Clergy & Staff

The Rev. Becky Gettel

The Rev. Becky Gettel joined us in March 2020 as Rector of St. Paul’s. Raised in RI, Becky went to Rhode Island College for her degree in Art Education, but detoured to Togo, West Africa to volunteer with the Peace Corps before launching into her teaching career. When she returned, she taught art for a short time, but ultimately became a Director of Christian Formation which led her to seminary. She attended the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge and received her Masters in Divinity in 2012, the same year that she began an eight year long ministry as Associate Rector of Trinity Church in Concord. Becky is delighted to have found St. Paul’s and to live in Natick now, in our rectory, with her trumpet-playing husband, Greg, and their two children. When not on Zoom, the Gettels are having a great time getting to know Natick by bike, foot, and kayak.

Katy Denning

A native of the beautiful “Big Sky” country of Montana, Katy received her BA in English (with a minor in Geology) from The University of Montana and then, after living and working in both New York City and Denver, Colorado, she moved to New England and earned her Master of Divinity Degree from Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge (now the School of Theology and Ministry at Boston College) in 2005.

Since then she has served as a Pastoral Associate at a Parish, a High School Theology Teacher, Campus Minister and Director of Mission and Ministry in a variety of parish and educational settings. She was most recently the Director of Admission for a small preschool and elementary school in Newton.

Katy has been married for 13 years to her husband Brian and they have two children, Gavin and Leah. She and her family began attending St. Paul’s on the First Sunday of Advent in 2015 shortly after moving to Natick from Somerville and have enjoyed becoming active members of such a warm and welcoming community. Her interests include nurturing Women’s Spirituality, exploring Trinitarian Theology and Feminist Theology and finding new ways to live as a family through the Liturgical Year/Seasons. In addition, she loves getting out in nature and hiking, traveling with family and friends to new places and the poetry of Mary Oliver!

Jody Pongratz

Jody Pongratz has been a pastoral musician for more than 30 years serving most recently for 2 years at First Baptist Church in Newton and St. Zepherin and Good Shepherd Parish for more than 15 years. She resides in Wayland with her husband and 1 of her 3 children. Jody has an AB in Psychology and Social Relations from Harvard University where she was an active member in student liturgies and also studied music and choral conducting. She also has a MEd from Boston University. Over the last three decades Jody has participated in music for religious services of various faiths, accompanied several choral and theatrical groups in and around Boston and Metrowest and for Natick and Wayland Public schools. She currently is the Executive Director at Dedham School of Music. Jody remains active in community organizations and sits on the Regional Board for Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos (NPHUSA.org).

The Rev. Chris Visminas

Ordained for over thirty years as an Episcopal priest, the Reverend Christine Visminas holds a B. A. in theology from Duquesne University and an M. A. in theology from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. For 20 years she ran C. E. Visminas Co., Ltd., which sold bulletin covers, stationery and children's books based on traditional Christian images, including icons. After selling the company to Morehouse Publishing, she worked part-time as a conservation agent for the Town of Framingham, a position that included law enforcement, wetlands identification, and inspection.

For the last decade, Chris has served as a Christian adult education consultant and has created classes on a variety of subjects, including the History of Marriage and The Meaning of the Dead Christ. Frequently her courses involve museum visits which is how she became involved with the Museum of Russian Icons and curated “Pondering Mary: Her Story Through Icons” exhibit which ran in the Spring of 2017.

Over the past few decades, Chris has worn many different hats at St. Paul’s including joining our staff during various seasons of need. Currently, she is a non-stipendiary priest associate and teaches our 8:45am Sunday morning adult education class, as well as several diocesan classes (all on Zoom).

Chris has been married for over forty years to Steven Clark, a software engineer. She has two sons, both of whom work in the computer field. The eldest is married and has two lovely daughters. Her hobbies include gardening, needlework, and geology.