St. Therese Staff

	Deacon Edward Purnell was born on April 14, 1939 in Philadelphia. He attended St. Elizabeth elementary school and Roman Catholic High School on a DePorres Scholarship. He graduated from Villanova University with a B.S. in Education, with a Social Studies concentration. He went on to earn an M.A. in education from Villanova, earned the Pennsylvania State Guidance Counselor Certification, an M.A. in Religious Studies from St. Charles Seminary, and his Pennsylvania Principal Certification from St. Joseph University. He was an Adjunct Faculty member in the theology division at St. Charles Seminary and a member of the Seminary Advisory Committee. He taught Social Studies at St. Thomas More High School and at Northeast Catholic High School. He was the Director of Secondary Personnel and Director of Government Funded Programs for the Archdiocese. He was ordained Permanent Deacon in 1982 and assigned to St. Raymond Parish. He was an Adjunct Faculty member of the Religious Studies Division of St. Charles Seminary, and taught Theology at Bishop McDevitt High School for many years. He has been our Permanent Deacon at St. Therese since 1989. He and his wife Barbara (Royster) have six children, fourteen grandchildren, and six greatgrandchildren.
Our Director of Religious Education (DRE) is Barbara Ann Fields. She received her A.A. from Community College and Her B.A. from Antioch, Philadelphia. She has been involved in some form of church ministry for many years. Barbara Ann retired from teaching after 20 years and from Social Work after 10 years. She has been a member of St. Therese for 6 years, a lector for 5 years, a catechist for 4 years, and a volunteer for 3 years. She attended the Catechetical Institute and also earned a Certificate in Ministry to African American Catholics from St. Charles Seminary.
	Our Secretary/Bookkeeper is Angela F. Taylor. She has been a member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church since 1989, where she is a Cantor, Lector and Catechist. In 2011, she earned a Certificate in Catholic Theology and a Roman Catholic Catechetical Diploma from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, in Wynnewood.
Our Director of Parish Facilities is Ruben Rios.