Clergy & Staff

St. Paul’s Cathedral announces our new Dean, the Rev. Canon Katie Churchwell. Bishop Poulson Reed states that Katie is an “inspirational, energetic and visionary leader. She brings all kinds of wonderful qualities to our Cathedral and our Diocese as a whole.”

Dean Churchwell comes to us from the Cathedral Church of St. Peter in St. Petersburg, FL. As Canon for Community Formation, she worked both within the church and in the larger St. Petersburg to integrate the Cathedral into the vibrant community that is St. Pete. She served as president of the Downtown Business Association and Director of the Food Is Medicine St. Pete collaborative- a program that brings free health education, health screenings, and fresh produce to food desert communities.

She grew up in Arizona, graduated from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, and obtained her Masters of Divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia. She is a Certified Facilitator of The Daring Way. Her first call was in Houston, Texas, where her first two children were born. She and her husband Logan moved to St. Petersburg in 2016 and welcomed their third and final child into the family in summer of 2019.

Dean Churchwell joined the St. Paul’s community starting August 1st. She states, “I look forward to partnering with each and every one of you as we, in these strange days, continue to share the message of God’s love for God’s people.”

The Reverend Canon Susan Joplin has served on the clergy staff of St. Paul's Cathedral since 1991, first as Curate and then as Cathedral Canon. Mother Susan sees her own faith development as having been strongly influenced by the give and take of many years of Cathedral life. Having graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts followed by a Masters of Music degree earlier in life, she was also graduated from the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest with a Master of Divinity degree in 1991. Mother Susan has lived happily with her husband, Larry Joplin, for many years. She has a special interest in Liturgy, Outreach and in finding new ways of opening the Cathedral doors to the burgeoning downtown Oklahoma City community.

Father Tim Sean Youmans serves as the Vicar of St. Edward the Confessor Chapel and Chair of the Religion Department at Casady School. Additionally, Father Tim Sean is the Bible Instructor for the Diocesan Iona School for Ministry. He serves the Cathedral as Canon for Youth and Families, bringing experience, joy, ad creativity to our community. A native of Wyoming, Father Tim Sean is married to Dr. Karen Youmans, Honors Director and Associate Professor of English at Oklahoma City University. Tim Sean came into the Episcopal Church after 20 years as a Baptist youth pastor. He earned a degree in English and History from Oklahoma Baptist University in 1991, a Master's of Divinity at Southwestern Baptist in 1994, and Anglican Studies at Nashotah House in 2011. He is the author of Blessed to Bless: An Introduction to the Bible, a survey of the scriptures geared toward teenagers and the biblically uninitiated. Tim Sean is a folk musician and songwriter, and tinkers at the banjo. Tim Sean and Karen have a son in college, Noah.

Gerald Butcher was appointed by the Bishop to serve St. Paul’s Cathedral in 2013. Gerald's primary service is Community Outreach. A native Oklahoman, Gerald is a graduate of Oklahoma State University and has worked for Western Farmers Electric Cooperative for nearly four decades as an Environmental Regulatory Affairs Coordinator. His wife Debra is a registered nurse (BS, BSN, MSN, CHN) and is employed at Mercy Hospital. Gerald and Debra have three adult daughters who also work in the health-care industry. Daughter Catherine is a radiation therapy clinic and technical manager at the University of Texas Medical Center in Dallas, Rebekah is a nurse supervisor for Mercy Home Health and Jennafer is a dietitian supervisor at the OU Medical Center in Edmond. Five grandchildren light up Debra's and Gerald's lives. Deacon Butcher loves working in the community where he has served as a coach for youth soccer, softball and basketball, serving on the board of directors for Chickasha Youth Soccer. Additionally, Gerald served on the National Rural Electric Environmental Association board and as a Grady County Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). Today, he continues to serve on the Environmental Federation of Oklahoma board of directors and is a volunteer with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Recently, the Bishop appointed Gerald to the Oklahoma Prison Commission.