athy Brooks grew up in Cohasset on South Main Street. She was raised Catholic and attended services at Mary Knoll and the Glas-

tonbury Abbey in Hingham. She would go to St. Anthony's sometimes for holidays and First Communion, weddings and funerals.
     She was living in Los Angeles when she became engaged to Tim. He had been raised Presbyterian but was mostly unchurched. They thought it was important that women could be priests and that clergy could marry, especially if the priest was going to be giving pre-marriage counseling. The Episcopal Church fit the bill for them. They asked Cliff (the Rev. E. Clifford Cutler 1985 – 2006) to marry them. The counseling was divided between Los Angeles and Cohasset.
     They travelled a good deal in their early marriage: Los Angeles, Indianapolis, and Germany. In each city, they sought out an Episcopal Church. “In a large city like Indianapolis, going to church is a nice way to meet people,” said Kathy. When the Brooks returned here in 2002, St. Stephen’s became their church home.
     For Kathy, her growing faith is a journey, ebbing and flowing. “Even though I am blessed and lucky to live with so much good fortune, I don’t have the wherewithal to deal with challenges without God’s help—without a higher power,” she said. When Kathy was 39, she was diagnosed with cancer. When asked how she coped, she said: “I completely surrendered to {God’s will}. Whatever would happen, would happen. I had no control. I felt so comforted and supported by community, and I felt help and forgiveness from my Higher Power.” Kathy recovered and returned to good health in time, thanks be to God.
     She is now a member of our Vestry. Coming from a Catholic background, Kathy says she likes learning what goes on behind the scenes. She appreciates the democratic process, especially how it broadens decision making from a narrow field of the priest to the vestry, wardens, treasurers and priests collectively making decisions. We each have ownership and responsibility in our church.
     Kathy began taking on ownership and responsibility for her church by serving on Team 4 of the Altar Guild after Jill Beresford had recruited her. Briefly, she was a greeter for Godly Play but found that as a teacher during the week, she had plenty of time with children, and she really missed worshipping in the church. In fact, her favorite parts of St. Stephen’s are the candlelight services—the Christmas Eve service, and the Easter Vigil. The spirit of the church is transformed by the darkness.

The stained glass looks completely different. Another favorite for Kathy is St. Stephen’s church picnic, especially when it was at Fran Wakeman’s. She so appreciated Fran’s generosity in hosting an entire church on her lawn where we could be together in a private, relaxed way.
     Kathy and Tim, who currently serves as one of three Trustees of the Endowments for St. Stephen’s, have two daughters, Delaney and Jenna. They live in Scituate.