Our Clergy & Staff

The Rev. Dr. Hillary D. Raining
Rector

610.642.8920 x111 • HillaryRaining@saintchristophers.org

Before answering the call to serve as Rector of St. Christopher’s Church, Rev. Dr. Raining served as an Associate Rector at St. David’s Episcopal Church in Wayne, PA. Prior to that she was as Assistant Priest at Trinity Church in Bethlehem, PA. She holds a B.A. with honors in Religion and Psychology from Moravian College, a Masters of Divinity from Yale and the Institute of Sacred Music and is a graduate from Drew University with a Doctorate in Ministry.

In addition to her educational background, she plays piano, classical violinist and Celtic fiddle. Rev. Dr. Raining has worked on many levels of Episcopal Church ministry, having served on several Diocesan and National Church committees. She regularly engages in ecumenical and inter-faith efforts. Her passions in ministry include pastoral care, reconciliation and helping to make known Christ’s love to all. She has many hobbies like yoga, skiing, hiking, gardening and bee-keeping. She is happily married to Ken Raining who is a librarian. Together they have a beautiful daughter named Delia.

To learn more about Hillary, visit her personal website here.

The Rev. Kristen Ostendorf
Associate Rector

610.642.8920 x119 • Kristen@saintchristophers.org

Kristen Ostendorf is a former journalist and history teacher, a Midwesterner by birth, a Philadelphian by choice, and has probably felt the stirrings of a call to priesthood since she played Mass using a fire hydrant as an altar in her neighborhood cul-de-sac.

A proud graduate of two state universities (University of Missouri-Columbia, Bachelor’s of Journalism and Bachelor’s of Sociology, and Rutgers University, Master’s of Education), Kristen recently graduated from General Theological University with her master’s in divinity. 

She serves as the Associate Rector at St. Christopher’s Church in Gladwyne, sharing in ministry with youth and families, pastoral care duties, creation care efforts (including the parish’s work with a cohort of Episcopal churches and Spirituality and Nature Groups) and outreach. She has developed classes for The Hive, an online Christian community supported by the parish. She also has been active in a variety of ministries in her sending parish, Trinity Ambler, including lay eucharistic ministry, healing prayers, and online prayer. Kristen has engaged in ministry with the most vulnerable in Philadelphia, and she works with people who are unsheltered and suffering from substance abuse as part of a mendicant outreach effort of the Catholic Worker Clinic and DIOPA’s The Clare Project in Kensington. In addition, she has engaged in anti-racism work, facilitating workshops on white privilege for teachers and at the community, diocesan, and parish levels.

Kristen enjoys time with her two children, reading, running, walking, and hiking with her husband, the Rev. Phil Geliebter (deacon). She is a terrible cook but loves to eat. Kristen looks for ways to lean into silence in the busyness of life and seeks to keep her eyes fixed on Christ.