Community of Saint Peter
Our Team
Bob Kloos (he/him/his) - Pastor/Administrator
Most of what Bob has learned about life, ministry, and the arts, he learned from the very people he set out to serve. He believes the Spirit speaks through everyone and abides in everything. Listening carefully, therefore, and paying attention, will likely lead the way.
In 1988, Bob was one of five co-founders of Beacon Street performing arts in ministry, an effort to proclaim the Good News using the performing arts. Bob was the artistic director and sole performer for the last ten years before Beacon Street surrendered to another calling. In September of 2017, Bob was called and named pastor and administrator of the Community of Saint Peter, an intentional Eucharistic community “preserving and renewing a living tradition.”
Besides his career with Beacon Street, Bob enjoyed post-graduate studies at Saint Mary Seminary in Cleveland and seventeen years of service in parish and campus ministry for the Diocese of Cleveland. He was raised in Willoughby OH by two fine parents, so his success was assured.
Most importantly, Bob married Jean and together they had two great kids, David and Sarah, who have taught Bob all he knows about being a dad.
Reverend Susi Kawolics - Administrative Assistant
Reverend Susi Kawolics recently retired from Federated Church United Church of Christ in Chagrin Falls after 8 years as their Associate Pastor. She is on the board as Treasurer of the Cleveland Ecumenical Institute of Religious Studies (CEIRS), and serves as the Chair of the Steering Committee for the Northeast Ohio School of Ministry (NEOSOM). She has a certification as a Labyrinth facilitator through Veriditas (www.veriditas.org).
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Susi was raised Methodist, then converted to Catholicism. Susi received her Master’s degree in Ministry from Ursuline College in Pepper Pike and was certified as a lay ecclesial minister for the Cleveland Diocese of the Catholic Church in 1999. She became a licensed minister in the United Church of Christ denomination in 2008 and was ordained in 2014.
She has lived her whole life in Cleveland and has been married to her husband Rich, another native Clevelander, for 36 years. They have two daughters, Kailey and Kiran.
Cynthia Caporella - Director of Music
Cynthia has been blessed with a ministry in liturgical music for much of her life. She began by volunteering in the music ministry of her hometown parish when she was in the sixth grade and has never stopped!
She has worked as a liturgical musician in various environments in Northeastern Ohio including parishes in the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland and educational settings. Her experiences are broad, and include roles of music director, choral director, organist, pianist, and choral accompanist. In addition, Cynthia has regularly performed as a chamber musician and collaborative pianist throughout the Greater Cleveland area.
Cynthia’s love of liturgical music is rooted in the opportunity to work with sacred music and its texts, which serve to illuminate the scriptural message. Whether in liturgy, prayer services, or other creative offerings, this has been her life’s passion!
A favorite style of musical prayer involves the chants of the Taize community and its contemplative nature. Cynthia has traveled to Taize, France on two occasions, where she participated in the week-long program of daily prayer and service to the community.
Cynthia holds a doctorate in Musicology/Ethnomusicology from Kent State University with a focus on the inclusion of liturgical music at the Church of the Gesu, Mother Church of the Society of Jesus in Rome, Italy (1584). She also holds Master of Music degrees in Vocal Coaching and Accompanying from the University of Illinois, and in Piano Performance from Kent State University. Her teachers and mentors include world-renowned accompanists, church musicians and conductors.
Martha Ligas (she/her/hers) - Pastoral Minister
Martha has spent the better part of her life learning to understand what the Holy Spirit sounds like. Discerning this Voice has led her through B.A.’s in Psychology and Sociology from one Jesuit university, a M.A. in Theology and Ministry from another, and a Certification in Spiritual Direction from a third. It’s led her through various ministries on multiple continents, from leading immersions in Honduras to teaching English in Rwanda. It’s led her to and through retreat direction, volunteer coordination, and five years of teaching high school theology.
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Most recently, the Spirit has sent her to the Community of Saint Peter, where she has been excited to hang her hat as a pastoral minister since August 2021.
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Martha has been fed by this Community since she first discovered it in 2018 and is tickled that the Spirit decided to call her here next.
