Rev. Krista Taves, Minister of Congregational Life
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Rev. Taves joined Eliot as our Minister of Congregational Life in 2020. She grew up on a farm in Southwest Ontario, Canada, and has served congregations in the United States since 2004. She and her partner are gradually transforming their small property in the Meramec River Valley into a Missouri native plants sanctuary. Her social justice passions are racial, reproductive, and environmental justice.
Rev. Taves earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of Waterloo, with a focus on Canadian political and social history. She earned her Masters of Arts in History at York University specializing in immigration and religious and cultural history. She completed her Masters of Divinity at the University of Toronto School of Theology, specializing in pastoral care.
Scott Stewart, Director of Religious Education
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Scott Stewart has served as Eliot Chapel’s Director of Religious Education since 2009. Prior to his work at Eliot, he was certified as a high school social studies teacher and student taught at Webster Groves High School.
Some of the major highlights of his job include:
- Planning and curating curricula and activities for children’s Religious Education and youth group activities.
- Coordinating the Our Whole Lives (OWL) sexuality education program for children and youth.
- Ongoing publicity about program events and activities and program administration, including volunteer coordination.
- Youth leadership development, including serving as a staff member and the Dean of the UU Youth Midwest Leadership School (2014-2019) , as a Youth Conference (CON) consultant for the MidAmerica Region, sponsoring youth at the UU General Assembly (2015-2018), and attending the UU United Nations Spring Seminar in New York with two Eliot youth in 2019.
- Serving as a member of the Chapel staff team, supporting the ministry efforts of his colleagues, and representing Eliot Chapel in the wider UU community.
Scott and his wife Jennifer have been together since 1999. He enjoys reading, traveling throughout the country, hiking, viewing wildlife, and bird watching. Scott is an avid supporter of the St. Louis Cardinals and the St. Louis Blues.
Adam Kosberg, Music Director
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Adam Kosberg is an instrumentalist, singer, conductor, and music educator from Collinsville, IL. He earned a doctorate in bass trombone performance and literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2017 which included a cognate in choral conducting and further interests in arranging, brass chamber ensembles, and historical performance practice. Adam has toured nationally and internationally as a choral vocalist and since returning to the St Louis area has performed as a section leader and soloist in several choirs and symphony choruses, built a studio of low brass students, and maintained an active performance schedule with orchestras and chamber groups throughout southern and central Illinois. He also enjoys cycling, reading, cooking, and spending time with friends, family, and his two cats.
Adam is thrilled to join the staff as acting music director and looks forward to meeting you all and working toward enhancing the musical life of the Chapel and its congregation. For more information about joining the choir or sharing your musical talent, please contact Adam at music2@eliotchapel.org.
Camille Novak, Director of Finance and Operations
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Camille is responsible for keeping Eliot running on a daily basis. She handles pledges, deposits, bills, bank statements, payroll, contracts, management of the administrative staff, and interaction with Eliot Chapel Nursery School. That’s just a short list of the many things Camille does to keep Eliot on track.
Other major duties include:
- Check requests
- Questions about your pledge
- Financial management
Camille brings a wealth of management skill and experience to Eliot Chapel – working
intensively with budgets, human resources, staff supervision, accounting, and databases. She has served in both the for-profit and non-profit worlds, including a busy law firm, The Christian Appalachian Project which serves the needs of the people in Eastern Kentucky, St. Louis Arc supporting adults with developmental disabilities, St. Louis Community College, and more.
Camille lives with her husband, Bob, and their cocker spaniels, Mary Pickford and Bogart. Camille enjoys reading, writing, music, black and white cinema/photography, and chair caning.
Christie Lee, Administrative Assistant
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You can find Christie in the church office most weekdays. As Administrative Assistant, she answers phones, maintains the calendar, runs copies, orders supplies, distributes church mail, and files the many papers and contracts that come her way. In addition, she acts as a liaison between renting groups and Eliot Chapel by writing contracts, managing payment, and scheduling sextons.
Contact Christie for:
- General or miscellaneous questions
- Room reservations for meetings or events
- Rental of Eliot Chapel facilities
- Wedding arrangements at Eliot Chapel
Debby Lovell, Communications Specialist
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Debby joined Eliot’s staff in 2017. She is a graphic designer with a background in publications. She’s been a freelancer for many years, developing business skills that help her stay organized.
Contact Debby about:
- Publicizing your event in one of Eliot’s communications venues: newsletter, email, website, or social media.
- Other publicity for your event: flyers, programs, signup sheets, etc.
- Sign-ups for receiving Eliot communications.
Debby enjoys reading, listening to music, seeing and making art, travel, cooking, and being in nature. Debby and her husband of many years like to knit together. They have one daughter and a cat at home.
Nicholas Rousseau, AV Tech
A native St. Louisan, Nick joined Eliot Chapel in the fall of 2021 as our AV tech. A 2017 graduate of media studies at UMSL, he will be recording and livestreaming our Sunday services. He also freelances with HEC Media and NBC Sports Network. Don't ask his favorite films; as a film buff, it would be hard for him to decide. His favorite sport is baseball and he says, “Go, Cardinals and Yankees.”
Ed Liebman, Sunday Sexton
Ed Liebman has been Eliot's Sunday Sexton for over 22 years, missing a Sunday only when ice/snowstorms keep him from getting put of his driveway in Jeff Co where he lives with his teenage son. Ed also has a daughter in college. Ed works full-time for St. Luke's hospital.
The Rev. Dr. Douglas E. Wadkins, Interim Senior Minister
Dr. David Nalesnik, Pianist
