The Rev. Dana Fath Strande: Rector
Dana came to Nativity in 2015 from Christ Episcopal Church in Woodbury, where she served 13 years as their full time assistant priest and Parish Life Minister. She also has nearly 30 years of staff lay leadership experience.
Dana grew up on a farm in west central Minnesota, she attended St. Scholastica-Duluth where she graduated with three majors…all in ministry. She served parishes of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese before serving in the Episcopal Church in Minnesota. Dana also has a certificate in Church Business Administration from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul School of Divinity and has studied with Seabury, United Theological, and Luther seminaries.
Dana was ordained to the priesthood in 2015. She lives with her husband Michael and two daughters in Maplewood.
Telephone: 952-435-8687
Email: dana.fath.strande@nativitymn.org
The Rev. Jay Phelan: Associate Priest
Jay has served as an assistant priest at Nativity since October of 2023. He is part of the great preaching team at Nativity and works with the finance committee.
Jay is a retired seminary professor, having served as president and dean and professor of New Testament at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago. He also served as a pastor at two congregations in another Christian community before being ordained as an Episcopal priest. He has published several books and many scholarly articles.
Jay has been married to his wife Dawn, a retired middle school teacher, for more than 50 years and has two adult sons and two grandchildren. His PhD is from Northwestern University in Evanston, Il and he holds an MA from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Il. Jay lives in Bloomington, Mn.
Email: jphelan@northpark.edu
The Rev. Kathleen K. Brusco: Assisting Priest
Kathleen has served as the assistant priest at Nativity for the past 8 years. She works closely with the Rector and staff to complete the planning of worship and presides and preaches on Sundays, when needed.
Kathleen is a native to Minnesota and was raised in the Episcopal Church in White Bear Lake.
She has spent much of her ordained ministry at home raising her 4 children and enjoys being called to these two ministries of motherhood and the priesthood. In her free time she enjoys CrossFit, golf, and along with her husband, Paul, watching their kids ‘do their thing.’
She attended St. Olaf College and then Seabury-Western Seminary and has been ordained for 22 years.
Telephone: 952-898-0684
Email: kathleen.brusco@nativitymn.org
The Rev. Diane Luther: Deacon
Diane is delighted to join the community of Nativity after moving to Burnsville with her husband Richard. She was ordained a vocational deacon in the diocese of Chicago in August 2020 and served at Grace Episcopal in Galena until moving here.
Diane grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and moved to California after she and Richard married. She received a PhD in clinical psychology and practiced in Community Mental Health centers in California and later in Iowa, as well as private practice. She recognized a call to the diaconate shortly after retiring, so apparently retirement is not one of her skills!
The move to Minnesota fulfilled a desire to be closer to son Brian, daughter-in-law Michelle, and grandsons Dylan and Brody. Diane enjoys travel, hiking, and relaxes by quilting and knitting.
Chloe Hrbacek: Parish Office Coordinator
Chloe graduated in 2022 from Bethel University with a Bachelor’s in Journalism. She was formally an editor for a local newspaper in South Minneapolis, and is excited to be working with Nativity as Parish Coordinator!
Chloe grew up in the area attending All Saints Catholic School in Lakeville and Trinity at River Ridge high school in Eagan. She now lives with her husband, Matthew, in Brooklyn Center.
She is looking forward to getting to know the community at Nativity. She has had an interest in Journalism and Communications since she was 12 years-old and visited a National Geographic exhibit about women in journalism. In her free time, Chloe enjoys reading, baking, watching Netflix shows with her husband, and spending time with family.
Email: nativity@nativitymn.org
Clayton Heidbreder: Music Minister
Clayton Heidbreder is a Twin Cities-based music director, conductor, and organist whose church music career has exposed him to a variety of sacred music styles over the years. He grew up in Georgia, but quickly fell in love with Minnesota during his time studying at St. Olaf College. After a few years in Massachusetts, where he was best known for his award winning chamber choir, Clayton returned to the midwest and has been here ever since.
He is excited to serve as Nativity Episcopal’s new Music Minister. Choir and bells have always been a big part of his life, and he looks forward to leading and growing the music program here as well as finding ways to enrich and enhance worship with the arts. Look for Clayton at a Sunday coffee hour near you—getting to know the congregation is high on his list, so please say ‘hello’ and brace yourself to be asked if you sing!
Email: Music@NativityMN.org
Charlotte McLendon: Organist
Charlotte has degrees in music and business and enjoys using them to fuel both her creative and logical inclinations. She has worked in Information Technology in the insurance industry since moving to Minnesota and is retired from BlueCross BlueShield as a Systems Engineer. Charlotte served as organist at St. Alban’s Episcopal in Edina for 30 years and Holy Cross Lutheran in Oakdale for 4 years.
She and her wife, Tuka Markgraf live in Burnsville with four cats, a dog, three grandchildren, and the kids’ other grandmother.