Our Staff

St. Paul & St. Andrew Ministers

Rev. K Karpen
Senior Pastor

K is the senior pastor of St. Paul & St. Andrew and has served this progressive congregation since 1984. He holds degrees from Cornell University (BS) and Union Theological Seminary (MDiv, STM, PhD). Her served for 15 years as a chaplain to Columbia University. He is currently in his second term on the New York Conference Board of Ordained Ministry. He serves on the Board of Directors of West Side Campaign Against Hunger. He has taught at Drew Theological School and Union Theological Seminary. Prior to seminary, K served as a Fellow of the Council on Economic Priorities. He is passionate about interfaith work, ministry with the poor and marginalized, and the possibility of an inclusive church.

Contact K: K@stpaulandstandrew.org

Rev. Lea Matthews
Associate Pastor

Lea is the Associate Pastor at St. Paul & St. Andrew in New York City. Lea has been called and is committed to being a part of the queer liberation movement within the United Methodist Church, as we move intersectionally and with intention towards God’s justice. She was recently appointed to the Metropolitan District Committee on Ministry and serves as Leader for the Metropolitan Cluster for church programming and ministries. She is on the Executive Leadership Committee of the United Methodist Queer Clergy Caucus and is a member of the Advisory Board of Methodists in New Directions. She is on the teaching team for Field Education at Union Theological Seminary, a position she has held for the past three years. Lea received her Masters of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary. She holds a Masters of Education from Lehman College and a Bachelor of Arts from San Francisco State University, where she studied literature and human sexuality. Lea taught English Language Arts in the Bronx Public Schools for a decade, before entering the ministry. She currently resides in the Bronx, with her wife, Rachel, and their daughter, Nora.

Contact Lea: lea@stpaulandstandrew.org

Dr. Frank Glass
Minister of Music

Frank is the Minister of Music at St. Paul & St. Andrew. He has blessed this community in that role for over 30 years. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature and music from Duke University and graduate degrees in voice and musicology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His book on Richard Wagner, The Fertilizing Seed, is as interesting to read as it is difficult to find. He comes from a long line of Georgia Methodists on his mother’s side and an even longer line of Italian Roman Catholics on his father’s. His musical influences and interests are many and varied and include a particular fondness for the spiritual songs of the nineteenth-century Southern singing schools in America. He has been a working church musician since the eighth grade.

Contact Frank: frank@stpaulandstandrew.org

Ekama Eni
Youth & Campus Pastor

Ekama (she/her) is the Youth and Campus Pastor at St Paul & St Andrew where she is helping to shepherd the youth (as well as find lots of opportunities to eat with them) as well as serving as the co-pastor to the LaMP campus ministry Uptown. Ekama graduated from the University of North Texas with a degree in Psychology. She spent a mission year in Scotland, an experience which very much ignited a call to pursue full-time ministry. Ekama has a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary and is pursuing ordination in the Presbyterian Church (USA). When she's not at SPSA, she works in the Dean's office at General Theological Seminary in Chelsea, or can be found taking naps, or exploring new corners of Manhattan.

Contact Ekama: ekama@stpaulandstandrew.org