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Our
Staff
SENIOR PASTOR —
The Reverend James N. McEachran has served as
Senior Pastor since 1983. He is a native of Spokane,
Washington and received his Bachelor's Degree
from Whitworth College. His seminary training
began at Concordia Theological Seminary in Springfield,
Illinois and he graduated from Pacific Lutheran
Theological Seminary in Berkeley, California.
Following graduation, he continued graduate study
at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley.
He came to Saint Andrew's from a ministry of Christian
Education and Youth Ministry at Messiah Lutheran
Church in Spokane.
Since 1997, Pastor McEachran's community involvement
has been with the Bellevue School District. He
is an avid reader of almost anything, sipper of
lattes, and is somewhat preoccupied with baseball
from Spring Training through the World Series.
Pastor McEachran is married to Nancy McEachran.
They enjoy the gift of two daughters, Erin and
Alyssa.
jmceachran@salcbellevue.org
ASSOCIATE PASTOR — The Reverend Rita M. Anderson began serving Saint Andrew’s Lutheran Church as Associate Pastor in November of 2006. She graduated from Pacific Lutheran University in Parkland , Washington with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, in 1988. She continued graduate studies at Seattle University ’s School of Theology and Ministry and received a Master of Divinity degree from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg in 2005.
Lifelong residents of the Northwest, Rita and her husband, Stephen, currently live in Bellevue. They are blessed with three grown children and enjoy activities such as boating, reading and movie-going.
ritaanderson@salcbellevue.org
MUSIC DIRECTOR/PRINCIPAL ORGANIST
— Kenneth L. DeJong, Music Director and Principal
Organist, has been at Saint Andrew's since 1988.
Following his undergraduate work and military service,
he received a Master's Degree in Conducting from
the University of Washington. He taught for six
years at Los Angeles Baptist College before returning
to Seattle to pursue a doctorate degree. He has
taught at Seattle Pacific University, Trinity Lutheran
College, the University of Puget Sound, and the
University of Washington. He served as Music Director
at Seattle's First Presbyterian Church for six years,
during which time he founded the Bellevue Chamber
Chorus, which he conducted until 1998. He conducts
the Lyric Arts Ensemble, sings in Male Ensemble
Northwest, and is a frequent adjudicator and clinician.
His Saint Andrew's agenda includes worship hospitality
and creativity, participation in vocal and instrumental
ensembles by members of Saint Andrew's, and creation
of additional opportunities for growth and enjoyment
of the arts in and around the Saint Andrew's community.
He is married to Kelley Mannon and they (with her
son Brad) live in Issaquah.
kendejong@salcbellevue.org
DIRECTOR OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
— Meg Marcrander always knew she would
be a teacher, and began her career at 16 as a Sunday
School teacher. She graduated from Valparaiso University
in Indiana with a bachelor's degree in education
and taught third and fourth grade at a Lutheran
school in St Louis, Missouri. Meg married Dave,
a career Air Force officer, and, along with their
three children, Kerry, Kristin and David Jr, criss-crossed
the nation for the next 26 years. During that time
Meg continued her calling to Christian Education
by writing curriculum, teacher-training materials,
devotionals and other educational materials for
several publishers.
Meg has been a member of Saint Andrew's congregation
for over seven years. She was a member of the
Human Resources Committee and the Christian Education
Committee for a number of years. Meg and her husband
also taught the Fifth Grade Class in the Sunday
Church School. She became the Director of Christian
Education in November of 2001.
In her spare time, Meg enjoys reading, needlework,
jigsaw puzzles, and going out to dinner. Meg and
her husband enjoy being empty-nesters and share
many activities and hobbies together.
megmarcrander@salcbellevue.org
DIRECTOR OF CONGREGATION MINISTRIES/ASSOCIATE IN MINISTRY — Connie McConnell was born and raised
on a farm in Iowa, one of sixteen children. She lived in Alaska for 25 years, raising her two children, Shawn and Andrea there. She is also blessed with four
wonderful grandchildren. After her children graduated
from college, Connie returned to school herself
and graduated with a BA in Christian
Education from Trinity Lutheran College, Issaquah.
Connie was active in Lutheran churches in Alaska,
participating in church council, worship and music
committee, Stephen Ministry, and choir. She has
also been a Vacation Bible School teacher and
Bible camp counselor. At Saint Andrew's she has
served on the Christian Education Committee, participated
in choir, and completed her college internship
under the previous Director of Congregation Ministries.
Most of her prior experience was in administration
and human resources. Connie was called
as Director of Congregation Ministries at Saint
Andrew's in February 2002 and was commissioned as an Associate in Ministry in August 2004.
In her free time Connie enjoys reading, walking, hiking,
communing with nature, quilting, kniting and keeping in
touch with family and friends around the country.
She misses fishing for King Salmon and boating
on the beautiful waters of Southeast Alaska!
conniemcconnell@salcbellevue.org
DIRECTOR OF YOUTH MINISTRIES — Elizabeth Rawlings was born and raised
in Cleveland, Ohio. She then ventured to Asheville,
North Carolina for college and learned to kayak,
backpack, and enjoy bluegrass music. During the
summers, she worked at her childhood camp, Camp
Mowana (Ohio), Sky Ranch Lutheran Camp (Colorado),
and Visions Service Adventures (Blackfoot and
Northern Cheyenne reservations, MT). She eventually
earned her BA in Outdoor Leadership from Warren
Wilson College with a minor in Religion. Elizabeth
then left the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains
for the urban jungle that is Chicago. In Chicago
she attended the Lutheran School of Theology at
Chicago, where she tried out a bunch of degree
programs, eventually settling on the Master of
Arts degree, with an emphasis on Church in Society.
Cross-cultural
learning and serving God's people is a big part
of Elizabeth's life. She has worked on three Native
American reservations, traveled through Guatemala,
Belize, and Mexico, and hopes to take a bus from
Mexico City to the tip of Chile someday, as well
as see some of Africa and visit her cousins in
N. Ireland.
In
her spare time, she enjoys hiking, kayaking, anything
involving music, reading, knitting, exploring
her new hometown, and loving on her dog, Rocky.
She hopes to inspire youth to walk with Christ
to make the world a better place.
elizabethrawlings@salcbellevue.org
COMMUNICATION
SPECIALIST — Heidi Francis was born and
raised in Carmichael, California, a suburb of Sacramento.
She moved to the Seattle area in 1982 to attend
Trinity Lutheran College. In 1984, Heidi graduated
with a B.S. in Biblical Studies, then 6 weeks later,
married David.
In 1998, Heidi joined the Saint Andrew's staff
as a part-time Office Assistant. With the growth
of the congregation, her job has also grown. She
has spent much time learning about graphic design, HTML, XML, web design,and the software used
to accomplish these tasks. In May 2001, Heidi
became the full-time Communication Specialist.
In 2006, she earned a certificate in Multimedia Design and Production through the University of Washington. She is continually challenged and is always striving to make her projects better than the last one.
Heidi spends her free time with her husband
and two children, Laura and Daniel. Her hobbies
include playing tennis, expanding her design skills and traveling.
heidifrancis@salcbellevue.org
OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR
— Tina was born in Oklahoma and raised in Tacoma Washington. She is the mother of one teenage son and currently lives in Sammamish. She as an AAS degree in Office Technology from Wenatchee Valley College and a BA in Multi-cultural Studies from Trinity Lutheran College. Upon graduation she worked 3 years for Seattle's Union Gospel Mission before coming to Saint Andrew's. She is an active member of Oasis Christian Fellowship, a Christian and Missionary Alliance church in Issaquah. Tina is a praying member of the World Mission Prayer League and hopes to one day to return to Peru as a Missionary, where she did her internship for Trinity. Tina enjoys hanging out with family and friends, playing games, taking walks, and drinking coffee. She also enjoys swimming, reading, and watching a good movie.
tinaconley@salcbellevue.org
ACCOUNTING
ASSISTANT —
russstark@salcbellevue.org
FACILITIES
MANAGER—
@salcbellevue.org
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