Dean Biographies

 The Very Reverend Michael Barlowe

22nd rector and first dean of St. Paul’s, 1991-2001.

Michael Barlowe was born in Marion, North Carolina, in 1955. He graduated cum laude from Harvard College in 1977 and earned an M.Div. from General Theological Seminary in New York in 1983. 

Following ordination to the diaconate and the priesthood in 1983, Barlowe served as associate rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in West Field, New Jersey, then as rector of Grace Church in Plainfield, New Jersey. He accepted the call to become the 22nd rector of St. Paul’s, Des Moines, in 1991. At the Diocesan Convention of 1992, St. Paul’s was formally designated the Cathedral and Liturgical Center of the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, and Michael Barlowe became the first dean. 

As dean, Barlowe sought to develop the “liturgical center” aspect of cathedral designation by introducing daily Eucharist and morning and evening prayer, weekly healing services, and the Center for Christian Spirituality, which offered centering prayer and spiritual direction. Exemplary liturgy was matched by excellent music, enhanced by the new Casavant organ and the establishment of the Music Academy. This member-supported group sponsored musical events, from noon concerts to chamber music, choral evensong, young artist recitals, and visiting artists. 

During Dean Barlowe’s tenure, social justice work expanded to include the YWCA Meals Program, the newly established Central Iowa Shelter and Services, and The Bridge, an alliance with the three other downtown churches to provide free lunches to those in need downtown. 

Important changes to the physical plant included building a columbarium in the ground-floor chapel and installing a much-needed elevator to make the building accessible to all.

The Very Reverend Robert Alan Schiesler

2nd dean of St. Paul’s, 2004-2006.

After a two-year search process that included the oversight of interim dean Mollie Williams, Robert Schiesler was called to St. Paul’s. Born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Schiesler graduated from St. Mary’s College with a B.A. in 1971 and received his Master of Divinity from Inter/Met Seminary in Washington, D.C. Ordained to the priesthood in 1978, he later earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Western Pacific University.

Schiesler served as rector of Episcopal churches in Albany New York; Belleville, Michigan; Philadelphia; and Wilmington, Delaware. He and his wife, Mary Novello, arrived in Des Moines on January 30, 2004, from St. Luke’s Church in Montclair, New Jersey. 

During his tenure as dean, St. Paul’s celebrated its 150th anniversary as a parish and continued to explore what it means to be a cathedral in North America. Schiesler encouraged educational programming designed to make St. Paul’s “a center for religious enquiry.” Special lectures, study groups, and guest speakers focused on religion and race, the global economy, and the environment. He renamed the Music Academy the Cathedral Arts Series, and its musical offerings expanded. Action in Ministry, a twice-monthly special collection, was instituted to provide financial support for ongoing outreach projects.

The Very Reverend Cathleen Chittenden Bascom

3rd dean of St. Paul’s, 2007-2014.

Cathleen Chittenden Bascom, D Min. grew up in Denver. She earned a BA from the University of Kansas (1984) and an MA from Exeter University in England (1991), both in English literature. She holds an M.Div. from Seabury Western (1990) and a Doctorate of Ministry in Preaching from Iliff School of Theology in Denver (2005). 

After seminary Bascom served as curate for three years at St. Gregory’s in Deerfield, Ill. She then returned to Kansas and from 1993 to 2001, she helped replant campus ministries at Kansas State University, Washburn University in Topeka, and Wichita State University. In 2001, she and her husband, writer Timothy Bascom, and their two sons moved to Newton, Iowa, where -she served as rector of St. Stephen’s until 2007.

In March 2007, Bishop Alan Scarfe appointed her Provost of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul. She was named dean in 2008. Dean Bascom’s vision for the Cathedral took inspiration from the church’s rose window, with three faces of mission and ministry: the City of Des Moines, the Diocese, and the People of St. Paul’s. To strengthen ministry to families with children, the nursery and Godly Play rooms were moved from the basement to the first floor, giving children more visibility. Efforts to improve communications included an evolving website and the introduction of weekly email newsletters. 

Perhaps most significantly, Dean Bascom spearheaded the reimagining of the parking lot to include a rain garden, prairie plantings, an outdoor chapel, and a labyrinth. This effort brought together city and state officials, parishioners, and neighbors and stands as an example of faithful stewardship of the environment. As a result of this project, Dean Bascom and the Cathedral were named Urban Stewards of the Year by Polk County. 

The Very Reverend Troy C. Beecham

4th dean of St. Paul’s, 2015-2021. Dean Emeritus 2021-present.

Born and raised in Atlanta, Fr. Troy earned two degrees in theology before encountering the Anglican Church while studying in Jerusalem. Back in the United States, he was received into the Episcopal Church and ordained to the priesthood. A gifted teacher and passionate believer in the value of the Anglican tradition, he served three parishes as rector over a twelve-year period. During that time, he led four walking pilgrimages in Europe: three on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain and one on the Canterbury Trail in England.

At St. Paul’s, Dean Beecham emphasized worship, education, and fellowship as ways to build up the faithful and to be a visible presence in the community. Morning prayer in local coffee shops and monthly Sunday brunch in one of several nearby restaurants offered members and newcomers a chance to gather outside the church walls. In addition, the dean introduced Monday noon mass at St. Paul’s, and Bible study opportunities expanded to include Sunday mornings, Wednesday evenings, and weekday groups for men and women. 

The Cathedral undertook a Preservation and Matching Funds Drive that successfully raised $500,000 to match a $500,000 gift to the Cathedral Preservation Fund Endowment. Highlighting the need for such a fund, the parish house roof was replaced, the church’s slate roof repaired, and the kitchen received a much-needed renovation. 

In 2018, St. Paul’s celebrated the 25th anniversary of being named a Cathedral and Liturgical Center, with concerts, tours, an art fair, and a workshop and seminar led by Dean Gary Hall of the National Cathedral, on what it means to be a cathedral. 

In 2019, two years after learning that he had been diagnosed with early onset Parkinsons disease, Dean Beecham regretfully took medical leave and finally resigned his position in 2021. In gratitude for his time with us, the Chapter named him Dean Emeritus.

The Very Reverend Nicola Dance

Provost/Acting Dean/Dean Elect/Dean, 2020-present.

Born in Hereford, England and raised near London, Nicola first encountered the Episcopal Church soon after her move to the United States in 1999.  She graduated with a ‘First’ in physics from the University of Nottingham, U.K., in 1990, with a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Surrey, U.K., in 1994 and she earned an M.Div. from Church Divinity School of the Pacific in 2020.

Nicola came to ordained ministry from a career in academia, as a physicist, measurement scientist, and most recently as Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Iowa State University, a position that she held for 15 years. In that role she received awards for mentoring, teaching, and research excellence. She also chaired a number of successful conferences as a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Nicola discerned a call to ordained ministry in the Episcopal Church in 2013 and has discovered theology to be a subject of passion for her, particularly in relation to practical living.

Before coming to St. Paul’s in January 2020, Amma Nicola served as an Assisting Priest at St. John’s-by-the-Campus in Ames (her sending parish), as Priest-in-Partnership with St. Matthew-by-the-Bridge in Iowa Falls, and as a supply priest in the Diocese of Iowa. Initially serving as Canon Missioner for Ministry Coordination at St. Paul’s, she was appointed Canon Provost in July 2020 and Acting Dean January 1, 2022. On August 8, 2023 she was called as the Fifth Dean of St. Paul’s and Installed on September 28, 2023.

During Nicola’s tenure, St. Paul’s navigated the resignation of Dean Beecham, perturbations caused by the global coronavirus pandemic (resulting, notably, in the rapid installation of a high-resolution multi-camera livestream system in the nave), and embarked on major renovations to the 1885 historic building made necessary in part by failure of a water supply line in November 2019.  Weekday lunchtime Eucharist resumed on Wednesdays and monthly liturgies of blessing with laying-on of hands for healing were offered.