bethany pastors

PASTOR VINCE AMLIN

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Vince Amlin grew up in Indiana and Ohio and is a graduate of New York University and the University of Chicago Divinity School.  Ordained in the UCC in 2010, he comes to us most recently from seven years as Associate Pastor of the United Church of Gainesville, Florida. Vince knows the North Side of Chicago well, having managed the Common Pantry at Epiphany UCC and served as an intern and part-time pastor at Holy Covenant United Methodist Church in Lake View while he was a student. Vince is a talented preacher who is part of the UCC’s “Next Generation Leadership Initiative." He also writes devotionals for the UCC’s national website, and loves to sing.  He and his wife Rachelle, a licensed clinical social worker, have a daughter, Nola.

You can reach him at vince@bethanychicago.com

 

PASTOR REBECCA ANDERSON

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Rebecca is ordained in The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), with standing in the UCC. She has a Masters in Divinity from the University of Chicago and a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Playwrighting from Hampshire College (Amherst, MA). Rebecca’s been on Snap Judgment (radio), and podcasts including The Broad Experience and Called to be Bad. Active in the Chicago storytelling scene, she’s performed with events like RISK!, 2nd Story, The Moth, This Much is True, and The Paper Machete. She’s the founder and head honcho of Earshot Stories, running storytelling workshops across the country and in Canada. 

A weaver, gardener, fair weather cyclist and starry-eyed pessimist, she’s always looking for the least crowded forest preserves, knows the best places to pick juneberries, and almost certainly wants to have coffee with you.

You can reach her at rebecca@bethanychicago.com

 
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Yasuko Oura is the Music Director at Bethany. She started subbing for Bethany UCC over a decade ago, and she is excited to be the current music director and the co-artistic director of Chamber Music at Bethany.  When she is not at Bethany, she teaches collaborative piano at Northwestern University's Bienen School of Music.  She is also on the faculty at North Park University.  Additionally she works for many prominent musical institutions in Chicago such as Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago Opera Theater, Music of the Baroque and Grant Park Festival Chorus.  She earned her doctoral and master's degrees from The Juilliard School, and her bachelor's degree from Oberlin College. 

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Jurek Polanski is the Sexton at Bethany.