Church Staff
The Rev. Dr. Benjamin J. Broadbent, Senior Minister
- (707) 823-2484
- pastorbenjamin@uccseb.org
Pastor Benjamin (or Ben) began his ministry at the Community Church in August 2016.
Ben comes to us with his wife Brooke Bell and their son, Marin, and daughter, Sophia, from Colorado Springs,
Colorado, where he served for 17 years at The First Congregational Church.
They are happy to return to Northern California – Ben grew up in Santa Cruz and Brooke is from San Jose. He and Brooke met
for the first time in our Pilgrim House in 1997, at a meeting of counselors for Camp Caz!
Ben earned his Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School in 1998 and received his Doctor of Ministry in Preaching
from the Chicago Theological Seminary in 2012, writing a dissertation on Preaching as an Embodied Practice.
In addition to ministry, Ben loves playing guitar and ukulele, listening to live music, beach cruiser bicycles, craft beer,
speaking Spanish and traveling.
Rev. Rachel Knuth, Associate Minister
- (707) 823-2484
- pastorrachel@uccseb.org
Pastor Rachel was ordained to Ministry at the Community Church in August 2015. Rachel, her husband Nathan, and four children, Aaron, Jonah, Tamar, and Henry, reside in Sebastopol, and are usually part of at least three school communities at once. Rachel was raised Presbyterian in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, studied in Atlanta and New York City, lived in St. Paul, Minnesota, and found her way to the United Church of Christ (UCC) in 2002.
A graduate of Agnes Scott College, Rachel earned her Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York in 2000.
In addition to ministry, Rachel loves being with her family, hiking, gardening, cooking, working out, and dark chocolate.
Joy Richards, Congregational Administrator
- (707) 823-2484
- office@uccseb.org
Joy joined the Community Church Staff in May 2022. With years of experience in office management, and 10 years of office management in a church. Joy was born in Los Angeles, where she met and married her high school sweetheart, David. They have 3 grown children; Darcy, Heather, and Matthew, and 7 grandchildren; 5 girls and 2 boys.
Having held a Foster Care license in Los Angeles, they have had as many as 7 children in the house at one time. David and Joy just celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary. Joy is kept very busy running after their 5-year-old granddaughter, Pollie Joy.
In her spare time, she loves to garden, knit, bake, and craft, usually with Pollie right by her side. She is an amateur ornithologist and loves sharing her fascination with birds with anyone who will listen.
Karna Roa, Handbell Director
Karna has been a part of the musical life of the Community Church since she joined Glenda Elvy's children's choir in 1980. In 1986 Karna began ringing with the newly formed handbell ensemble under the direction of Joyce Morrow and has been ringing at the Community Church for the past 35 years. In 2002 she became the director of the ensemble and continues to enjoy the thrill of ringing with the group and preparing music for worship. In 2021 she became the newest member of Sonos, the professional handbell ensemble based out of the Bay Area.
J. Althea, Keyboardist
J. Althea has been playing the piano since age 4. Her grandmother (Althea) taught her to play by ear, teaching her the
repertoire of the late 1800s and early 1900s, and also Methodist hymns. Althea also had a standard piano teacher, so she learned to read music and music theory.
Althea's piano career began at age 16 while in high school, and that led to playing professionally all her life.
She has worked in music venues and theatre for over 50 years as a professional pianist, music director, arranger, composer, actress, theatre director, and piano teacher.
In the last 3 decades Althea has embraced playing in churches, and looks forward to serve at Community Church of Sebastopol as long as God intends.
Andy DelMonte, Choral Director
Andy DelMonte has been a member of Community Church since 1999. He first came to us as our Chancel Choir director in 1998, serving for one year.
Andy has been the choir director at the local high school in Sebastopol since 1997. In 2013, he was named Teacher Of The Year for West Sonoma County, and in 2017 he was named Director Of The Year by the Northern California Band And Choir Directors Association. He lives in Sebastopol with his wife Kristen. They have two daughters at home (Elia and Erika) and two adult children (Ethan and Emma) out of the the house. Andy is an avid composer and arranger, and in addition to making music, he enjoys riding bikes, running, and watching professional soccer.
Deanna Euritt, Bookkeeper
- (707) 823-2484
- financial@uccseb.org
Deanna works on Mondays and Wednesdays. She has an interesting mix of education which includes a B.S. in Accounting and an M.Div. in Theology. She was a CPA auditor in Arizona earlier in her career prior to attending seminary at San Francisco Theological Seminary in San Anselmo. Following ordination, Deanna was ordained in the UCC Nevada-California Conference at Fairfax Community Church.
Keith Brown, Custodian
- (707) 823-2484
To leave a message for Keith, please contact: the church office.