pastorkris@unionucc.org

On October 2, 2016 Pastor Kris P. Snyder was elected to position of Senior Pastor.

Rev. Kris P. Snyder grew up in a United Church of Christ church in Slatington, Pennsylvania. She has known ever since she played “Take and Eat” as a child with her sister with perfectly cut white bread cubes and purple Kool Aid that the church would always have an important place in her life. She’s also known since then that one day she’d be serving “Take and Eat”, Holy Communion, to others as their pastor. God’s call in her life to love and serve others has been constant and strong.

In college (at Susquehanna University as a music major and then at Penn State University as an Elementary Education major) she knew she was meant to go to seminary but she wouldn’t say ‘yes’ for a few more years. While teaching middle school students at a Catholic School she tested the waters by taking classes at Lancaster Theological Seminary. Later she attended seminary at Colgate Rochester Divinity School in Rochester, NY. In Western New York she had the chance to serve a large city church and a small suburban church.

She was called to Union UCC, Neffs in 1996 as the Associate Pastor. Here she developed a team to take Communion and flowers to members, drafted and implemented a plan to call a visitation pastor, created new ideas for outreach and welcome, designed and led a Confirmation program for 25-30 students each year, generated a middle/high school ministry for over 60 youth, established and led a contemporary worship team, offered meaningful and creative worship and music experiences, and shared in all of the pastoral care, programming, and administration of this church of 1,400.

In November 2014, she served as the Acting Senior Pastor when Reverend Thomas N. Thomas retired. Leading in this new role allowed her to: oversee the administrative pieces of our church’s life, support and empower the staff, develop a new approach to finances and Stewardship, collaborate in worship scheduling and planning, grow our church’s ministry and mission of Jesus Christ and create a vision and plan for the future.

“Being in ministry has always been my dream job, and I believe it is God’s dream for me too.” In November 2016 she was honored, humbled, and grateful that Union called her to serve as the next Senior Pastor.

Recently at a new member gathering at Union, a new member said, “You know the saying we use to open worship: ‘No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here?’ Well I think that’s the best thing I ever heard a pastor say. That’s the kind of church I want to join.” Pastor Kris is passionate about helping people practice the extravagant love, grace and hospitality of God and she’s glad to serve at Union, a place that shares that passion.

She loves flower gardening and supporting the many local farms and businesses in our area. Practicing meditation and Qigong nourish her spirit and fill her cup. She also enjoys reading, swimming, traveling, and being near water.

pastorkayli@unionucc.org

Rev. Kayli Freeman (she/her) was born, baptized, confirmed, and ordained in the United Church of Christ here in the Lehigh Valley. Growing up, she attended a local union church (Lutheran and UCC), where she faithfully attended worship and Sunday School, and living for the nights when Youth Group met. It was through that time where she believes that she truly felt a call by God, but she ignored it and went off to college. While in her junior year at Shippensburg University, Kayli felt her pull to ministry get stronger and decided to take the biggest leap of faith in her life and applied to seminary.

In 2013, Kayli received her Master of Divinity degree from Moravian Theological Seminary in Bethlehem. During her time there, she learned to truly embrace what it meant to not only be a disciple of Christ, but also what it meant to be a member of the UCC. “No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey…you are welcome here.” This is the mantra that Kayli tries to live into, believing that Christ’s love for humanity was/is not conditional, so neither should ours as humans be. All are welcome, always, no questions asked.

Kayli joined Union UCC as Associate Pastor in November 2017. Beyond weekly worship and pastoral care needs, Kayli primarily focuses on our Youth (6th thru 12th grade) and Young Adult ministries. Growing, learning, and laughing with these friends in the congregation are what bring her the most joy. In April 2020, Kayli completed her Certificate in Youth and Theology from the Institute for Youth Ministry at Princeton Theological Seminary. Through that program, Kayli gained knowledge and resources to best equip our youth and young adults on their faith journeys…no matter where it takes them. Kayli strives to create a space for youth to feel they are welcomed, loved, and able to be as authentic as possible.

When Kayli isn’t doing things for the congregation, she participates in groups within the Penn Northeast Conference of the UCC. She is co-convener of the Spiritual Development Ministry Team, serves a working group in the Committee on Ministry, and has been a delegate to General Synod in the past. The work of the church is much larger than local congregation, and even the conference level, and having the opportunity to work with so many folks in different areas of the UCC has been fulfilling and rewarding.

In her free time, Kayli enjoys spending time with her friends and family. She can never express enough to them how grateful she is for their unending support. She also enjoys the shenanigans of her 6 pets: Penny & Lily (dogs) and Kinnley, Nali, Ina, and Rhee (cats).

Life is all about the journey. Sometimes its smooth sailing, and other times it’s rocky water. Kayli has enjoyed her journey so far with Union, and can’t wait to see where it will take her in the future.

dired@unionucc.org

Nikki currently works at St. Luke’s in Human Resources. She has also
worked Good Shepherd and Kidspeace as a Therapeutic Recreation
Specialist (her degree from Temple). In her interviews she talked about
how being a member here at Union has strengthened her faith and
helped her through challenging times and that she’d be honored to
help our children and families support their growth and navigate life’s
ups and downs.
Here she has been a volunteer at Bible School and is helping this
Summer on Sunday mornings and says that watching the kids’ faces
light up when they get a message solidified is why she feels so called to
apply for this position. She’s had a call to work in a church earlier in her
life too.
We asked her to create an event sample for us and she presented a
Family Faith and Film Night featuring Beauty and Beast in the grove. Her flier talked about it being a story of with Christian parallels like
redemption through love, seeing beyond appearance, transformation
of the heart, and sacrificial love. Plus fun food to be served of course.
We asked her to share a lesson with activities on her favorite Bible story.
She chose David and Goliath and led us through a fabulous lesson filled
with learning the story, reflecting on it, and having discussion and
activities to reinforce and apply the story. She closed it with an activity
where they named a fear, placed the word on a pyramid of cups, and
had a chance to throw a stone at the cups to knock them down and
say – “This giant may seem big, but my God is bigger!” A great mantra
for all of us to have in life!

Nikki and Kim have been members here since 2022 with their amazing
kids Eleanor and Hemley. Nikki loves to hike in her free time. She will
continue working at St. Luke’s and will add this job to her ‘to do’ list. We
can’t wait for our kids and families to work with her and continue
learning about God with her here at Union UCC!

administrator@unionucc.org

We are excited to bring Sarah on board to our staff and church
community. She comes with experience as a post-production photography assistant for a wedding company and a freelance musician who is a bassist, guitarist, and vocalist. In both of these areas she has
created, edited, and designed content for purposes of marketing, branding, communication, and engagement. She impressed us with her energy, ambition, and passion. She’s excited to share and broaden her visual designing and writing skills with us and to help us grow into our vision of strengthening how we are a relevant, engaged, and growing
church. She also inspired us with her faith and desire to serve God
and others through her work. She’s been a part of her church’s
music ministry at the Metropolitan Community Church on Sundays
for six years.

She sees this job as a chance to help us grow as a church and to
continue to grow in her faith too. Her office hours are Monday through
Friday 8:30am-4pm. Be sure to stop by and say hello and
introduce yourself!

Blake Hoppes is a man with a passion for music.  He began playing piano at age 11 and progressed quickly, dazzling New York with a performance at Carnegie Hall at only 17 years old.  That same year he won an international piano competition in Denton, Texas.  Recognizing that his abilities could pave the way for a lifelong career in music, Blake enrolled at Penn State in 1997, where he studied piano with Marylene Dosse and Dr. Timothy Shafer.  He also served as accompanist for the Glee Club, during which time he toured Trinidad and Tobago; Colorado; and Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  Blake graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance in 2002.

Blake has spent the past 15 years working as an estimator for M. F. Ronca and Sons, Inc. in Lower Nazareth Township and currently serves as their Director of Engineering and Surveying. However, his music is anything but forgotten.  Blake feels a strong responsibility to help others reach their full musical potential, and consequently he provides weekly piano, guitar, bass and voice instruction to both children and adult students.  In addition to his role as a music teacher, he is the Minister of Music at Neffs, Union UCC and performs as organist, pianist and choir director on Sunday mornings.  He is a frequent musical guest at wedding ceremonies and receptions throughout the Lehigh Valley.  In his free time, Blake enjoys hunting, cheering on his beloved Penn State and Eagles football teams, and spending time with his family.  He and his wife Kathryn are the proud parents of six children, including twins Jordan and Cayden, Gavin, Brooklyn, Lincoln, and Darren.  A puppy, two guinea pigs and a hamster round out his family’s crazy but beautiful life.

I came to Union UCC in 2016 and have found our church family to
practice what we preach, that whoever you are, whatever part of life’s journey you’re on, you’re welcome here. I am grateful that this is a safe space for all, including the LGBTQ+ community. During my time here at Union UCC I have been on consistory, and most currently usher at 8Am with my husband Michael and am on the chime choir. In September 2020 PK married myself and my husband Michael in the church grove. We are thrilled to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary in
September of this year. Michael works part time for St Lukes and is going to LCCC full time for medical billing and coding, and LOVES to bake for events at church. I work Full-time for LVHN and am per-Diem for St Lukes. Together we enjoy simple country life, gardening, chicken tending, and mild homesteading. We have 13 chickens, three dogs, and two cats. needless to say, we love animals. We have a 9yo Beagle named Tanner, a lab Shepard mix named Nora who’s about 6yo, and
Blaze, a Golden Retriever who was born Christmas day 2024. Our two cats are Leo and Willow. In addition to our passion for animals, including fostering animals, a surprising fact is I have a deep passion for cars, including classic cars. I want to thank everyone for always being welcomed into Union UCC and for the opportunity to be the “lock up dude”.

Ori was a Head Custodian in the Parkland School District for 35 years, retiring in 2014. Most of his years he worked at Schnecksville Elementary School and the last seven years at Ironton Elementary. Ori has experience in all aspects of the job and comes to us with wonderful recommendations. He lives in Coplay with his wife Shelly. They have 3 adult children, and 3 grandchildren. When he’s not cooking for his family or spending time with his grandchildren, he’s playing in his band Third Degree. Welcome to our church and to our staff Ori.

12Hi! I’m Pam Minnich but I’m generally recognized as Eric’s wife or Raegan’s mom, haha!  I’m not generally seen around church as I’m a Registered Nurse at LVHN CC ED on weekends. I am always involved with Family Promise, Vacation Bible School, and any other weekday activities. You all probably know Ryleigh and Hannah as well, I’m blessed to be a     bonus mom to these young ladies.  I look forward to helping, and giving back to the church in this new role.

Pam’s  primary responsibilities are the sanctuary and bathrooms and assisting Ori Handwerk, our primary custodian.