Greta Pedersen

Greta Pedersen officially joined the staff as Coordinator of Music in 2007, although she and her family have been active members of the Frog Pond community since 1994.

She coordinates all facets of music ministry at Frog Pond, which reflects a weaving of contemporary, traditional and classical styles, and she plays most Sunday mornings. Greta is frequently joined by additional musicians from within and beyond the Frog Pond community, including her husband, Grammy winning guitarist Mark Hanson.

Honored as Young Audience’s 2009 National Artist of the Year, Greta is a recording artist, performer, songwriter and arts educator, with music licensed to Scholastic Books and various video soundtracks. She appears as a performer and teaching artist in libraries and schools throughout Oregon and beyond. She plays piano, guitar and dulcimer. To visit Greta's website, click on this link. To contact Greta, you may email her or leave a message at the church office.

Gil Seeley

“There’s something special about the human voice; it’s very personal, and it’s even more powerful in a group. Choral music is a communal ritual ... It brings people together."

Gil Seeley joined the Frog Pond community (with his wife, Jane Kepner) in the Fall of 2008. Since then, he has shared his vast knowledge of diverse styles of choral music, from the classics to Navajo prayers, African chants, and contemporary idioms of diverse styles. Most of all, his passion for music is contagious and inspiring. Gil brings out the best in all of his singers, with an enthusiastic combination of instruction, attention to detail, and humor.

Gil holds the James W. Rogers Professorship in Music at Lewis & Clark College, and received a Governor’s Arts Award in 2007 for his role in bringing outstanding choral music to the public. He has been the director of the Oregon Repertory Singers adult choir since 1976. Gil studied at Wesleyan University and the Mozarteum Academy of Music in Salzburg, Austria. He earned his Bachelor degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and his masters and doctor of musical arts from the University of Southern California. Gil is a member of the American Choral Directors Association, the International Heinrich Schutz Society and the International Federation for Choral Music. He has served on the National Endowment for the Arts Choral Panel and various Northwest arts panels. 

               Oralee Stiles

Being the Pastoral Care Associate at Meridian United Church of Christ is a dream come true. It combines my love of people with my passion for the spiritual quest. I bring the gifts of my current work as a Spiritual Director at the Interfaith Spiritual Center in Portland (www.InterfaithSpiritualCenter.com) and the gifts of past work - high school and college teacher, mother, community organizer, consultant, workshop leader and entrepreneur. My sister, Marzenda Stiles McComb and I owned and created Stiles for Relaxation, a pioneering bookstore and resource center in Portland.

A yearning for peace and healing from war shapes my internal landscape along with a commitment to civil rights and integration; reverence for a diversity of spiritual paths; love of grandchildren, beauty, and flowers; and, my deep respect for family and community. My passion is to serve as a hollow reed for the movement of Spirit in our lives. All of this shows up in my short visionary book.

My religious roots and confirmation were in a Congregational Church in Wisconsin. A Protestant bouquet of churches graced my early adult years. Coming to Frog Pond as an elder is a joyous returning to my denominational roots after a long, beneficial and circuitous spiritual journey. I am so thankful to have found my church home.

Judy Boncaro

On May 10, 2004 Judy Boncaro arrived at Frog Pond as our office manager. Judy had retired from years of working in the corporate world - from General Electric in New York, to a large medical clinic in Vancouver, WA, to Portland’s Hearing & Speech Institute. She also is a retired San Francisco jazz singer. With too much energy to retire and no interest in the corporate rat race, Judy found our ad, looked up the UCC and Frog Pond on the Internet, and liked what she saw. Judy has brought a wealth of experience and talent to Frog Pond, and her background in technology has been invaluable. We recently celebrated her fifth year here.

She is the grandmother of six: 18-year-old Spencer and Stuart, who are starting college this year in Arkansas; 20 year old Simon and 21 year old Marshall, entering their Junior year in colleges in Arkansas and California respectively; 22 year old Mallory, a broadcast journalism grad student in Missouri; and 24-year-old Tristan, a Cal Poly grad and computer engineer working in California’s Silicon Valley. Judy lives in Oak Grove with her two cats, Henry the Supercat and Princess Ebbie. She is also the fairy dogmother to Rev. Janet Matthews’ black lab, Clare.