at the age of 12 and has served as Minister of Music and Organist at Christ Lutheran Church (Hellertown, PA) St. Paul Lutheran Church (East Windsor, NJ), and St. John Lutheran Church (Mamaroneck, NY). Prior to joining the Episcopal faculty, he was the Director of Choral Activities at Scarsdale High School (Scarsdale, NY) and Voorhees High School (Glen Gardner, NJ). Mike taught on the voice faculty of Eastern Illinois University and served as the interim director of the University of Illinois Varsity Men’s Glee Club. In addition to his work in church music and choral music education, Mike is the Past-President of the New Jersey American Choral Directors Association and has served on multiple conference committees for the American Choral Directors Association – Eastern Division. Mike has presented interest sessions on choral music and choral music education for the College Music Society, New Jersey American Choral Directors Association, and the New York Music Educators Association, and multiple universities. He is currently a D.M.A. candidate at the University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign. His proposed dissertation focuses on secular choral music of Hugo Distler.

Karen Ruff

Children and Families Minister

Janet Hansen

Treasurer

Drew Downey

Seminarian

Drew Downey is originally from Mobile, Alabama where he grew up under the attentive eyes of his parents, both early childhood educators. This helped shape his love for reading, and also meant he could never hide a report card. Drew graduated from Auburn University in 2006 with a major in Communication and a minor in English. After college he returned to the Gulf Coast where he worked for a community bank working his way from a teller to an Assistant Manager. During his time on the Gulf Coast, he served as president for both the non-profit organization Ecumenical Ministries and the Baldwin Pops Community Orchestra. He also served as a board member of the Fairhope Public Library.

He discovered the Episcopal Church through a childhood friend and would attend Christmas Eve services during High School and College. After moving back to the Gulf Coast, Drew found himself at St. James Episcopal Church after being invited to play in the brass ensemble for an Easter service. The message he heard that morning was unfamiliar to him having grown up in the Baptist Church. The sermon spoke of love divine and a God who is always reaching out to those that who were pushed to the fringe of society. Shortly after that Easter Service, he began attending confirmation classes and was confirmed in the Episcopal Church in 2015. Drew was active during his time at St. James by serving on the vestry, singing in the choir, assisting in book discussions, serving as a confirmation mentor, and serving as a Lay Eucharistic Minister with Community of Hope International.

In 2019 Drew began exploring a call into ordained ministry. Drew and his husband Chris soon found themselves in front of the Commission on Ministry and began walking the path of discernment. In 2022 Drew was granted postulancy and was accepted by Virginia Theological Seminary. He is currently a Senior year at VTS and is excited to be part of the St. Michael’s family.

When choosing a church to attend in the DMV, Drew and Chris were looking for one that felt intimate—where they could worship and grow alongside people who would know their names. Drew is also interested in a church that is cognizant of historical harms, is active in community outreach, and where leadership is found in all people. He has witnessed this through St. Michaels’ acknowledgement of the racially restrictive covenant within the original deed, as well as the forum held on the opioid epidemic and subsequent Narcan training.

Drew and Chris look forward to learning more about the community as they worship and grow with the St. Michael’s family.