Clergy & Staff

The Rev. Laurel Coote

The Rev. Laurel Coote was called by St. Dunstan’s in December 2020 to serve as Rector. As our priest, Laurel leads and guides the congregation in pastoral care, worship and preaching, administration, Christian formation, as well as in support of the church’s outreach ministries and St. Dunstan’s Montessori School  She brings an enthusiasm for Christ and a warm welcome to all, frequently saying what a profound privilege it is to walk alongside others in their faith journey. Laurel’s sermons are engaging and biblically sound, inviting listeners to stretch and grow in their faith.  Prior to answering the call to ordained ministry, Laurel had a successful career in the hospitality industry as a consultant, event/conference manager and college business instructor. She brings a depth of experience and strategic knowledge to the day-to-day operations of the church.

Laurel earned her Master of Divinity from Claremont School of Theology, in partnership with the Episcopal Divinity School and the Episcopal Theological School at Claremont (2018). She received the New Testament Scholarship and the President’s Award, both for exceptional academic achievement. 

Laurel+ was ordained in the Diocese of Los Angeles to the transitional diaconate in June 2018, and to the priesthood in January 2019.  Her first call was to St. Francis Episcopal Church in Palos Verdes, California, where she served as Associate for Youth and Spiritual Exploration. In September 2019, Laurel accepted the call to serve at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Los Angeles, as their Interim Priest.  She shepherded this community into their transition and through the global pandemic of 2020, as they navigated from in-person to online worship.

After the departure of The Rev. Rob Fisher in 2019, St. Dunstan’s began the search for a new priest and late in the summer of 2020, called Rev. Laurel to serve as the parish’s fifth Rector.

In addition to her role as Rector, Rev. Laurel is actively engaged in ministry on a diocesan level, presently serving as the President of the Joint Disciplinary Board for the Diocese of California, El Camino Real, Northern California and San Joaquin.  Previously, Laurel+ served as a Trustee on the Board of Trustees and as the Chair of the Liturgy Committee. Laurel+ and her husband, Peter, relocated from Los Angeles to Carmel Valley, where Peter worked in the technology sector until his retirement in 2023.  She enjoys traveling, singing (locally in the choral ensemble i Cantori di Carmel), immersing in nature, and enjoying time with family and friends.

More about Joe

Joseph W. Heston has served as Verger for St. Dunstan’s since his appointment in 2013, guiding ceremonial detail in worship services, and leading ushers, lectors, Lay Eucharistic Ministers, and the Acolyte Corps.  Prior to that, he served as St. Dunstan’s Acolyte Master since 1999. 

At St. Dunstan’s, Heston is also a Licensed Lay Eucharistic Minister and served nine years (non-consecutive terms) on the Vestry; three of those years as the parish’s Senior Warden.

Before moving to the Central Coast, Heston served as Acolyte Master and as a Vestryman at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh, PA, and prior to that, he served as Acolyte Master at The Church of the Good Shepherd in Baltimore, MD.

Though retired since 2020, Mr. Heston is often recognized by long-time “locals” that are visitors or newcomers to St. Dunstan’s, due to his professional life as President & General Manager of our local television news stations KSBW/NBC and Central Coast ABC.  In that role, he was seen on-air weekly, for 22 years, offering the station’s Editorial at the conclusion of newscasts.

Mr. Heston is recognized as a Life Member of the Verger’s Guild of the Episcopal Church (VGEC).

Fred Burgomaster

Frederick Burgomaster is Music Director of St. Dunstan’s. He also is Canon Organist and Choirmaster Emeritus of Christ Church Cathedral, Indianapolis, and former conductor and music director of the Indianapolis Festival Chorus and Orchestra and the Indianapolis Baroque Singers. Prior to his Indianapolis tenure, he was organist and

choirmaster of St. Paul’s Cathedral, Buffalo, NY, and served as conductor and music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra Chorus (under orchestra conductor Michael Tilson Thomas). While in Buffalo, he was also organist and music director at Temple Beth Zion.

Dr. Burgomaster holds a DMA (Doctor of Musical Arts) degree from the University of Southern California; an SMM (Master of Sacred Music) degree from New York’s Union Theological Seminary; and an Associate degree from the American Guild of Organists. As a Fulbright Scholar, he studied organ and conducting with noted Bach interpreter Karl Richter and sang with the Munich Bach Choir. As an organist, he was a finalist in the Bruges International Music Competition and has played recitals throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. He has conducted major works for chorus and orchestra and has composed several anthems for mixed chorus.