Church Leadership
Clergy
The Rev. Laura Cochran became St. Aidan’s Rector in January 2022 after serving as Associate Rector at St. Anne's Episcopal Church in Reston, VA for nine years. An Arlington, Virginia native and lifelong Episcopalian, she graduated cum laude with a BBA in Music Business from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Laura came to the priesthood after a 10-year career in the music industry working for a trade organization that supports and promotes the creative and financial vitality of the major music companies. During seminary Laura served as seminarian at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church, Woodbridge, interned at St. John's Episcopal Church, McLean, and completed her Clinical Pastoral Education at Sibley Memorial Hospital, Washington, DC. She graduated from Virginia Theological Seminary in May 2012 with a Master in Divinity.
​
Laura was ordained to the priesthood in the Diocese of Virginia in 2012, and is passionate about intergenerational formation, discipleship, liturgy, the dialogue between theology and the arts, and discovering and sharing stories of God's transforming love in the world.
​
Laura lives in Arlington, with her husband, Wilson, and their daughter Charlie.
​
Contact Laura at staidansrector (at gmail.com).
The Rev. Rebecca Troutman was hired as Assistant Rector and Chaplain to the Day School in October 2023. She was ordained to the priesthood in January 2024. She completed the Diploma of Anglican Studies at Virginia Theological Seminary in May 2021, and served at St. Aidan’s as Christian Education Coordinator beginning in January 2020.
Rebecca grew up near Boulder, Colorado and graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Near Eastern Studies. She studied abroad in Amman, Jordan and particularly enjoyed observing the intersections of religion and culture during that semester and further travel across the Middle East. Rebecca comes to vocational ministry following 11 years of service as a Surface Warfare Officer in the Navy. She first sensed a call to ministry while in the Navy and sees the role of faith in one’s life as something to be lived out regardless of where circumstances place us.
Rebecca experienced the grounding liturgy and inspiration of the Anglican tradition when she and her husband began worshiping together in 2014. She was confirmed in the Episcopal Church in 2017 and shortly thereafter began the discernment process with the Diocese of Southern Virginia. She is deeply grateful to those who contributed to the growth and development of her faith as a child and youth and aspires to inspire that same spirit of service and generosity in her ministry. Rebecca is passionate about being the hands and feet of Jesus in our local community. She “dreams big” and hopes to see many opportunities for that while serving at St. Aidan’s! Rebecca lives in Stratford Landing with her husband, John, and her two young sons, Paul and Ethan.
Contact Rebecca at staidansassistant (at gmail.com).
Staff
Our Parish Administrator, Eileen Byrne-Myers, has kept the front office at St. Aidan's running smoothly since January 2013. She manages the office, schedules building use, creates bulletins and newsletters, coordinates many of our volunteers and provides support for seasonal community events like Oktoberfest and the annual tree sale. Eileen can be reached by phone or by emailing St. Aidan's during regular office hours.
In addition to her role on staff, Eileen and her family are members of the parish.
Pat Petteway has been involved in the local music community as a performer and teacher for many years. In addition to being an accomplished pianist and guitar, music and voice teacher, she is our organist, pianist and sometimes guitarist for morning services. She leads our choir for the morning service. When we couldn’t worship in person, she became a multi-media director, orchestrating online worship, virtual choir recordings, video links and sound engineering. Her ability to keep us in community through music is a constant blessing.
Vestry
Vestry members are elected to serve a three year term. They support the clergy in providing spiritual leadership, serve as liaisons to various ministry areas of the church, establish the budget and oversee all financial and property concerns as well. Our Vestry members are:
Rose DuPont
Junior Warden
Worship
2023-2026
Jody Preston
Treasurer
Stewardship
2023-2026
Darlene Ash
Clerk
Education
2024-2027
Hans Bilewski
Pastoral Care
2024-2027
Scott Chilton
Evangelism
2024-2027
Chris Fafard
Education
2023-2026
Holly Ferry
2025-2028
Ben Grimes
2025-2028
Mary Jay Michel
2025-2028
Amanda Smith
Service
2024-2027
Seminarians
St. Aidan’s benefits from its proximity to the Virginia Theological Seminary, especially as a popular field education site for seminarians. St. Aidan’s has welcomed at least one seminarian every year since the first one came in 1964, except during periods of transition. The seminarians work under the parish clergy, take part in Christian education and other parish activities, attend and participate in the Sunday liturgy, and preach on a regular basis. Seminarians have enriched our community immeasurably. Our Sunday evening Celtic Service, Godly Play program, Adult Ed forums, and Lenten Retreats are examples of the amazing gifts we have received from the seminarians who have come to us, learned about us, and shared their talents with us.
Joan Beckett-Armstrong, Diocese of Maryland
Daniel Collier, Diocese of Arizona