Pastor Marci Scott-Weis (she/her)
Senior Pastor
Marci has been the Senior Pastor at Magnolia UCC since 2019. She provides Pastoral care, creates and leads Sunday worship services and special services, teaches classes, organizes projects for the community and preaches most Sundays.
Prior to coming to MUCC she had a very diverse background. She formerly ran a community health clinic in Nepal, was a hospice nurse on the front lines during the peak of the AIDS crisis, studied health policy and helped run a non-profit healthcare company. She has a Masters in Health Policy from the University of Michigan, a Masters in Divinity and a Certificate in Spiritual Direction from Seattle University.
Marci has a passion for worship and spiritual experiences that extend beyond Sunday mornings and outside of the church walls into our greater community. Outside of Magnolia, she enjoys reading a good work of fiction in front of a fire on a cold, rainy day with her dogs, going for a kayak ride with her spouse Jasper or taking a hike deep into the Cascades. You can reach Marci at marci@magnoliaucc.org
Ryan Wagner (he/him)
Pianist / Organist and Marketing Manager
Ryan moved to Seattle from the New York City metropolitan area in 2017. A classically trained pianist, he holds a degree in piano performance from Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio. Ryan has an extensive background in providing music for church worship services, as well as weddings, memorials, and events throughout NYC and Seattle. He is active as an accompanist & collaborator within the Seattle music scene
Ryan has performed and recorded with a diverse range of ensembles, choirs and instrumentalists throughout his musical career. Ryan is also a dedicated music educator and teaching artist, offering piano lessons throughout the city. Ryan also serves as Marketing Manager for MUCC. In his spare time, Ryan enjoys hiking, travel, spending time with his pup, and exploring everything the beautiful PNW has to offer. More information can be found via his website: www.ryanwagnermusic.com
Helen Woodruff (she/her)
Music Director
Helen Woodruff is a graduate student at the University of Washington, pursuing her DMA in Choral Conducting. She is passionate about approaching choral music from new perspectives. She is strongly rooted in music education and strives for choral music to be accessible to all, pursuing creative ways for singing to be experienced. She finds substantial power in the collective human voice, which is why she is drawn with such strength to conducting and facilitating this expression and communication.
Helen is excited to join the MUCC community, pursuing the principles of radical welcome, curiosity, and justice. To her, every voice matters, every singer deserves to be here, and the music we make together should elevate the messages we most need to hear.
Cheryl Clemans (she/her)
Church Administrator
Cheryl has called Magnolia home since 2009. Before moving here to the Emerald City, she lived in Alameda in the SF Bay Area, received her BA in Journalism at San Diego State University (Go Aztecs!), grew up in Newport Beach, and was born in San Gabriel, CA. She is a proud momma to her big kid who is studying Forensic Sciences at Evergreen State College in Olympia, and three cats–or technically four cats when her kid is home from school. To decompress, she enjoy long-distance interval running with a lovely group of women.
Lauren Schulz (she/her)
Accountant
Lauren Schulz serves the MUCC Community as the Bookkeeper. She grew up in Shoreline as a member of Richmond Beach UCC and still enjoys performing with the RBCC Players community theater group. She is now living in Kirkland and an active member of Northlake Unitarian Universalist Church where she serves as their finance committee chair. Lauren is also the bookkeeper for three other churches in the area. In her free time Lauren can be found exploring local parks or working on creative projects with her two kids.
Jasper Scott-Weis (she/they)
Technology Coordinator
Jasper serves as the Church’s Technology Coordinator. Each Sunday they assure that our services are streamed to our online participants. When not supporting Magnolia UCC, Jasper is a teacher at an elementary school, teaching technology to grades K-5.
Rev. Michael Haven (she/her)
Minister-in-Covenant
Michael comes to us from the San Francisco Bay area. She holds a Master of Divinity from Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA. MUCC called Michael as Traveling Minister of the Arts which allowed her Ordination in April 2018. She joined MUCC in May of that year. With over 30 years’ experience on stage, Michael brings a theatrical eye to Scripture. Working with other members of MUCC in BiblioDrama workshops, Michael develops scripts that are part contemporary, part Scriptural, bringing these sacred stories to life on the chancel stage. She is proud to be a member of this open-hearted, radically inclusive Christian community.
Rev. Maureen McLain (she/her)
Minister-in-Covenant
Maureen has been a long-time member of the MUCC Community and became Ordained in the United Church of Christ in the Summer of 2022. She serves MUCC through her Covenant Ministry of Adult Education.
Rev. Becky Withington (she/her)
Minister-in-Covenant
Rev Becky is a graduate of Seattle University as well as an ordained Minister in the United Church of Christ (UCC). She serves as a Minister of Transformative Spirituality in covenant with MUCC and serving the wider church and community at large. Rev. Becky is called to create and lead spiritual practices and experiences that invite God’s people to approach these thin places with open hearts and spirits through forms of prayer and devotions, guided meditations, and spiritual retreats, and to encourage the regular application of spiritual practices to everyday life.