Our Staff

Glenn mehrbach - music director

[email protected]

Glenn Mehrbach has served as the Music Director at the Community Church since September 2003. Prior to his work in the church, Glenn was the musical director, conductor, and pianist for cabaret singer Andrea Marcovicci.  He was also a sought after cabaret and musical theatre coach in Los Angeles.  Locally, he has worked for the Carolina Ballet, and as music director at Reconciliation United Methodist Church in Durham.  Along with his position at the Community Church, Glenn works as a Staff Associate at Duke University and as the Music Performance teacher at Camelot Academy in Durham.  

​Glenn’s duties at the Community Church include programming and directing our 4 choirs: the Children's Choir, Youth Choir, Community Church Singers and Community Church Choir.  He also writes and directs the annual Holiday Pageant, directs the bi-annual church musical, coordinates the annual Music Gala, and chooses and supervises the special music for all services.  He encourages congregational participation in church musical activities as much as possible, so please contact Glenn if you are interested in bringing music to the church in any way.  There is a place for everyone.

marion hirsch - director of religious education

[email protected]

Marion Hirsch (she, her) has served as the Director of Religious Education at the Community Church since May 2000.  Prior to her work in the church, she was an archivist and special collections librarian at UNC and Duke.  She grew up in Charlotte, NC and has been in Chapel Hill since 1982 where she lives happily with husband Ken. She has  3 grown children, Sarah, Franklin, and James.

​Marion is responsible for the coordination and leadership of the congregation’s religious education and faith development programs for all ages -- children, youth and adult.  She is staff support to the Children’s Ministry Team, the Youth Ministry Team, Covenant Groups and the Spiritual Exploration for Adults (SEA) Program. She also leads the congregation's UU campus ministry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Please contact Marion with feedback, suggestions and questions about the Religious Education Program.

KAT GOOD - Assistant Director of Religious Education 

[email protected]

Kat Good (she, her) grew up Unitarian Universalist in Boulder, Colorado. She studied Literature and Education in Washington DC before joining the Peace Corps and serving as a sexuality educator in Uganda. Before joining the staff at Community Church in 2018 she worked in college access with first-generation college students. 

As the Assistant Director of Religious Education Kat mainly works with Middle Schooler and Youth Staff. Kat coordinates religious education volunteers and the Our Whole Lives (comprehensive sexuality education) program. You can find her in the OWLs nest most Sundays and on email Tuesday-Thursday mornings.
​
Kat loves living simply and gets to do that each day with her two young children, partner and menagerie of creatures in an intentional community out in Chatham county.

rachel rose (SHE)-DIRECTOR of membershiP & communications

COMMUNICATIONS: [email protected]
MEMBERSHIP: [email protected]
Direct line: (919) 283-1796

Rachel Rose (she, her) serves two roles:
Director of Membership and Director of Communications.

As Director of Membership, Rachel is at church every Sunday, welcoming people, both familiar and new, serving as the head of the Welcoming Ministry. As "Connector in Chief", Rachel helps people get connected within our community, wherever their passions may lead. She and Rev. Thom lead Exploring Membership classes together, to help people learn about the history of our church, what Membership means, and how people can share their light with the rest of our community. Rachel also manages the membership database and rolls, and takes all the fabulous photos for our Photo Directory and more!

As Director of Communications, Rachel serves as the conduit for church communications (Orders of Service, Weekly Announcements, Monthly Newsletters, All-Church emails, much of the church website, and more).
No matter which "hat" she's wearing, she'll try and help!
​
When she's not at church, she enjoys spending time with family, making music, being in nature and helping things grow.

FRANKLIN HIRSCH (HE) - CONGREGATIONAL ADMINISTRATOR

[email protected]       DIRECT LINE: 919-229-9452

Franklin Hirsch gained experience in financial administration at Pilgrim UCC in Durham and Binkley Baptist Church in Chapel Hill before getting his dream job at the church that formed his values: The Community Church. He was drawn to non-profit administration by formative experiences here and at Guilford College (2019, BS Accounting). He is a lover of music, and has participated in many musicals here at the church. 

Franklin is the church's financial record keeper and staff benefits administrator. He also manages the church calendar, room reservations, the church's IT infrastructure, ordering supplies, and addresses facilities issues.

If you are interested in renting a parking place at the Community Church, please visit this page for information about availability and to get on the wait-list. 

​

abigail castaneda - sunday hospitality coordinator


​Abigail Castaneda joined the staff as the Sunday Hospitality Coordinator at the Community Church in 2008.   Prior to her time with the church, Abigail worked in a retirement community.   She is originally from Encarnacion de Diaz in Jalisco, Mexico.   Abigail moved to California, back to Mexico, and finally to North Carolina.  She and her family have lived here for fifteen years.   Abigail enjoys spending time with her husband, five children, and three grandchildren.   She takes care of three dogs which actually belong to her children, and two birds which actually belong to her.   In her spare time, Abigail provides house cleaning services.  She also enjoys crocheting and practicing her English.   

​Abigail's duties at the Community Church include sprucing things up and coordinating coffee hours on Sunday mornings.  

Ariadna nacianceno - pianist




​​​​Ariadna Nacianceno attended the Cuban National School of Music where she became a Professor of Piano, Instrumentalist and Piano Accompanist. She has been accompanist for a broad range of musical ventures for over twenty-two years, and was the pianist of the "Orquesta Riverside" in Cuba and has accompanied the Cuban National Lyric Theater and the Schola Cantorum Coralina, in which she also sang. Since coming to the U.S., she has been active in accompanying both instrumentalists and singers in a wide range of classical music, Ariadna is also currently on staff in the NC State Music Department as collaborative pianist for choral groups, voice students and instrumentalists.​

REV. LISA GARCIA-SAMPSON (she/her)
​AFFILIATED COMMUNITY MINISTER    [email protected]

Rev. Lisa Garcia-Sampson serves as the Executive Director of UU Justice NC, the Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry of North Carolina. In her ministry, she has the pleasure of organizing UU congregations across the state to powerfully contribute to the movement for justice through spiritual grounding, joy, imagination and partnership. Her work spans racial, economic, immigrant, environmental, LGBTQ, and electoral justice, and more. 

Before moving to North Carolina, Rev. Lisa was a life-long Rhode Islander. She graduated from Boston University’s School of Theology in 2018 and then served as the Ministerial Intern at First Church Boston. In 2019, she and her spouse, Ry, moved to Durham for Ry’s Family Medicine Residency at Duke. In 2020 Rev. Lisa began leading our UU state justice ministry and was ordained by her beloved home congregation, the First Unitarian Church of Providence, RI.
​
She is honored to serve as this congregation’s Community Minister and is deeply grateful to The Community Church for warmly welcoming her into this beloved community.

JENN KAPRANOV - INTERN MINISTER
[email protected]
Jenn Kapranov is a two-year Intern Minister and will work with her mentor, Rev. Thom Belote, in serving the congregation in worship and rites of passage, pastoral care, spiritual development, social justice, administration, and serving the larger Unitarian Universalist faith. 

She is currently a student at Meadville Lombard Theological School, and is a graduate of Bennington College. She started attending Unitarian Universalist services 22 years ago and is a member of the Unitarian Society of New Haven where she has served as the co-chair of the Pastoral Care team, a member of the Worship Committee, and co-chair of a Grief Support group. She worked as the Dance and Drama Facilitator for the Comprehensive Arts Program for the City of New Haven Board of Education, conducting the City-Wide Playwrighting and Storytelling Festival and taught theater and directed many productions during her15 years of service. 

Jenn is interested in chaplaincy work, interfaith community building, and supporting the many social justice programs at The Community Church of Chapel Hill. She is grateful for the opportunity to explore all aspects of ministry and continue to grow in spirit in this loving and supportive community.