Reverend Dr. Todd E. Johnson, Senior Pastor
Todd comes to First Covenant as our new Senior Pastor from a background in both the church and the academy. As a student, Todd felt called to a ministry working with children and their families in the housing projects near campus. This led to his working in youth and family ministry in Pittsburgh and Chicago, as well as high school and college ministries. Todd has served as a hospital and police chaplain, and a pastor. In the academic world, Todd has served as professor, Dean of Chapel, and most recently the Brehm Chair in Worship, Theology, and the Arts at Fuller Theological Seminary. Todd’s scholarship includes writings in the arts, sacraments, liturgy, ritual, spirituality, and mysticism. Todd is an Associate in the Order of Julian of Norwich, has a Masters of Divinity from North Park Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. in Theology from the University of Notre Dame. Todd enjoys downtime with his eclectic music library, attending the theatre, watching hockey, and various types of exercise and sports. Todd is married to Susan and has five children.
Steve Elde, Pastor of Adult Ministies
Steve has been a pastor and staff minister in churches in Seattle, Pennsylvania, New England and the Chicago area. He loves to teach and has a special interest in incarnational apologetics, finding those places where life and faith connect and God waits to be discovered in the midst of the ordinary experience of daily life. Steve is also an artist, a storyteller, a writer and a photographer. The greatest privilege of ministry, he says, is to be invited into the sacred places of people's lives.
Cinda Madonna, Coordinator Of Ministerial Operations
Cinda earned her B.S. in Psychology at the University of Washington, and, later, a Master’s of Divinity at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific. She is the mother of three grown sons, as well as a daughter and son through her marriage to Darryl Johnson. Cinda also keeps busy loving her family, playing tennis, skiing and practicing hot yoga. As First Covenant’s Coordinator of operations , Cinda brings 10 years of business experience and a plethora of life experiences to this position.
Allan Waite, Property Superintendent
Allan joined the Seattle First Covenant staff in July of 2013 and functions as the facilities manager for our historic church building and our Summit building. Allan and his family have attended Seattle First Covenant Church for many years.
Natalie Bartels, Organist/Accompanist
Natalie Bartels is a musician from Puyallup, WA who also loves good beer and Oscar Wilde. In 2017 she received a BA in Sacred Music and a BA in English from Concordia University Irvine, and in 2019 she completed a Masters of Music in Organ Performance at the University of Washington. Natalie loves collaborating with other musicians and is always interested in learning new things about music and theology.
nbartels@firstcovenantseattle.org
Keelie Gassmann, Nursery Caregiver
Keelie is a student currently living in the Seattle area. She hopes to pursue a career in cardiology, with a focus on medical anthropology. An only child growing up, Keelie always dreamed of having younger siblings because she loves caring for infants and children. Keelie enjoys caring for the littlest parishioners at First Covenant and getting to know their families as well.
Peter Loyd, Caretaker
Peter joined the Seattle First Covenant staff in 2014 after a decade of living, studying, and serving in the Capitol Hill area. He is involved in local charity and arts organizations and is especially concerned with meal programs and housing issues. He recently returned to college to pursue a master's degree in CS.