FUMC People
Co-Pastor – Rev. Claire Childress
Claire has been in ordained ministry for more than twenty years in a
working life which took a twisting path to get her to it. Her
several “second careers” were preceded by a first one in
psychiatric social work after graduating from DePauw University in
1967, and included journalism, broadcasting, public relations, and --
yes, even real estate sales.
Along the way she earned a Master of Arts in Speech and Theatre
(Pittsburg State University, 1972) and a Master of Divinity (Iliff
School of Theology, 1985.) After early years in ministry as a
hospital chaplain, she took a deep breath and began serving churches in
1988, beginning at First UMC, Colorado Springs, and moving on to St.
Andrew UMC (at that time in Littleton), Christ UMC in Salt Lake City,
and Westminster UMC, serving the last with husband and co-pastor Keith
Thompson for eight years prior to coming to Boulder.
Her primary ministry areas here are worship and pastoral care; she plans and preaches in most worship services, and attends to the ups and downs of the personal lives of FUMC members and friends. She also is involved in the Theologian-in-Residence program and Reconciling Ministries, and is delighted to leave much of the remainder of committee meetings and church administration to her trusty co-pastor. She has been a leader in the Academy for Spiritual Formation since 1999, and currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Frasier Meadows Retirement Community. For fun, she loves to read, write, cook, get as close to the ocean as possible and laugh at the antics of the family Labradoodle, Gracie.
Co-Pastor – Rev. Keith Thompson
Keith considers himself a postmodern, Wesleyan, evangelical, liberal
Christian. His ministry emphasizes working toward a more loving, just
and peaceful world. Keith has been an active participant in 'The Church
and Homosexuality' workshops prior to General Conference meetings since
1992. He was Co-Leader of an Annual Conference Kenya Mission Team and
has served as 'Council for the Church' at the Annual Conference
Committee on Investigation. He has degrees from Wichita State
University, Southern Methodist University and received his Master of
Divinity, with honors from Iliff in 1981.
Office Manager – Julie Heins
Julie threw her hat in the entrepreneurial ring a few years ago
offering administrative, bookkeeping and publication support to clients
in the Boulder area through her business, In The Nick Of Time.
Previously, she worked at the University of Colorado in the Division of
Continuing Education for ten years. In addition to office work, Julie
is a Master Level Reiki practitioner and teacher. Julie has lived in
Boulder with her husband, Fred, and son, Jake, for 18 years. Her
interests include playing with the family dogs, spending time with her
family, writing and self-improvement.
Director of Music and Facilities Use Coordinator – Evanne Browne
Evanne moved to Boulder in 2005 with her husband, Tom Prugh,
and son, Gordon, and has found the perfect two jobs at
FUMC to match her interests. She was Director of Music at
1st Presbyterian Church in Annapolis, Maryland, and
well-established as a solo singer in the Washington, DC
area. On the business end, Evanne worked 14 years for the
Smithsonian where she managed IT training and the Procurement
Division. She has a Bachelor of Music degree and earned her
Masters in Music from Rice University. Here in Boulder, Evanne, a
member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, teaches
private voice, is soprano section leader of Ars Nova Singers, and
has appeared as soloist with Boulder Bach Festival, with Boulder
Acoustic Society, and the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of
CO. She loves FUMC’s enthusiasm for its growing
music program and the community that's developing through
sharing a love of music making and lives.
Director of Children's Ministries – Aerin Bender-Stone
Aerin Bender-Stone is a non-ordained, professional United Methodist lay minister who has a Masters Degree in Theological Studies from the Divinity School at Duke University. She served as Director of Youth and Family Ministry for five years at Laguna Beach UMC in California where she was responsible not only for the teenagers, but also for church-wide family events for all ages. Prior to her time in Laguna Beach, she served as Interim Director of Christian Education for two summers at St. Paul UMC in Louisville, Kentucky, and she spent two years as Children’s Choir Director at Trinity UMC in Durham, North Carolina. Aerin lives in Arvada with her husband Phil and her two children, four-year-old Oscar and two-year-old Lily.
Director of Youth Ministries – Zac Alstad
Zac obtained his BA in Psychology at St. Olaf College in Minnesota, and
is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Psychology. He lives
in Allenspark, and has served as the summer Youth Director at Shepherd
of the Hills Lutheran Church since 2003. He brings to us a deep faith
and many interesting international experiences (student ambassador to
the Netherlands, Habitat volunteer in Kenya and Tanzania, semester
studies in Greece, Turkey and South Africa, and has climbed Mt.
Kilimanjaro). He greatly enjoys working with youth and supporting them
in their faith journey.
Deacon – Theologian in Residence Program – Rev. Rosalee Blake
As an ordained deacon in The United Methodist Church, Rosalee’s
role is to embody, articulate, and guide the people of God in its
servant leadership. Her primary ministry is hospital chaplaincy;
Rosalee serves her secondary appointment at FUMC where she directs the
Theologians in Residence program, and assists the pastors. She
works for inclusion of all in the Church as she coordinates the Parents
Reconciling Network in the Rocky Mountain Conference. Rosalee
holds a degree from Southern Illinois University, and received her
Master of Arts in Theology, with a focus in Christian education, from
Bethany Theological Seminary.
Custodian – Francisco Ruiz
Cisco joined FUMC in 2005, after 5 years doing maintenance for Tantra
Lake Apartments. Before that he was Grounds Coordinator at Ball
Aerospace in Boulder and Broomfield for 7 years. He is originally
from El Salvador and has been working in the Boulder area since
1976. Religion is important to him, so he particularly enjoys
working at FUMC, where he also regularly volunteers his help at our
monthly Soup Kitchen. In his spare time he enjoys fishing and is
active in an over-40 soccer club that plays in tournaments as far away
as Las Vegas.
Contracted Organist – Denise Lanning
Denise has been organist at First United Methodist since 1999. She is a
graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music,
where in addition to organ she also studied piano and harpsichord. She
finds playing the Roosevelt pipe organ here at FUMC very rewarding.
Contracted Bookkeeper – Susan Westerwick
Susan currently owns her own bookkeeping business; she studied
accounting in college and has worked in the accounting field since
1975. Originally from the Washington DC area, she speaks fluent
Hungarian and attended high school at a Hungarian school in Germany
(her mother's family is from Hungary). Susan loves to ski, bike,
walk, and play bridge. She is married to an engineer/
artist/cyclist/skier/french horn player and has a son at Regis
University in Denver studying business. She also has a very sweet
English Labrador dog named Sally.
Contracted Child Care – Ronak Bahrami
Ronak arrived from Iran in 1994 and has been providing child care at
FUMC since 1995. She also does child care for the Head Start
program (since 1995), for other local churches, and for people
attending AA meetings. In her spare time she enjoys gardening,
cooking, sewing, listening to music from her native culture, and
spending mother/daughter time with her teenage daughter Sara.