ALUCC Staff
Senior Minister, Rev. Dr. Kelly Brill
Jim Deitz
Youth Director, Nate Taylor
, Julie Reimer
, Melody Rice
Director of Music Ministries, Mary L. Fancher
Organist, Ruth Williams
Fritz Hieronymous Schaufele
Sharon Dixon
Dr. E James Kotora, Jr.
Parish Nurse, Cheryl Updegraff, RN, B.S.
Valerie Tanzilli
The Rev. Dr. Kelly Brill has been the Senior Minister at ALUCC since January of 1995. She previously served churches in Lakewood, Ohio; Henry, Illinois; and Waco, Texas. She was ordained in 1983 and holds ministerial standing in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) as well as the United Church of Christ. She is a graduate of Kalamazoo College, Vanderbilt Divinity School, and Chicago Theological Seminary. She enjoys writing and currently has a contract with the Alban Institute to write a book on healthy clergy lifestyles.
Kelly’s hobbies include reading, exercise and travel. Married to Doug Brill, she has two children: Michael, born in 1984, who lives in Chicago, and Anne, born in 1988, who is a college student.
Click Here to contact The Rev. Dr. Kelly Brill
Jim Deitz: I'm a graduate of Haverford College and Eden Theological Seminary. Later, I received an STM from Yale Divinity School. I was ordained to the Christian ministry in 1955, and served congregations in Ohio for about 40 years until my retirement.
Since then, I've remained active through some interim ministries, and happily serving part-time on the staff at Avon Lake United Church of Christ (since 1998). My responsibilities include: calling on home-bound persons, and those in rest homes; occasional preaching; occasional hospital calling as needed. Beyond the local church: moderator of the Ohio Conference, president of the Academy of Parish Clergy, trustee of many boards through the years. Currently serving on the board of the Interfaith Hospitality Network, Lorain County. Married to Lou since 1951; four children and eleven grandchildren.
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My name is Nate Taylor and I am the Director of Youth Ministries at ALUCC. My responsibilities include overseeing and development of the youth ministries programs for students in grades 5-12. I am also responsible for the education of our confirmation students and the development of that program. I am originally from Toledo, Ohio and first came to the greater Cleveland area in 1999 when I was a student at Baldwin-Wallace College. I graduated from B-W in 2003 with a degree in Sport Management and Business Administration. I spent some time with the Cleveland Browns and the former Cleveland Barons. Most recently I was serving part-time as the youth director at St. Stephen U.C.C. in Sandusky. I began at Avon Lake U.C.C. in April of 2007. I am very active in the conference's Outdoor Ministries and will be looking forward to my 19th summer at camp in 2010. I currently serve on the conference's Division of Outdoor Ministries. I enjoy being outside, canoeing, camping, biking, golf, soccer, photography, live music and live comedy. I love Cleveland's sports teams! I think laughter is the best medicine. I enjoy meeting new people and working with all the amazing students I have had the chance to meet so far. I have this ridiculously awesome girlfriend Lisa and I currently reside in Lakewood.
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Julie joined the staff of the ALUCC as Director of Christian Education in February, 2010. Her responsibilities include coordinating the Sunday School program, Children’s Time, Vacation Bible School and the Christmas Pageant. Oversight of Adult Christian Education, the Advent Devotional and the Summer Camp program are also part of her job. Julie has been an active member of the church since she first moved to Avon Lake in the summer of 2000. During this time, Julie has served on the Boards of Stewardship, Deacons and the Women’s League. She has also been involved in teaching Sunday School and Vacation Bible School. Her community involvement includes leadership roles in the local PTA and the Avon Lake Citizens for Schools. Julie graduated with a degree in Accounting from the University of Colorado. After earning her CPA license, she worked for several years as an auditor. Her husband, Russ, and their two children, Austin and Addison, are also active members of the congregation.
Click Here to contact Julie Reimer.
Tim Schulz joined the ALUCC staff in April 2011 as Membership Coordinator. Tim oversees classes and communications with prospective and new church members. He also works closely with the Board of Membership and other staff members to not only develop programming, but to also keep the ALUCC family informed of events and happenings.
Church has always been a strong part of Tim’s life, in education, volunteering and employment. Tim grew up in Cleveland and attended St. Ignatius and the Univ. of Dayton.
Tim is married to Katie and they have two boys, Alexander and Nicholas. The Schulz family joined ALUCC in February 2005. Tim is also an IHN volunteer, on the Audio/Video Team, and is actively involved with our Youth Group as Mission Specialist and co-director of the annual Corn Hole Tournament.
Click Here to contact Tim Schulz.
Melody Rice joined the staff in May, 2011. She has many years of teaching experience at the elementary level. Melody received her bachelor’s degree in education from Bowling Green State University in 2005. She received her master’s degree in counseling from The Ohio State University in 1996. Melody is married to John Rice, and has three teenage children, Mikhaila, Austin, and Isaac. All three children are graduates of Jack-N-Jill.
Melody’s family moved to Avon Lake in 1998 and joined the church the same year. Melody enjoys reading, travel, and cooking. She is currently the president of the Avon Lake Drama Club, which supports the youth theater program at the high school.
Click Here to contact Melody Rice.
Director of Music Ministries:
Mary L. Fancher, Director of Music Ministry has been on the staff at ALUCC since 1996. She has a B.Mus.Ed. from the College of Wooster and a M.A. in Choral Music and Music Education from Eastern Michigan University. She is a music teacher in the Rocky River City Schools and has previously taught in 3 school districts and has served on the music staff at 4 Presbyterian churches in Michigan and Ohio. Through her career, she has been a member of the following professional organizations - Choristers Guild, American Choral Directors Association, UCC Musicians Network, Presbyterian Association of Musicians, and Ohio Music Educators Association.
Mary has three sons - Kevin, Eric and Brian (college and high school-aged). Her husband is the Rev. Dr. Jon M. Fancher, pastor at Rocky River Presbyterian Church.
Click Here to contact Mary Fancher.
Organist:
Ruth Williams, organist, was raised in the Chicago area and came to the Oberlin College Conservatory for her Bachelor of Music in Education. Before coming to ALUCC, Ruth had many years' experience as piano accompanist for voice lessons, and as an organ substitute in area churches. She was a member of the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus for 15 years. During the week, Ruth is a Learning Disabilities Tutor at St. Raphael School. She lives in Bay Village with her husband, Glenn, an electronics engineer at NASA Glenn Research Center. Their daughter Emily is a Suzuki viola teacher in Wheaton, Illinois, and daughter Hilary is an interior designer in Akron.
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Fritz Hieronymous Schaufele is a graduate of Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music, graduated 1958 B.M.E. Major instrument: Tuba (instructor, James Rieker) Also studied: String Bass with IrvingNathenson (C.S.O.) Piano with Walter Hassenmuller and Voice with Melvin Hakola. Member of ΦMA Sinfonia - Honorary Music Fraternity. He holds a masters in Music History from Cleveland State University. He is retired from the Lakewood school system where he was Orchestra Director and string instructor. His performance experience is rather eclectic encompassing: folk music, blues, studio work, and symphony orchestra. He studied voice with Mel Hakola and David Gooding.
He continues to teach at CSU with the Collegium Musicum which specializes in medieval and renaissance performance. He is married to Joan Heinrich, a local artist with whom he often collaborates, and restores antiques for local antique dealers and makes furniture on commission.
Click Here to contact Fritz Schaufele.
Sharon Dixon
Dr. E James Kotora, Jr. earned his undergraduate and masters degrees in choral conducting and music education at Bowling Green State University. He taught middle school and high school choral and general music in the public schools prior to pursuing his doctorate in music education at Case Western Reserve University.
Dr. Kotora is currently an Elementary Music Specialist for the North Ridgeville City Schools where he teaches Kindergarten and First Grade General Music. Prior to his work in North Ridgeville, Dr. Kotora was Director of Choral Activities at John Carroll University where he directed the University Concert Choir, Sound Advice Pop Vocal Ensemble and taught Music Appreciation and Class Voice. Dr. Kotora also served as a lecturer in the Department of Music at Case Western University where he has taught Choral Methods, Music Methods: Voice, and Music Listening in addition to directing the University Singers. An active church musician, Dr. Kotora previously served as the Director of Music at Dover Congregational UCC in Westlake where he directed the Chancel Choir and church music program. He is also a professional Tenor soloist.
Dr. Kotora has served on the board of the Ohio Choral Directors Association as its Northeast Region Chair. He is also a member of the Music Educators National Conference, American Choral Directors Association and the United Church of Christ Musician's National Network.
Click Here to contact James Kotora.
Cheryl Updegraff, RN, B.S., began serving as the Parish Nurse in January 2004. The Parish Nurse program is a part time position (10 hours per week). During the remainder of the work week Cheryl serves as the practice manager for E.N.T. Group of Cleveland, an Otolaryngology practice; prior to that she was a pediatric nurse. She is a Stephen Minister and Mission Board member and remains involved in both programs as part of the caring ministry outreach of our church; she has also served many years on the Community Resource Services Board. She and her husband, David, have three Children who grew up (and were married) in our church and six grandchildren.
The goal of our Parish Nurse Program is to meet the emotional and physical needs of the individual by utilizing the resources of our church family, the health care system, and the community. She responds to the needs of church members by hospital visits, nursing home and home visits, regular Wednesday office hours as well as Sunday and evenings as needed, assisting with coordination of health care, support and education regarding availability of services and offering health screenings.
Click Here to contact Cheryl Updegraff.
Valerie Tanzilli attended and graduated from Baldwin-Wallace College with a degree in Business, Accounting. After graduation she worked for a chemical company in Cleveland. Valerie and her husband, Jim, have two children, Robyn and Marc, and six grandchildren. They have lived in Avon Lake since Labor Day, 1970 and have been members of Avon Lake UCC since late 1971. She returned to work part time in the early 80's. She began by volunteering in the Financial office recording the income. This then progressed into a part time position paying the bills and then processing payroll.
In late 1994, Valerie also became the church secretary. As secretary , she is responsible for preparing the Drummer, and the weekly bulletins. She tries to keep the office running smoothly while answering phone calls, ordering various supplies and dealing with anything else that comes her way. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call.
Click Here to contact Valerie Tanzilli.