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Our Pastor
Our pastor, The Rev. Kristi Denham, is a graduate of San Francisco Theological Seminary and ordained in the Northern California Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ.
She has served our church since 1999 when she responded to our call for a minister to lead us into the 21st Century. She is a trained liturgical dancer and writes professionally for United Press International’s Religion and Spirituality web site.
She loves creating surprising and thought provoking worship experiences. Biblical scholarship is central to her understanding of her preaching gifts. She is currently working on a doctor of ministry degree in The Pastor as Spiritual Leader program at San Francisco Theological Seminary while she continues to lead our congregation.
She was active in the establishment of the Peninsula Clergy Network which formed in 2001 in response to a community-wide need for greater understanding among faith traditions after the terrible events of 9/11. Her commitment to interfaith dialogue and understanding has strengthened our faith and our involvement in the community.
Kristi is a Belmont Police chaplain and supports the community by responding in times of crisis whether they be school accidents, suicides or any time the police feel the need for pastoral support.
She is treasurer and vice moderator of the Golden Gate Association of United Church of Christ congregations in our region and encourages all of us to see ourselves as part of the wider community of faith.
She has a passion for working with children and youth and a lifetime of commitment to social justice, especially racial and economic justice that mirrors our community's sense of service. Community, service and celebrations of our life in the Spirit are central to her sense of ministry and call.
Come and meet Kristi, whose spirit is as captivating as her thick, red hair.
The Woman at the Well Got a Bad Rap!
Commentary on the Woman at the Well
By the Rev. Kristi DenhamWe’ve all heard the song… "and he told her every thing she’d ever done." Our 21st Century interpretations don’t grasp her real significance.
The Woman at the Well, in the Gospel According to John (John 4:1-42), is an archetypal figure who for centuries has represented the fallen woman blessed by Jesus with a conversation and a conversion…. "and he told her everything she’d ever done."We read her story from our 21st Century life experience and miss the real significance and power in what she has to teach us. She was not some brazen hussy who blithely danced from husband to husband. Women did not have that kind of power in First Century Palestine. If she had five husbands, which Jesus declared that she did, then she had been thrown away by no less than five men. Her survival choices would have been few: prostitution was the only "job" a woman alone with no support from family or estate could perform.
She could remarry if a man would have her. She could live as a concubine of a man who could support her. If the husband she had now was not her own, this last option was probably her situation. Jesus was not condemning her, only acknowledging that he understood the circumstances of her life. She recognized not only his prophetic wisdom but his kindness in not labeling or rejecting her, as, unfortunately, history has mostly done.
The woman at the well reveals another surprising detail to those who read the story with fresh eyes. Not only did Jesus speak alone with a woman in the common square at midday, which was considered taboo, and clearly shocked his disciples when they returned to discover him in conversation, but he shared complex theological ideas with her. He declared the true meaning of the Spirit as the water of life, and acknowledged that no sacred place could hold the infinite presence of our loving God. That this woman went away joyfully proclaiming the liberating power of God is testimony to the compassionate presence and meaning in her encounter with Jesus. We miss the real depth and power in this story when we focus only on words and miss the spirit of the message. Jesus liberated this woman by respecting her.
Respect for women and their perspective has been sorely lacking in the church universal. A few verses in Paul’s letters, some disputed by most Biblical scholars, have been used to try to keep us in our place, silent and servile. Jesus, the revolutionary, sought to liberate the oppressed, and women were at the bottom of every social pyramid known to the ancient world. Every encounter he had with them, when seen through the eyes of a feminist Biblical scholar, becomes a doorway to liberation of the soul.
The Woman at the Well went on to be a powerful voice proclaiming the good news of God’s liberating and abiding love. I encourage you to take a look at your New Testament with new eyes. It may surprise you!
Minister in Training
This position is currently vacant.
Coordinator of Christian Education
The Rev. Valerie McEntee serves as Christian education coordinator at the Congregational Church of Belmont.
Valerie came to CCB with 20 years of volunteer experience in Christian education. In addition teaching, she has served on and chaired a Christian education board, organized family-oriented retreats, worked on the youth mentorship program for the Northern California Nevada Conference’s Annual Gathering at Asilomar, served as a chaplain at Camp Tamarack and currently leads Bible study with boys at Hillcrest Juvenile Detention Center in San Mateo.
In the wider church, Valerie serves on the steering committee for the Women's Network of the NCNC and on the board of the Golden Gate Association. She also serves as a fellow for the San Francisco Night Ministry.
Valerie holds a master of divinity degree from the Pacific School of Religion and she did her Ministry-in-Training residency at CCB.
Choir Director, Senior & Youth Choirs
Elizabeth Mye directs both our Sanctuary and Youth Choirs
Elizabeth began her musical studies at age 5 with piano, then voice at 12 and oboe at 14. She grew up in the Congregational Church of Westfield, Mass., where she participated in the youth choir, joined the senior choir at the age of 12 and then was hired as the soprano soloist starting at 16.
She won first place in the all-state music competition in Massachusetts two years consecutively while in high school where she graduated a year early and went to the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, on full scholarship for oboe and vocal performance.
While at the university, Elizabeth was a member of the Opera, Chamber and Early Music instrumental and choral groups where she expanded her musical leadership through solo and choral directing.
In addition to her collegiate studies, Elizabeth held several soprano soloist positions through local churches. Her audition and performance of Laudate Dominum won her second place in the National Bel Canto Aria competition.
Elizabeth sang professionally with the Folger Consort in Washington D.C., and the New England Conservatory Camerata. She was Musical Director at the Methodist Church in Malden, Mass., directing the adult and children's choirs.
In parallel to Elizabeth's music career, she has built a career as a Human Resource professional with 20 years' experience directing and building the human resources function, with a focused strength on the ability to effectively manage through high change environments, in start-up and high growth emerging companies, as well as Fortune 100 national and international organizations in the biotechnology, healthcare, high technology and consumer products industries.
"I learned very early in my life that music is a voice through which we all can speak," she says. "There is a voice in all of us and together we can make a beautiful sound. God speaks to me in love and in music, no matter what form. If you want to share or experience 'One Voice' through our choir, come and join us! We would love to have you!"
Organist, Pianist and Accompanist
Jeffrey Jones brings a wealth of musical experience to his position as organist, pianist and accompanist at the Congregational Church of Belmont.
Jeffrey started on the piano at age 6 and gave a full solo recital at age 8. He grew up performing twice a year in his hometown of Morgan Hill. At San Jose State University, he was pianist for the Wind Ensemble and the Symphony Orchestra. He is known as a versatile and prolific sight-reader and has accompanied many singers, instrumentalists and chamber groups.
He also serves as accompanist for the Cantabile Youth Chorus in Los Altos and has also been engaged with the Symphony Silicon Valley Chorale as the rehearsal pianist. In 2009, he gave a command performance for the president of Estonia with alto solosit Helen Lokuta.
In addition to the piano, he plays organ, fortepiano, harpsichord, timpani, marimba and several other percussion instruments. His core strength, he says, is and always will be in the classical piano repertoire. He studied piano with local luminaries Joann Pruitt and Gwendolyn Mok and has had master classes with Stephen Hough, Vladimir Viardo and the late historical music guru Laurette Goldberg. He plays an eclectic variety of standard classical repertoire, forgotten gems, and colorful 20th century composers.
Administrative Assistant
Ron Evans, CCB's administrative assistant, considers himself a “consummate Freethinker.” He's semi-retired and lives in Half Moon Bay with his wife Galyn, who is a member of CCB. They have three children, two of whom live in Alaska and one here in the Bay Area. He is a veteran of both the U.S. Marine Corps and Air Force. He has degrees in music, English and political science. He worked for many years in higher education administration and taught at Washington State University while completing his Ph.D. studies in political science. Over the past 30 years, he has also been a professional stage actor and has performed with many Bay Area theatre companies, as well as doing regional theatre, summer musical theatre and children’s theatre.