Church Staff

Many people contribute to the success of a church. Countless hours are generously given by many church members, too numerous to include here. Below we introduce you to the core staff of the church. 

 

Dr. Rev. Ginny Brown Daniel, Transitional Pastor
Email Pastor Ginny

Ginny grew up in Auburn, Alabama, which is where Auburn University is located. Ginny credits strong women in her life who encouraged her to be all of who God created her to be, including her grandmother, who was a professor at Auburn from 1957-1988. Ginny’s mother worked at their home church, First Baptist Church, Auburn, where they welcomed African Americans as members in the 1960s and ordained women as ministers in the 1970s. Ginny graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Corporate Journalism from Auburn University (1994).

When Ginny felt called into the ministry, her family and home church wholeheartedly affirmed her call and encouraged her to attend a new seminary created by the Alliance of Baptists (those who were leaving the Southern Baptist Convention). Ginny received her Master of Divinity degree from the Baptist Theological Seminary in Richmond, VA (1999), where she was the recipient of the Chevis and Helen Horne Preaching Award.
She was ordained on January 10, 1999, at First Baptist Church, Auburn. She joined the United Church of Christ while she served as the Associate Pastor and Teacher of Christ’s Reformed Church in Hagerstown, Maryland (1999-2003)
Ginny was the Pastor and Teacher of Plymouth United Church, UCC, in Spring, Texas for 12 years, where she led them through the Open and Affirming process in 2006. Ginny received her Doctor of Ministry from Union Presbyterian Seminary (2010). While at Plymouth, Ginny served on the board of directors for the South Central Conference and became the President of the Board from 2011-2013.
Ginny was the Conference Minister for the Missouri Mid-South Conference for 5 ½ years, which includes 141 UCC churches in Missouri, Arkansas, and Memphis. During her tenure, she served on the board of directors of the Cornerstone Fund, UCC, for 6 years.
Most recently, Ginny ran for the Texas House of Representatives in 2022 when she learned that her representative co-authored the most hateful legislation in 2021. Ginny felt called to run with a voice from God as strong as any ministry calling. She was endorsed by the Houston Chronicle as she attended monthly school board meetings for all 4 school districts as well as chamber of commerce meetings. Although Ginny lost, she appreciates going to places and meeting people in her community she never knew about while serving as pastor.
Ginny is married to David Moore, who owns an e-commerce business in Spring, Texas. They recently welcomed Gabriele, an exchange student from Milan, Italy, who will be a junior at Spring High School. They also have two dogs and two cats. Ginny loves to practice yoga and ride her bike when it’s not so hot. Last month, Ginny took a stained glass art class as an early birthday present to herself.
Ginny is excited about our ministry together at Congregational Church, UCC, Austin. She is impressed with your faith in action throughout the years and looks forward to seeing where the Holy Spirit leads us during our interim journey together!

 


Donna Cravens, Office Manager Email Donna 
I like to read and listen to ‘Classic Rock’ music as well as host for my musician friends when they want to get together for ajam session.  It’s almost always at my place because I ALWAYS seem to be living in the place in the middle, so no one mustdrive too far!  I love all animals especially my latest rescue poodle, “The Very Spoiled Christi”.  She is my office guard dog, she greets everyone that enters the church when we’re here, so I guess she’s our ‘unofficial’ greeter and guard dog.  I’ve been working here since January 2018 and traffic is still terrible on the trip from San Marcos to Austin!!!!


Britt Hicks, Director of Online Ministries Email Britt
Britt Hicks (she/they) is a native Texan that has lived all over the state. They are a NAVY veteran and received and BFA in Photography at The Art Institute in San Antonio. Britt is a current MDiv student at Austin Theological Seminary and is also a Member in Discernment with the United Church of Christ. They live with their wife Radhika and their six dogs with six vastly different personalities, there is never a dull moment in their house. A few things that Britt enjoys is playing the guitar and cajon, baking, and walking.

 

Laura Martin, Music Director Email Laura

Laura Martin (she/her) is a central Texas native and received her degree in Choral Music studies from the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas. In addition to performing as an alto/mezzo-soprano, Laura is the head choir director at Pflugerville Middle School in Pflugerville ISD and recently completed Level III in the Kodaly method. When she isn’t singing or directing, Laura can be found reading in a coffee shop or exploring parks and trails with her incredibly cute dog, Bilbo.

Victor Cardenas, Custodian

 

 

 

 

 

The Trio

 

Jonathan Geer, Pianist

 

Jonathan’s music has appeared on The White Lotus, Archer, So You Think You Can Dance, Dickinson and numerous other shows.

He scored the indie game hit, Owlboy, which was released in November of 2016 and has gone on to garner numerous awards and critical acclaim. In 2017 he received an HMMA award for his score to the Franz Kafka Videogame. He’s currently creating music and sound for Pugstorm’s hit indie game, Core Keeper. He is also scoring Cook Serve Forever, the fourth game in Vertigo Gaming, Inc.’s cooking sim series and he won the Indiecade audio award in 2021 for his soundtrack to Cook, Serve, Delicious 3?!
Jonathan graduated with a BA in Film Scoring from Berklee College of Music in Boston and now lives in Bastrop, TX. He tours regularly with Atlas Tango Project, performing original music from members of the group alongside the compositions of nuevo tango composer, Astor Piazzolla.

Liz Lee, Cellist

 

Liz is a performer and private instruction teacher of cello in Austin. She has an active Youtube channel with performances and lessons which you can follow her @cellomoji and on other social platforms. In her free time she loves to play tennis, crafting, and cooking.

Amy Harris, Violinist

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amy Harris has been an active violinist and violin teacher in the Austin area for the past ten years, with a large violin studio. She has received violin performance degrees from University of Texas at Austin (Doctor of Musical Arts), the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, and the University of Northern Colorado. During her studies she won many awards. She played with the National Repertory Orchestra for two different summer seasons in Breckenridge, Colorado. As a professional musician, she has played with many different orchestras and chamber groups, including the Colorado Springs Symphony, Boulder Philharmonic, Greeley Philharmonic, and the Austin Symphony. She has been a member of UCC churches since childhood, and has participated in their musical offerings both on the violin and in the choir. She has been a part of the Austin Congregation Church’s trio since 2012, and has been singing and participating at the church since she moved here in 2006.