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| Our Staff |
| Nicole Boyd, Nursery Coordinator |
| Mark Boyd, Youth Ministries |
| Rev F. Mark Dowdy |
| Sandi Trudeau, Church Administrator |
| Dee Morton, Choral Director, Organist/Accompanist |
| Sid Olson, Bookkeeper |
| Carol Sherrell, Assistant Organist |
| Brooke Williams Johnson, Children's Ministries |
| Custodians |
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| Pastor F. Mark Dowdy |
| markd@theunitedchurches.org |
 Our pastor,
F. Mark Dowdy, was born and raised in the
Yakima Valley of Central Washington. He was born into the
Methodist church, then became Presbyterian in 1957 at First
Presbyterian Church, Yakima, Washington. Mark is a graduate of
Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington, the University of
Dubuque Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa and has done post
graduate work at San Francisco Theological Seminary in San
Anselmo, California. He was ordained to the Ministry of Word and
Sacrament on June 15, 1969.From 1969 - 1975 Mark served on staff of The Opportunity Presbyterian Church in Spokane, was pastor of the Sunnyside Presbyterian Church in Sunnyside, Washington from 1975 through the spring of 1987 when he was called to be pastor / head of staff of The United Churches of Olympia. He has dual standing in both The United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church (USA). Mark's family includes his wife Cheryl and their three daughters Kate, Jennie and Laura, plus two grown children with their own families. Mark’s family includes his wife, Cheryl and their three daughters, Kate, Jennie, and Laura, plus two grown children with their own families. The Dowdy's live on a small farm outside Olympia where they raise goats, pigs, chickens, cats, deer, and slugs. Mark has been a “runner” for over 20 years and has logged between 10,000 and 12,000 miles over that period of time. He is involved with local ecumenical associations, has served in both the regional Presbyterian and United Church of Christ bodies. He has great hope for future of liberal Protestantism, of which The United Churches of Olympia is a part, and continually seeks what God might have in mind for the future of The United Churches of Olympia. |
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| Brooke Williams Johnson |
| pascalwills@aol.com |
| Children's Ministries |
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| Church Administrator Sandi Trudeau |
| sandi@theunitedchurches.org |
 Meet
Sandi Trudeau, our church administrator. She comes to us with
many years of experience in office management, human resources,
marketing and advertising and support of staff. For the past
seven years, Sandi was the Assistant Administrator at The
Hampton Alzheimer’s Special Care Center in Tumwater. Before that
she was a para-educator for the Rochester School District. She
received her bachelor of arts degree from Central Washington
State University in sociology in 1976. Sandi has added a wonderful spirit of lightheartedness and
competence to our church office. As one of our staff said to
Sandi at a recent staff meeting, “You fit right in!” And she
does! Her office hours are Monday through Friday, 7:30 am to 4
pm. She is not available to the public, on Mondays because the
office is closed. In 2008 she married Nelson Trudeau and
together they are the proud parents of four children and twelve
grandchildren. She really enjoys being a part of The United
churches and feel it is her home away from home. |
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| Dee Morton |
| Vocal Director, organist and accompanist |
| dmorton11@comcast.net or 360-866-9250 |
My musical background includes training in
piano, organ, voice, and violin at the
 and
the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra during college days. I hold a
Master of Music in Music Education from the
In addition to my first and most important career as a Mom to three lovely, now-adult, daughters, |
| I currently am the Program Director and Conductor of the Pacific Northwest Chamber Orchestra, a volunteer community orchestra, and the Conductor of the Lewis County Community Band, through the Centralia College Continuing Education department. |
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| Carol Sherrell, Assistant Organist |
Carol Sherrell holds a BA degree from the University of
Puget Sound and has pursued graduate studies at St. Martin’s
College, Pacific Lutheran University, and Eastern Washington
University. For twenty five years she was an educator in the
Tumwater School district, Tumwater, Washington, retiring in
1992. During this period she was active in the local, state, and
national education associations. Mrs. Sherrell has served as
organist in the Chehalis Methodist Church and as a substitute in
numerous other churches. She has also served as an officer in
the Olympia chapter of the American Guild of Organists and
currently is a member of the staff of The United Churches of
Olympia where she is assistant organist. At present she is an
accompanist for the chancel choir, co-choir president, co-chair
of the hymnal committee, and a member of the worship ministry. |
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| Mark Boyd |
| Youth Ministries Coordinator |
| hippobmw@comcast.net |
| TUCO Youth |
| Youth Activities |
 Mark
Boyd is a northwest native, having been born in 1957 in Mountain
Home Idaho (that's just outside of Boise). Although he was born
in Idaho he spent most of his life in the Puget Sound Area. He
grew up in Puyallup, WA and moved to Olympia in 1969. He has
seen Olympia grow and prosper as well as grow and stumble. |
He has spent considerable time exploring the mountains
and rivers of the Northwest including a 3 month stint in the
Olympics after High School. Upon returning from the woods he
joined his father in the family business, wholesale plumbing
supplies. He moved to Aberdeen to open up a new facility. When
Marks father took ill, Mark returned to Olympia to help run the
business. Soon after a child was born, Jason and then two years
later another child, Nicole was born. |
| Mark entered the United Churches after his own search for a church home as an adult. Since that time he has taught Sunday School, been a member of the Personnel Ministry, assisted with Youth programs and confirmation, Habitat for Humanity, helped at Bread Roses and The overflow Shelter. It was at the Saturday service that he proposed to his wife Julie. His family currently consists of Jason, Ryan, Nicole and Mathew. Having four adult children and their friends helps him to understand the needs and struggles of youth. |
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| Sid Olson, Bookkeeper |
| sid@theunitedchurches.org |
Our
bookkeeper Sid Olson was born in Minnesota but was raised in the
Lakewood area just south of Tacoma. He was a Lutheran until he
joined the United Churches as a Presbyterian around 1974. Sid is
an Economics graduate of the University of Puget Sound, where he
also did graduate work. Sid worked as a statistician and program
estimator on the 737 program at Boeing from 1965 to 1970. He
then worked for the state Department of Soci al and Health
Services from 1970 until he retired in 2000. His work at DSHS included human services policy analysis, welfare reform implementations, strategic planning, nursing home regulation and managing special projects. He began his part time bookkeeping work at TUCO in November of 2001. |
| Sid has been very active at TUCO, presently serving as clerk of the Presbyterian Session and of the federated (with the UCC) church council. He has twice been Moderator (President) of council, most recently in 2000. He has twice chaired Personnel Ministry and Stewardship Ministry and has also served on Mission, Peace and Justice and Worship Ministries as well as the Nominating Committee. Sid also serves as the Recording Clerk of Olympia Presbytery and was a Presbytery Commissioner delegate to the General Assembly that met in Denver in May 2003. |
| Sid has been married to his wife Ann since 1965. She remains very active in public education (former state president of PTA), genealogy, creating decorative craft art, church activities and being a great grandmother. Sid and Ann have two grown children and three grandchildren. Sid is an avid hiker and walker, he enjoys keeping up his yard in the home where they have lived for more than 30 years, playing bridge and more recently golf, reading and family activities of all kinds. |
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| Nicole Boyd Nursery Coordinator |
| Kirk Russell and Matt Ereth, custodians. |
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Come Journey with Us ! 
