Our Staff
Rev. Zayna Thomley
Pastor
Middleton Community Church joyfully called the Rev. Zayna Thomley as their new settled pastor early in 2022. She comes to MCC with over a decade of experience as a local church pastor and leader in the wider United Church of Christ.
Zayna loves being a pastor, and delights in sharing the Good News of a Loving God for all people. She is a gifted preacher committed to offering creative, relevant worship for people of all ages and backgrounds. She thinks love is best shared over a meal, and community is at the heart of our Christian faith. She holds tightly to Mother Teresa’s proclamation that “Today, if we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”
While answering the call to ordained ministry, Pastor Zayna held several positions through UCC Volunteer Ministries, spending long stretches in the city of St. Louis, the hills of Eastern Kentucky, and a small village on the edge of the Volta River in Ghana. Her first call was to two congregations in Southwest Wisconsin, where she and the congregations helped found Family Promise of Grant County, serving rural families experiencing homelessness, and the Southwest Wisconsin Rainbow Alliance, committed to promoting equity, justice, and quality of life through support and advocacy for the LGBTQIA+ community. She is passionate about connecting faith and life through service to the wider community and working toward a more just and generous world.
She holds a BA in Religion and Service from the UCC Affiliated Elmhurst University and an MDiv from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. She was ordained in October of 2013.
Pastor Zayna currently lives in Madison with her spouse, their toddler, and a whole lot of animals: a dog, cats, and chickens! She likes to spend her free time meandering through the woods, feeding her friends, listening to podcasts on long road trips, planning the next adventure, or hiding under a pile of blankets watching good (and some not-so-good) TV.
Rev. Rachel Kirk
Associate Pastor for Community and Faith Formation
The Rev. Rachel Kirk was called to MCC in the summer 2024 as Associate Pastor for Community and Faith Formation.
Rachel is a lifelong member of the United Church of Christ and grew up in Gainesville, Florida. She earned her BA in Religious Studies from Grinnell College and her MDiv from Vanderbilt Divinity School. She also completed a Clinical Pastoral Education Residency at the University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora, Colorado, serving for one year as a chaplain there. She was ordained by the Florida Conference of the UCC in 2022.
Most recently, Rachel served as Pastor for Community and Mission at St. John UCC in Freeport, Illinois. In that position, she promoted faith formation for all ages and coordinated justice work within and beyond the congregation. A proud Millennial and LGBTQ+ leader, she is passionate about promoting intergenerational communities, lifelong learning as a cornerstone of Christian faith, and building a more compassionate world.
Rachel lives in Madison and enjoys hiking, spending time near bodies of water, short-lived craft projects, and being the roommate of a very sweet senior cat.
Anne Tennies
Office Manager
As Office Manager, Anne keeps everything running smoothly at MCC, mostly staying behind the scenes. In addition to being the friendly face at the front desk, she's also the bookkeeper and in charge of communications for the church. Her background is in video production, and she loves being able to use those skills in our video ministry.
She and her family love the music and fellowship opportunities at MCC -- particularly potlucks! In her free time, she enjoys board games, video editing, crafting, baking, snuggling with her cats (and her kids, when they're in the mood), and reading or listening to audiobooks.
Deb Neuman
Music Director
Through her Music Director position, Deb gets to share her love of music with musicians of all ages at MCC. She enjoys working with soloists and ensembles of all sizes as they prepare music for worship services. She also loves organizing music experiences and exploring new styles and formats of music and sharing them with the congregation.
Deb loves the community at MCC! She also values the importance MCC places on reaching out and participating in community projects. And she loves her relationships with members of all ages.
Outside of MCC music, Deb enjoys reading, walking her Golden Doodle, playing harp and just enjoying friends and family.
Barbara Brown
Pianist
Barbara Brown serves as the pianist for services at Middleton Community Church. She enjoys accompanying the choir and special musicians and playing as the congregation sings.
Barb thinks of MCC as her second family and loves the intergenerational relationships that have developed. She enjoys MCC activities that involve social justice and environmental causes.
In her free time, Barb likes playing with her four pets, gardening, reading and cooking.
Amy Miller
Children’s Coordinator
Amy loves that she can bring her passion for and professional background in education to the warm and welcoming community of MCC.
She received a B.S. in Elementary/Early Childhood Education from Carroll University in 2006 and has completed graduate classes in Curriculum and Instruction. She's worn many educator hats including working with English language learners in a 4K HeadStart setting and infants and toddlers at a Montessori preschool. She's also served as director of a childcare center and worked as a classroom aid for children with special needs in a public school classroom.
In the church world, she's been part of the elementary Sunday School teaching team at MCC for the past two years. In her hometown of Fond du Lac, before moving to Middleton, she volunteered as a nursery attendant and led the First Presbyterian Children's Choir.
Amy is a mom of two boys who love attending MCC and eagerly assist with her Children's Education Coordinator duties. As a family they love seeing musicals, spending time in nature, and cooking together. Amy is enthusiastic about music, sings with the choir and sometimes contributes to special music for services. She's also a fan of dance, reading aloud (with voices), curling up with a good fiction book, journaling, and taking care of the planet.
Adele Lockwood & Chloe Tennies
Sunday Nursery Team
The goal of our Nursery Team is to allow parents and caregivers the opportunity to fully participate in worship. Adele and Chloe are excited to spend time each week with the youngest children at MCC!
Gary Eckstein
Building and Grounds Manager
Gary Eckstein was born and raised on the west side of Madison, and currently lives in Middleton with his beautiful wife of over 25 years. He has two daughters and four grandchildren and loves spending time with them. Gary’s hobbies include fishing, smoking his own meats (especially making bacon), spending time outdoors, and woodworking.
Gary has over thirty years in the building maintenance area and has been in a hands on supervisory/managerial role for several years. His number one goal at MCC is to get the church on a quality preventative maintenance program. We’re very happy to have him here!