STAFF
Research tells us that healthy pastors need to be mentally, physically and spiritually nurtured. Our church family helps facilitate that by being mindful of these times of rest. The days staff are available in the office is listed next to their names below. As we enhance our inner capacity for wholeness and freedom, we strengthen our outer capacity to love and serve.
REVEREND ERIC ELNES, Ph.D, Lead Minister, available Wednesday-Sunday
Rev. Eric Eugene Elnes, Ph.D., is a nationally recognized UCC minister, interfaith leader, and biblical scholar with a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from Princeton Theological Seminary. (Yes, “Eugene” is really his middle name!) He is also an award-winning author with four nationally-published books, including Gifts of the Dark Wood: Seven Blessings for Spiritual Skeptics (and Other Wanderers), which won “Best Book of 2015” in the category of Christian Living/Spiritual Life.
While Dr. Elnes is a Seattle native, he has led churches across the U.S., from the Pacific Northwest to the Florida Gulf, and from the Desert Southwest to the Eastern Seaboard. His wife, Melanie, grew up in North Bend, OR, and they are fond of spending time at the family cabin in Bandon, which they have done each summer for the last 36 years.
Dr. Elnes is considered an expert in church revitalization. He also is known for his activism for LGBTQIA+ equality, environmental sustainability, and religious pluralism. In 2019, Dr. Elnes received the Eisendrath Bearer of Light Award – the highest award given by Reform Judaism – for his work with Omaha, Nebraska’s Tri-Faith Initiative (www.trifaith.org). (Previous recipients include U.S. Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg, Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, and Michael J. Fox.)
Small group ministry has been an important theme in Dr. Elnes’ work, in addition to spiritual direction and social justice. Many churches across the country have used one or more of the 30 different small group video series he created through an organization he founded called DarkwoodBrew.org.
Eric and Melanie have two grown children, Arianna and Maren, and a dog named Roe. Eric’s hobbies include hiking, fly fishing, cooking, reading, beachcombing, and bike riding. He also likes to dabble with technology, including Virtual Reality and the Metaverse!
Pastor Eric and YOU ~ An invitation to meet
Pastor Eric is eager to get to know us more personally, who we are and a little bit about each of us. He is ready to schedule meet-ups with as many FCC folks as possible. If you previously responded to a VideoAsk before he arrived he would still like to meet you.
Click on the button below to view a brief video invitation from Pastor Eric and follow the prompts to easily schedule a meeting here at church, or for coffee, lunch or dinner. Meetings can be with individuals or in pairs as you prefer. Pastor Eric looks forward to meeting up with you soon!
REVEREND MARK LINDBERG (he, him, his), Associate Minister, available Sunday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday.
Mark began his service on staff as Director of Youth & Family Ministries in May of 2017. He brings a wealth of knowledge about our community and our church, having been a member of First Congregational Church since 2000, along with his wife Julia, and children, Annika and Joren. After serving as Youth Minister for seven years, Mark was called and began serving as Associate Minister in October, 2024. Mark completed his Path to Ordination in the Central Pacific Conference of the United Church of Christ and was ordained in November of 2024. He completed his seminary work at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, MO. His Clinical Pastoral Education was fulfilled through his service as Chaplain at Riverbend Hospital (Level II Trauma Center), with PeaceHealth Spiritual Care in Springfield, OR. Mark continues to follow his call to serve Children, Youth and Families, with a passion for working with youth and young adults. Creation Justice, Interfaith & Ecumenical Ministries, Indigenous Justice, and Healing Ministries are also primary to his call. He believes in experiential learning, utilizing a service-learning model wherever possible. Mark seeks to enhance the support for parents and families during these times of challenge and uncertainty. Over the years at FCC, Mark has led youth trips to Villas del Sol, Mexico; Honolulu, Hawai’i; and Long Beach, California. He has served as Group Liaison for nine Sierra Service Project trips, including Del Norte County, CA, Spokane, WA, and Chiloquin, OR. He led the Central Pacific Conference Regional Youth Assembly in 2019 and 2022. Mark started ‘Ohana Youth Ministries in 2017 and has overseen its growth in becoming a vital ministry offering at FCC. Mark is deeply grateful for the privilege of serving the community he loves, and excited to discover what Spirit has in store for us next! In his spare time, Mark operates a print brokerage firm, PDI, LLC, manages, coaches, and plays on soccer teams, and seeks every opportunity to commune with Spirit in the wilderness. He enjoys music, camping, hiking, jogging, whitewater kayaking, snowboarding, mountain biking, and surfing. Most of all, he enjoys spending time with his family and loved ones, cherishing opportunities to connect with others in the beloved community. “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” Jeremiah 6:16 (adapted from the NIV translation).
SYBIL DONLEY, Children and Middle School Ministries Coordinator, available Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday
Sybil brings a wealth of experience, creativity, and a deep passion for nurturing children and youth. She strives to provide children with a positive and safe environment for exploring their faith. Her journey in ministry and service has taken her across communities and cultures. She has served as a foster parent for the state of Oregon; volunteered with inner-city children’s ministries through the Portland Urban Ministry Project; worked as a house mother with Child Hope International in Port-au-Prince, Haiti; and taught children’s theatre for at-risk youth in both Oregon and Florida.
She also co-founded the Emerge New Worshiping Community (PC-USA) in Florida, where she planned and led worship services, oversaw the benevolence ministry, and taught weekly children’s lessons.
Sybil now makes her home in Eugene with her husband and daughter. She is active in local theatre and also works as a freelance narrator and voice actor. Along with her love for working with children, she brings skills in strategic planning, project management, fundraising, social media campaigns, and event planning—all of which will enrich our ministry.
JARED FISCHER (he, him, his), Director of Music Ministries, available Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday
There is an abundance of good news for us in selecting and hiring Jared as our Director of Music Ministries, who has been making music in church since age 11. Jared was the director of music at Holy Covenant UCC in Charlotte, North Carolina from 2009 to 2018. We are thrilled to have him bring his love of liturgical worship and appreciation for music to inspire vibrant worship experiences that utilize both traditional and contemporary elements.
A committed educator, he and six colleagues founded the annual workshop, Porterville Summer Strings, in Porterville, California, with the mission of making music education accessible to children disenfranchised by poverty and at risk of gang recruitment. During the summer of 2010, he taught music at House of Peace Orphanage in southern India.
Jared has most recently worked in the collegiate setting as a graduate instructor in conducting at the University of Oregon, where he earned two master’s degrees, one in orchestral conducting, the other in choral conducting.
DR. BARBARA BAIRD, Organist, Bell Choir Director
Dr. Barbara Baird has served as organist at First Congregational Church, Eugene, since April 1, 1982. A critically acclaimed recitalist, Barbara has performed throughout the United States as well as Argentina, Brazil, Europe and Australia. A frequent adjudicator and clinician, she regularly conducts workshops and master classes for keyboardists, particularly on Baroque and Classical Period Performance, and Keyboard Pedagogy. Baird has been a presenter and recitalist at both national and regional conventions of the American Guild of Organists, and for the Southeastern Historical Keyboard Society, the Western Early Keyboard Association, the Organ Historical Society, the Historical Keyboard Society, the Oregon Bach Festival, several chapters of the American Guild of Organists, and for piano teachers’ guilds in the United States and Australia. She is particularly known for her presentations on organ manual and pedal techniques for beginning organists, as well as New Organist workshops.
Recently retired from the music faculty at the University of Oregon, where she taught organ, harpsichord, and piano for 37 years, Barbara is now Bell Choir Director at First Congregational Church, Eugene.
VICKI BRABHAM, Keyboardist
Vicki is a local pianist, singer, arranger, and music educator. She has made First Congregational Church her home for nearly 20 years, and enjoys integrating jazz, blues, gospel, and other contemporary styles into the worship at FCC. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, reading, crossword puzzles, the beach and the mountains in nearly equal measure, a good cup of coffee, and the everyday joys of life with her family.
DANA CLARK (she, her), Office Administrator, available Monday-Friday.
Dana joined our staff in 2017 and is committed to offering warm welcome and fellowship for our congregation and visitors. If you have any questions on how to be involved with our many thriving church groups, be sure to talk to Dana and she will find multiple ways you can participate.
ANDREA RHOADES, Financial and Business Administrator
We are thrilled to share that Andrea Rhoades has accepted the offer to become FCC’s new Financial and Business Administrator! Andrea brings over 16 years of executive leadership experience, alongside extensive non-profit board and budget oversight expertise. Her official first day with us was Wednesday, August 12, 2026. Please join us in giving Andrea a warm FCC welcome as she steps into this vital role.
BONNIE GARCIA, Volunteer Business Administrator
As First Congregational Church’s Volunteer Business Administrator, I bring 25 years of experience working as both an Accountant and Church Business Administrator in a Disciples of Christ Church, an ELCA Lutheran Church, and a Presbyterian Church. In addition, I have served in various capacities of lay leadership over the last 30 years in churches. While gifted in Administration, my true passion lies in working as a Spiritual Director with people to discover their spiritual path and with bringing healing to the LGBTQIA+ community.
My spouse, Karen Thornberg and I have enjoyed being together for 29 years (since 1996). We moved to Oregon from San Diego, California in 2007. We lived in Salem and Dallas and I worked in Portland. Just prior to retirement we relocated to the Springfield/Eugene area to be near family. We began attending First Congregational Church just as the church closed down due to Covid-19; we stayed connected online and have since remained actively engaged with this loving and vibrant community, “calling it home.” We have enjoyed traveling in the PNW and Canada. Having come from San Diego, we are often drawn to the coastline or other bodies of water. Thank you for being a congregation where “all really are welcome here and all really belong here.” The FCC congregation serves as a bulwark in a chaotic world.
JENNIE SHERLOCK (she, her, hers), Our Whole Lives Program Director, available by appointment.
Jennie and her family started coming to FCC in 1999, drawn in by the warm and familiar community. In 2006, with her children soon to be in middle school, she took the Our Whole Lives (OWL) middle and high school training to fortify her parenting toolbox, never expecting it to go further. She quickly recognized the importance and relevancy of the curriculum, and in 2007 volunteered to help facilitate an 8th grade OWL class at FCC – and literally hasn’t stopped facilitating OWL classes since! In June of 2019 she took over as OWL Coordinator at FCC. Jennie is trained in all levels of OWL: grades K-1, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12, Young Adult, Adult and Older Adult. In addition to coordinating the OWL program at FCC, Jennie also teaches 6th grade and 8th grade OWL at Oak Hill School, and 4th and 8th grade OWL at the Village School. Jennie considers it a blessing and a privilege to get to walk alongside so many youth and their families for this sacred part of the growing-up journey.
Jennie earned a degree in Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She enjoys hiking, gardening, bee keeping, cooking, fermenting and furthering various artistic endeavors. She has two beautiful children, Bodin, studying Political science at Oregon State University, and Carmin, working towards her MSW at Hunter College in Brooklyn, NY.
BRENT CLARK, Maintenance/Custodian, available Monday-Friday
First Congregational Church welcomes Brent Clark as our new Custodian/Maintenance Technician as of August 11, 2025. He brings much enthusiasm and a vast amount of skills and experience to this position, and is already busy with many tasks, ie. lawn mowing, daily safety check of the property’s perimeter, and making needed repairs around the facility and preschool. We are excited that he has joined FCC as an employee and is providing such a positive and great attitude around his duties. Brent has volunteered at the church for a long time, so he brings an added ‘hands on experience.’
Brent works 35 hours a week, Monday through Friday, and reports to Bonnie Garcia, the Volunteer Business Administrator, and Rev. Eric Elnes. An additional focus will be organizing the requirements of his position – putting together, with Bonnie, a means of managing work orders to include receiving requests, prioritizing work orders, completing requests, and documentation of their completion.
At this time please send requests for work orders by email to Bonnie (bonnieg@fcceugene.org) and Brent (facilities@fcceugene.org). If you fill out a Work Order form in the office, please put it into Brent’s mail box. If it is an emergency item, please report it directly to Brent.
We look forward to a wonderful and productive relationship.
