Meet our staff

Rev. Dr. Candace Shultis, Senior Pastor send e-mail
Candace grew up in Kingston, NY and Pittsfield, MA. She earned her baccalaureate degree from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst), B.B.A., in 1973, her master’s and her doctorate at Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC, M.Div., 1980 and D. Min., 2004. From November, 1973 through August, 1976, she served as a disbursing officer in the United States Marine Corps. She first attended the Metropolitan Community Church of Washington, DC in 1979. Candace served as the Associate Pastor of MCC Washington from 1983 until 1995 when she was elected Pastor.

Candace was called and elected to be the Pastor at King of Peace MCC in December, 2007. Candace has a passion for preaching and very much enjoys working with the terrific staff and congregation of King of Peace! She and her partner of 19 years, Barbara, also enjoy the company of their four dachshunds: Sunny, Wendy, Molly, and Dolly. 

Rev. Lorraine Brock, Associate Pastor send e-mail

Lorraine was born in New Jersey, but spent most of her life in Florida.  She entered the convent where she spent ten years as a teaching nun.  When she left the convent, she earned her baccalaureate degree from Eckerd College (St. Petersburg, FL) and then taught elementary and middle school for a number of years in Pinellas County, FL.  In 2002, she received her certificate of specialization as a Grief Recovery Specialist from the Grief Recovery Institute.  In 2004, Lorraine became a trained spiritual director after completing a two-year course at the Haden Institute in North Carolina.  She received her Master in Theology from Canyon College in 2004, and a Master in Divinity in 2005.

Lorraine served as the Acting Pastor at King of Peace MCC before an Interim Pastor was appointed, as well as serving as Director of Worship and Congregational Life from 2005 until 2008.  In 2009, she was appointed Associate Pastor.  She and her partner live in Largo and enjoy bike rides and traveling.

Rev. Dr. Suzie Chamness, Assistant Pastor for Congregational Care send e-mail

Suzie grew up in a small southern Indiana town and at 18 moved to Evansville to attend the University of Southern Indiana, where, in 1972, she earned her Bachelor degree in Business Education. In 2006, she received her MDiv from Florida Center for Theological Studies, and then a Doctorate from Andersonville Theological Seminary in Georgia in 2011.  

Suzie served as Interim Pastor at Spirit of Life MCC, New Port Richey from August 2007 through April 2009. She was installed as Senior Pastor in May 2009 and served that congregation until February 2011.

  

She also has lived in Illinois, Tennessee, and Oklahoma, but now is settled in St. Petersburg with her mother Helen, a cat named Garbo, and a dog Snooky.

Jaye Sheldon, Director of Music send e-mail
Jaye is from upstate New York and spent most of her life there, except for a college semester in Venice, Italy. She graduated from Colgate University with a BA in Music and holds an MA in Vocal Performance from Syracuse University.

Prior to joining King of Peace MCC in 2006, Jaye served for eight years as Voice Faculty at St. Lawrence University and Music Director at St. Margaret's Catholic Church in Syracuse. She and her partner, Rachel, enjoy the performing arts, outdoor sports, and spending time at the beach with their dog, Sophie.

Peggy MacLeod, Director of Administration send e-mail
Peggy joined King of Peace MCC in 2007. She brings more than 20 years’ experience as the executive director of arts organizations in the U.S., Canada, and Scotland, including the Pinellas County Arts Council, Dance in Canada, and the Association for Business Sponsorship of the Arts Scotland. Before returning to the U.S. in 1998, Peggy was a consultant with Arthur Anderson Scotland Business Consulting, where she oversaw the restructuring of five major Scottish arts organizations.

An Army brat, she was born in Norwalk, CT, but grew up on bases all over the world. Peggy was trained as a writer/editor and worked on travel trade magazines for a decade in New York City before falling into arts management.  Outside work, Peggy volunteers as an adult literacy mentor.  Her other passions are writing, reading, cooking, eating, and traveling, as well as watching independent films and modern dance performances.  She and her partner, Stan, have been married for 21 years.