People

 




University Congregational United Church of Christ
4515 16th Ave. N.E.
Seattle, WA 98105-4201

Office (206) 524-2322
Fax (206) 524-0602
office@universityucc.org

For pastoral emergencies, please call a pastor at
(206) 541-7984, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


»Clergy

The ministers at University Congregational United Church of Christ work together in a team ministry model, different from the traditional "Senior--Associate Minister" model familiar to many in American Protestant churches. This means that they collaborate to address the needs of the congregation, and the preaching rotation among the ministers is relatively equal.

Click to see the leadership staff's schedule.

Catherine was born and raised in Long Beach, California, the youngest of five children. She became a Christian as a teenager. After graduating from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky with a Ph.D. in Education and Theology, she worked for ten years teaching Christian education and biblical studies at San Jose Christian College. She then spent eleven years as a youth minister and later associate minister at First Congregational Church in San Jose, California.

Catherine began her work in ministry with UCUCC on December 1, 2001.

She brings to her work here a passion for ministry, a love of teaching, and a delight in telling Bible stories. Along with her responsibilities in preaching and pastoral care, Catherine is also working Christian education and Stewardship ministries.

Catherine currently lives on Whidbey Island where, in addition to tending the flock at UCUCC, she raises another flock of Romney sheep. She also enjoys all sorts of outdoor activities, a joy she regularly expresses in trips to Yosemite, where she and her sister have a tradition of hiking to the top of Half Dome to celebrate each nephew’s graduation from high school.

In addition to her work in ministry, Catherine is the founder of “Brake the Cycle, National Ride to Stop Child Sexual Abuse,” and has ridden her bicycle across the country five times, raising funds for child abuse prevention and recovery programs. She has also written the book Survivor Prayers, Talking with God About Child Sexual Abuse.

Catherine is the staff liaison for the following groups:
Stewardship Ministry
Christian Education Ministry
Convening Leadership Staff
Personnel Board
Library Committee

Catherine's days off are Friday and Saturday.

 

Peter Ilgenfritz - Minister

PIlgenfritz@universityucc.org

Peter grew up in Lynnfield, MS where his family attended Centre Congregational Church United Church of Christ. Peter received his B.A. from Colgate University in Hamilton, New York in 1984, and his M.Div. from Yale Divinity School in New Haven, Connecticut in 1987. He met his partner Dave Shull at Yale Divinity School. He served as Associate Pastor at First Congregational Church in Ithaca, New York from 1987 to 1989. He and Dave moved to Chicago in 1989 where Peter served as the founding Executive Director of a comprehensive HIV/AIDS care organization in Evanston, Illinois.

Peter Ilgenfritz and his partner, Dave Shull were called to UCUCC as Associate Pastors in June of 1994. They were the first gay couple called to a mainline Protestant church in the country. Dave left his position at UCUCC in January, 2006 and serves as Pastor at Spirit of Peace UCC in Issaquah. Peter and Dave live on Capitol Hill, and are currently providing home and family for a Guatemalan teenager.

Peter bikes to church most days, and enjoys going to the gym, baking bread and drawing. He is a member of a Cho Bo Ji, a Zen Buddhist community on Capitol Hill and takes part several times a year in week-long silent retreats.

Peter’s responsibilities as a member of the leadership staff include preaching, pastoral care, Christian formation, and serving as the staff liaison to the Executive Committee, Church Council, and Worship and Music Boards. 

Peter's days off are Tuesday and Saturday.

Amy Roon - Minister

Aroon@universityucc.org.

Reverend Amy Roon Amy’s educational background includes a Master of Divinity from the Pacific School of Religion (2002), and a BA in Vocal Performance from Oberlin College (1996). She has served as Associate Pastor at the United Churches of Olympia for the past two years. She was Interim Pastor at Lummi Island Congregational Church for one year and Coordinator of Outreach and Retention Services at Bellingham Technical College for two years. During her time at PSR, she was also Music and Arts Director at First Baptist Church of Alameda (CA) for three years.

She is active in both Pacific Northwest Conference and national UCC activities and committees.  

In Olympia, Amy had primary responsibility for developing activities for parents and families and ministering to their spiritual needs. She helped the church create an alternative worship service and also introduced some non-traditional worship styles (without alienating traditionalists!). She worked to strengthen the membership process and long-range planning. United Churches uses the Stephen Ministry model of lay one-on-one congregational care; Amy has been trained as a Stephen Ministry leader and has both participated in and helped lead the Stephen Ministry pastoral care process there. During her time at Lummi Island Congregational Church, she championed stewardship, reached out to new members, and helped smooth the transition from a minister who had been with the congregation for 13 years. 

Amy has tremendous passion and creativity and finds great satisfaction in helping others discover their strengths and try new things. She is a musician and artist at heart, with stage experience in piano, choral music, solo voice, and theater. While at PSR she created and led an exciting gospel choir of fellow seminarians. She also led the choir and strengthened her own spiritual direction at First Baptist Church of Alameda, California. (Amy can sing when called upon, but feels it is more important to let others carry that role.) She is an enthusiastic practitioner of InterPlay, a discipline that combines theater, dance, and spirituality. 

Amy’s other “job” is as mother to an adorable 15-month-old boy named Benjamin. Amy is an adoptee, and several years ago decided it was time for her to “give back.” She adopted Benjamin as an infant. Their dog, Jake, and cat, Winston, keep close tabs on them both. 

Amy's days off are Friday and Saturday.


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