leadership

Rector

Originally from New York, Brian has strong opinions about pizza and has served as rector of St. Paul’s since the fall of 2022. He holds a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College, a M.Div from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a Diploma of Anglican Studies from the Seminary of the Southwest. Brian is a church mutt who has spent time with Lutherans, Baptists, Evangelicals, Presbyterians, and Roman Catholics before finally finding a home in the Episcopal Church. Prior to coming to St. Paul’s, Brian was the Associate Rector at St. Helena’s Episcopal Church in Boerne, TX and led college ministries in NY and NJ. He’s an active participant in diocesan life in West Texas, an alumni of the H.E. Butt Foundation’s Narrative Change Project, and a contributing author for Earth & Altar. In his free time Brian does some cool things, like play saxophone, and some uncool things, like play tabletop games. He lives inside Loop 410 where he is developing strong opinions about breakfast tacos along with his wife, daughter, and too many cats.

Music Director

Ben Carlisle is Director of Music and Organist at St. Paul's.  He has previously served or been associated with some of the largest and smallest churches in the country, from the Cathedral of St. Phlip in Atlanta, where he occasionally sings, to St. David's in Lincoln, where he and the rector were the only two employees.  In San Antonio, he was Director of Music and Organist at St. David's, and Assistant for Music and Liturgy at St. Mark's.  He holds degrees from the University of the South (Sewanee) and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  At St. David's in Lincoln, his first church as Director of Music, he served a church that had no choir, and had recently rebuilt a worship space with no place to put a choir. Together, they developed a "Congregation as Choir" program, designed to encourage congregational singing.  This has led to a career-long interest in the development of singing in the congregation.  St. Paul's obvious love of music and singing gladdens his heart on a weekly basis.  His wife, Kelly Grey Carlisle, is Associate Professor of English at Trinity University, and the author of We Are All Shipwrecks, a memoir, and an upcoming book about pilgrimage (ancient and modern) and Durham Cathedral, where his family lived for a year.  One of his children is a fabulous musician, and the other is an amazing gymnast.

Coordinator for Children’s Ministry

Rebecca is a native San Antonian who pretty much was born singing. She has been the Music Director and Godly Play Storyteller at St. Paul's Episcopal Montessori School since 2021. She also teaches private piano lessons. She came on board as the Coordinator of Children's Ministry at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in early 2025, where she oversees the Children's Ministry, including Godly Play and the Nursery.    The formal stuff: Rebecca holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from the University of North Texas, but mostly, she just really loves kids and sharing music and faith with them.    She grew up in San Antonio, but spent time as an adult in Corpus Christi and the Austin area.   For the vast majority of her adult life, she has been both a school music teacher and a church musician. She grew up at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in San Antonio, where her mother was the organist and choir director for 37 years. She has served as a musician at a number of different churches, mostly Episcopal, but also Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Methodist.    Rebecca is very happy that her work at St. Paul's brings together three of her favorite things: Kids, Music, and Jesus. And while all of this is great, her heart really belongs to her favorite role as wife to her high school sweetheart, Jeff,  and mother of their three grown children (two sons and one daughter) who are all teachers (two of them music teachers, as well).   

Head of School

A San Antonio native, Macleay grew up attending Montessori school through 8th grade and was actively involved in the Episcopal Church throughout her childhood. She attended TMI Episcopal for high school before heading to The University of Texas at Austin, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and ended up staying for 14 years (Austin has a way of doing that). She completed her AMI Elementary Montessori training at the Montessori Institute of North Texas in Dallas and spent several years teaching and leading in both private and public Montessori schools in Austin. In 2018, her family happily returned to San Antonio to be closer to grandparents, and Macleay joined St. Paul’s as the Upper Elementary Lead Guide before becoming Head of School in Fall 2020. She believes deeply in Montessori education as a way of honoring the whole child within a strong, caring community like St. Paul’s. Macleay has two amazing, high-energy boys and one amazing but notably lower-energy husband. During school breaks, you’ll likely find their family adventuring in a tiny squaredrop camper somewhere in the wilderness across Texas and beyond, fueled by big energy, big curiosity, and very good snacks.

Parish Administrator

Sexton

Robert is too busy fixing an old pew to write a bio, but he has a wonderful family and has faithfully worked as a church sexton for over thirty years.