“The most powerful form of lie is the omission.” — George Orwell
For a long time, Anglican Watch has been aware of an ugly truth about the Episcopal Church: Despite our glorious history of using music and the arts to glorify our worship, church musicians in the denomination often are under-appreciated, bullied, abused, and more. Even worse, these vital church employees typically have no recourse, for the church’s dysfunctional clergy discipline system rarely recognizes non-sexual abuse.
As a result, we listened with tremendous concern when we learned that a long-time Anglican Watch friend, church musician Kathleen Turner, may have faced bullying and unethical employment practices at St. Peter’s Episcopal, Savannah.
At the heart of this situation are two key players, rector Kelly Steele and the current organist/choirmaster, Julia Tucker.
Trouble emerges
So, how did this situation start?
Julia Tucker first appeared on the scene at a diocesan convention. She apparently approached Kathleen and said, “You should hire me as your assistant.”
At the time, the church didn’t need a second musician, so nothing came of the matter.
Not long after, Kelly Steele approached Kathleen, asking her to start a children’s program. Kathleen agreed to do so but pointed out that she’d need additional resources to make it happen. The result was that Tucker joined the church staff in a primarily administrative role, reporting to Kathleen.
Initially, things went well, and Kathleen was, as we know her to be, a generous and compassionate supervisor. This included making sure that she got plenty of bench time on the organ—an essential for any church musician who wants to be proficient.
But as time went on, rector Kelly Steele and Julia seemed to become friends. As a result, boundary issues developed, with Julia refusing to fulfill the requirements of her job, and Kelly supporting her in her misconduct.
Flash forward, and the parish abruptly decided not to renew Kathleen’s employment contract, with no reason given. Nor do we see any evidence of coaching or other efforts to address any performance-related issues.
To be clear: The rector of a parish indisputably has the right to choose their staff.
That said, misuse or abuse of such authority damages the church, its mission, and the reputations of all involved.
So why was Kathleen’s employment terminated? Several people we interviewed stated it was due to the various lies Julia told about Kathleen.
Obviously, we were not there, so we can’t know for sure. But the evidence we’ve seen appears to support this conclusion.
Tellingly, several persons involved in the matter declined to comment, citing an NDA. Huge red flag:
- For starters, NDAs are inherently unethical unless requested by someone hurt by the church and voidable at that person’s request.
- Why would an NDA be necessary? Churches legitimately have things that can and should be confidential, including some HR issues. But secrecy has no role in the church, and we’re curious as to why Kelly and the St. Peter’s vestry would think an NDA was needed — or appropriate.
- When rumors abound about a previously valued employee like Kathleeen, as here, it is inherently unethical to remain silent, NDA or not. Sorry folks—I was merely following orders, or I signed something that prevents me from acting justly—doesn’t cut it.
Silence is a lie
Speaking of, Kelly and the vestry made a hash of things in their handling of this situation. Specifically, their actions evince no pastoral care or sensibilities and thus are contrary in every way to the message of the Gospels. Nor has the church done anything to address the rumors and speculation caused by Kathleen’s abrupt termination.
Indeed, for-profit organizations know that handling a situation in this manner is bad for business and bad for morale. The fact that no one at St. Peter’s seems to recognize this leads us to ask: Why is the church holding to a lesser standard than corporate America?
Kelly and the vestry are fully aware of these issues. Indeed, attorney Mary Helen Moses sent the church a letter about this situation, provided below.
Additionally, the church received some vigorous blowback from at least one church member; we provide a redacted version of her letter below. Clearly, this person brought real integrity, a high emotional IQ, and an enduring commitment to the church, as shown both by her letter and by the now rescinded bequest in her will to the church, which is referenced in her letter.
We’ve also spoken to choir members, who report trauma from the lack of a pastoral approach to these issues. Thus, no matter how we parse this issue, it’s causing ongoing harm to the church, and it’s a safe bet that the future does not bode well for the parish, for Kelly Steele, or Julia Tucker.
Fixing things. Or not.
Can things be fixed at this point? That’s an interesting question.
On one level, light is a great disinfectant. Thus, by sharing our concerns and those of others about this situation, we’ve already let people know that they can’t behave badly and hope to escape scrutiny. That’s important because the words “accountability” and “Episcopal Church” rarely show up in the same place.
Similarly, once people are aware of these allegations, they can form their own opinions on St. Peter’s Savannah and whether this is a safe, inclusive environment. (Really inclusive. Versus LGBTQ+ people are welcome here, and we’ll treat them just as badly as we treat everyone else.)
Relatedly, people can decide if they want to hire Julia Tucker, either for musical gigs, or for future church musician jobs. Personally, we wouldn’t touch her with a ten-foot pole, as we can do without the childish church games.
At the same time, Kelly Steele, Julia Tucker, and members of the St. Peter’s vestry already know about these issues. They’ve done nothing to address them, instead hiding behind silence and a self-serving NDA. So it’s unlikely they’ll do anything to address the matter—even as they will undoubtedly be among those who shake their heads in disbelief as the place empties out.
In fact, we can already hear them: “I can’t understand it. St. Peter’s was such a friendly, welcoming, inclusive place. I don’t know why people weren’t interested.”
To be clear: Without integrity, the Episcopal Church is worse than irrelevant. It’s harmful.
Finally, for the lawyers out there, this is all alleged, and we express no opinion on the allegations of deceit and other misconduct involving Julia Tucker. That said, Kathleen Turner is a longstanding friend of ours, and we both believe and stand with her.
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