Staff and Lay Leaders

Professional Staff

Rev. Dr. Mary Alice Mulligan

Minister

  • Rev. Mary Alice Mulligan began her ministry as Interim Minister with St. Andrew UCC in mid-June 2020. The typical activities to help a congregation get to know their new pastor were curtailed because of the pandemic, but we all worked together to try to find new ways of getting acquainted, even as we were developing new ways of being connected to each other as a whole church.

    In November 2021 the congregation chose Rev. Mary Alice to be our Settled Pastor with a long-term commitment to help our church live, serve and grow in an unsettled world.

    She is ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), with whom the United Church of Christ is in partnership, and has served congregations in Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Alabama, and now Florida. She was drawn to St. Andrew because of our commitment to social justice, especially as a Just Peace and Open and Affirming congregation.

    During times away from church responsibilities, Rev. Mary Alice loves to travel. In the last few years, she has taken trips to Iceland, India, and Bhutan. She also loves local activities – touring art galleries, getting out into nature, attending concerts, opera, and ballet, and visiting Selby Gardens. Most mornings, you can find her exercising on her neighborhood walk. When it’s raining too hard to walk, you’ll find her on the lanai with a book.

    If you are interested in meeting with Rev. Mary Alice to talk about issues of faith or about membership at St. Andrew, please do not hesitate to call the church office to set up a mask to mask conversation, or a Zoom conversation. The pandemic has us doing church in some different ways, but our pastor is available and eager to get to know you better. If you are connected to St. Andrew in any way – because you worship with us online, join the Zoom coffee fellowship after worship, or you are in the book discussion group, or any other way you consider this your church home, then Rev. Mary Alice considers herself your pastor. Be in touch.

Sally Risley

Music Director

  • Ms. Risley has a Bachelor of Music degree from Northern Illinois University and a Master of Music Education from VanderCook College of Music in Chicago. She has most recently been Director of Music at Arlington Congregational Church in Jacksonville. Many of us heard Sally play in worship some weeks ago.

    Sally currently lives in Jacksonville but will be moving to Sarasota with her daughter Emily in June. We are aiming for a June 15 start date. Welcome Sally!

Kate Eichorst

Church Administrator

  • Born and raised in southern New Jersey, Kate lives happily in Sarasota with her wife, Cat, and the latest in a long line of rescued pups, Hank. She enjoys camping, travelling, photography, and dancing - especially to the Grateful Dead. 

    Kate is passionate about social justice, human rights, and animal rescue and protection. Kate admits she misses some things about where she grew up, like the boardwalk and the pizza. However, she does not miss the winters or the snow and has called Sarasota home since 1989. 

    You will find Kate in the St. Andrew office during the week, where she is always happy to welcome members, friends, and visitors to the church.text goes here

Craig Bray

Sexton

  • Craig spent his early years living in Scotland, so the St. Andrew cross holds a special place in his heart. Upon his return to this country he lived in Connecticut where he spent most of his adult life.

    He moved to Sarasota in 2017 and met his beautiful and amazing wife, Trish. Together they have six dogs, all rescues. Three of them have only one eye, one is blind and deaf, one a lab that doesn't like water, and a recent addition who makes the family complete.

    Craig and Trish love helping in the community and giving to others. Both have a love for Jesus and a strong faith.

    Besides the dogs, Craig has three sons, Stewart, Gordon and Henry. Craig and Trish think spending time with family is extremely important!

Our Lay Leaders

Tennie Capps

Moderator

Debbi Roberts

Treasurer

Peggy Pancake

Financial Secretary

  • Tennie grew up in Eufaula, a small town in eastern Oklahoma; she graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Masters degree.  After graduation, she began a teaching career in business at Mesa State College in Grand Junction, Colorado.   Prior to retiring she was appointed interim Department Chair of the Department of Fine and Performing Arts and was in that position for two years. 

    Most of her life, until moving to Sarasota, she was active in the Methodist Church and served on most every committee in the church, including serving as Chair of the Finance Committee, sang in the church choir and played in the bell choir.  Because of her interest in theology, at one point in her teaching career she took a leave of absence and studied theology at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University in Dallas, as well as taking summer courses and workshops through Iliff School of Theology in Denver.

    After living near the mountains in Colorado for most of her adult life, she decided she would like to explore the possibility of moving to Florida where she had once vacationed.  She met Alice Boucher on the internet and after several months of corresponding, Tennie visited Alice who lived in Sarasota.  After a few months, Tennie and Alice decided to share a home and were together since 1999.  In 2001, Tennie decided to embark on a new career in residential real estate and is still working.  On December 27, 2018, Tennie and Alice were married at St. Andrew with Rev. Paul presiding and a small group of friends attending. Alice made her transition in 2022.

    Tennie and Alice had been members of another Sarasota Church for a number of years, but decided to look for another church.  One evening they attended a lecture by Matthew Fox at St. Andrew – the sanctuary was so inviting with the globe and colorful streamers and the people so friendly that they decided to return the following Sunday.  They felt so at home and the people seemed so authentic, they decided that St. Andrew would be their new church home.  The core beliefs of St. Andrew UCC matched the core values that had been instilled in Tennie by her parents and that she has tried to practice during her life experiences.

    While living in Colorado, she enjoyed hiking with friends and skiing, except she spent more time falling down than skiing.  In Florida, two of her favorite past times, among other things, are gardening and feeding the birds.

Nancy Goethe

Clerk

  • Nancy grew up in Sarasota, and attended First Christian Church (DOC) as a child and young adult. She joined the United States Air Force in 1976 and retired in 1994, settling back in Sarasota with her husband George. 

    In 2013, Nancy and George joined St. Andrew UCC, and took positions with the Board of Missions and Outreach. Nancy went on to serve as moderator, as well as on the Board of Pastor Parrish Relations. 

    She currently serves in the audio-visual booth, and is pleased to be serving on Council as Clerk.

  • Peggy has a long family history with St. Andrew, as her father, mother and aunt joined the church in the early seventies.  Her father was active on the finance committee, chair of the building committee for the present sanctuary and Moderator in 1984-85. They all sang in the choir and joined in the active social life of the church.  After moving to Florida from New York in 1996, Peggy worked at Venice Regional Bayfront Health for twenty years and attended St. Andrew with her mother and aunt, all still singing in the choir.  She served as Clerk from 2015 to 2018 and as Moderator from 2018-2020.

Calva Leonard

Moderator-Elect

  • Calva Leonard was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana and was a Southern Baptist until she married a Presbyterian PK (preacher’s kid). After moving to the Washington DC area in 1969 she joined the Church of the Pilgrims - a Presbyterian congregation where she was ordained as an elder. During her years in Washington she was an association executive, retiring in 2005 after twenty years as CEO of a technical society. 

    Calva came to St. Andrew in 2010 where she served as chair of the Finance Committee for several years. Most recently she has served as a Deacon. Other interests include walking at least five miles a day and enjoying the cultural offerings in Sarasota, including the symphony, ballet, jazz and theater. 

Our Ministry Teams

Volunteer to work with any of our teams. There is no requirement for a long commitment. Find out where you can best serve.

Faith Building Team

Encourages others to grow in their faith, in their love of God, and their commitment to Jesus Christ. We are focused on worship, teaching, caring, sharing and fellowship. Our work includes preparing the sanctuary for worship each week, providing welcomers to greet worshippers, and staffing a phone tree to stay in touch with those who are ill or homebound.

Stewardship Team

Manages the financial and physical resources of St. Andrew in order to preserve its future financial health, physical operation, ministry to the congregation, and outreach to the wider community. Recently, we oversaw the repair of our Sanctuary roof, and the installation of a new video system to stream our online worship service.

Mission and Outreach Team

Puts our faith into action by serving and supporting human needs within our congregation, our community, and our world. We oversee which local and greater UCC missions our church supports financially, such as All Faiths Food Bank, ALSO Youth and SURE. We also keep the congregation aware of social issues and service opportunities in our community.

Welcoming Team

Shares the Good News of Jesus Christ and the extravagant welcome of St Andrew UCC, encouraging others to become part of our family of faith. We work to create a culture that intentionally invites people to St Andrew, genuinely welcomes guests, and helps new friends integrate into the life and service of St Andrew.