Fr. John Rogers Vien, a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, has been the 14th Pastor of St. Margaret of Scotland since 2021.  He is a lifelong St. Louisan and has been in parish ministry for over 30 years, most recently as Pastor of Mary Queen of Peace Parish in Webster Groves and St. Pius V Parish on South Grand.  Fr. John has served the Archdiocese of St. Louis as the Director of Continuing Formation of Priests and has served on the Archdiocesan Council of Priests, the Priests Personnel Board, and the Archdiocesan Stewardship Committee. He received the Great Preacher Award from Aquinas Institute of Theology in 2016.  Fr. John and his dog, Axel, can often be found walking (and Axel sniffing) around the Shaw neighborhood.  Feel free to say hello!

We are very pleased to welcome Rev. Patrick Baikauskas, OP, as the new part-time Senior Associate Pastor of St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in St. Louis. Fr. Patrick officially stared his new duties as of July 1, 2024.

Fr. Patrick is also the Director of the Center for Community Engagement and Evangelization at Aquinas Institute of Theology, and will continue in this role as he establishes a presence at SMOS. Fr. Patrick will continue to be in residence at the St. Dominic Priory on Lafayette Avenue.

At St. Margaret, Fr. Patrick will be a regular presider at Mass and the Sacraments, assist at the school, be a presence at our parish events and activities, work with our various ministries, and bring his own talents and charisms to our parish life.

Orin Johnson has been a Shaw resident since 2004 with his wife Erin and is pleased to be serving at his neighborhood parish after over 25 years in ministry. From 2012 to 2022 he was Director of Music Ministries at Sts. Joachim and Ann Parish in St. Charles County, Missouri. From 1998 to 2012, he was Coordinator of Music and Liturgy at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, Illinois. Originally from Tyler, Minnesota, Orin received his B.A. in Music and Folklore & Mythology from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, his M.A. in Music Performance, with Choral Conducting emphasis, from Radford University in Radford, Virginia, and his M.A. in Theology from Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, Missouri.

He is an active composer and musical artist, with pieces published with ECS, GIA, OCP, and others. As half of Oddwalk Ministries, with Shannon Cerneka, he travels the country leading prayer, giving concerts, offering workshops and retreats, and more. He has resources on prayer and liturgy published with Twenty-third Publications and Liturgical Press.

Orin is also an accompanist and music director at Congregation Shaare Emeth in Creve Coeur, Missouri. He is an Assistant Director of and a singer with the St. Louis Chamber Chorus. He is active with Catholic youth summer camps such as Youth Sing Praise (for which he has co-written a full two-act musical) and One Bread, One Cup, and at various other churches and schools in the St. Louis area as a musician and director.

Visit him on the web:
orinjohnson.com
facebook.com/orinj
twitter.com/orinjohnson
instagram.com/orinjohnson
soundcloud.com/orinjohnson
YouTube: bit.ly/orinjohnsonyoutube

Ruth has been a parishioner at St. Margaret of Scotland since 2012. Raised in Dayton, OH, she moved to St. Louis in 2007 to work on staff with a long-term volunteer program, training and providing pastoral care to youth adults during their year of service and living in community. After that, she served as campus minister and math teacher at St. Mary’s High School before leaving to stay home with her young children and work as a private math tutor for local students during the evenings.

During their early years as St. Louisans, Ruth and her husband, Michael, were drawn to the parish of St. Margaret because of the parish’s long tradition of serving the needs of the local neighborhood in tangible and hospitable ways, and because of the parish’s beautiful liturgies. Despite having “always” planned on moving back to Dayton to raise their children among family, Ruth & Michael found such a deeply welcoming community and home here at St. Margaret’s, they knew God had rooted them here for the long-term.

Ruth has been on parish staff part-time since the beginning of 2020. Many of her days are still filled with the work (and laughs, and necessary sarcastic wit) of mothering a household of 5 kids, but she finds deep joy in the work of serving the families of St. Margaret as we all journey together in faith.

Michael Sonntag is enjoying his latest stint – as the Communications Coordinator for St. Margaret of Scotland. Prior to joining the team at SMOS, Michael spent 25-years working in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles, CA as a film/tv/theatre producer, casting director, teacher, and actor, before moving halfway across the country to the greener pastures of St. Louis, MO to become a full-time Dad in Chief to his three little kids. In Hollywood, Michael founded and ran two businesses – as Executive Director of the non-profit One World Stage & Screen, and as President of Studio C Artists, a production, casting, and arts education company; worked as an independent producer in film and television; produced 35 theatrical shows; cast numerous commercials for clients such as Southwest Airlines, Intel, NFL Networks, Cisco, TV Land, Walt Disney Studios, and the U.S. Army; coached hundreds of actors for film/tv projects; racked up a handful of actor credits himself; and served as President of the Mid-City Neighborhood Council for the City of Los Angeles. Michael now spends most of his time in his most important role yet – that of Dad to his young, rambunctious family. He also currently works as a general contractor on the extensive gut-restoration of their 125 year old historic home, serves as President of the Compton Heights Neighborhood Betterment Association, and acts as President for the SMOS PTA (because he doesn’t spend enough time around St. Margarets already). If there’s any spare time left, Michael enjoys cooking, throwing lots of parties, and watching anything on TCM.

Patrick Holley is deeply honored to be the new principal of St. Margaret of Scotland Catholic School.  As a product of South City Catholic education, he feels strongly called to the mission of St. Margaret’s and looks forward to contributing to that mission.  He has spent his entire career in Catholic Education, mostly as a middle school language arts and literature teacher at St. Mary Magdalen in Brentwood. After earning his Master’s Degree in Catholic Educational Leadership at St. Louis Univerity, he became the principal at Sacred Heart in Valley Park.

Mr. Holley is currently seeking his Educational Doctorate degree at St. Louis University.  When he is not working at St. Margarets or on his school work, he is spending time with this five children – Ben, Logan, Edith, Logan, and Pat III – and his wife Katie.  He likes to read, cook, and spend time with his family.

After working in the financial field of 401K plans for several years, I switched gears and came to St. Margaret of Scotland School.  I have had the opportunity to watch as the school has more than doubled in size.  I have also had the opportunity to watch so many children, including my own, come into our school as pre-school students and leave here young adults; an amazing gift to say the least.

It is such a blessing to continuously see the world through a child’s eyes!

Ms. Gwen Heithaus is the Coordinator of Religious Education here at St. Margaret of Scotland Parish and School. Originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Gwen has made her home in St. Louis the last several years. After graduating from St. Louis University, she taught second grade at St. Frances Cabrini Academy, where she prepared the children for the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Communion. It was doing this that showed Gwen how passionate she is about sharing the Catholic faith with children. Gwen also worked for five years as a catechist at St. Francis Xavier College Church, working with children ages 3-10. One of her favorite parts about the work she does at SMOS is being able to get to know all of the students in the school and walk with them on their path toward God.