Staff Goodbyes

Communications Manager Irene Muller completed their time with the Church Council in January 2023.

Communications Manager Irene Muller completed their time with the Church Council in January. We are grateful to Irene for their five years at The Church Council, first as the Philanthropy Associate and then as our Communications Manager. Their work spanned a time of critical shift in the organization. Our website redesign and creating space for diverse voices in our communications are due to their leadership. Their dedication ensured that our stories were communicated to our network with care and dignity.

Irene shares:

Thank you for the opportunity to be part of the Church Council of Greater Seattle community for the past five and a half years. I learned so much during my time at CCGS – about faith and in/justice, and the power of people united in building away from the systems that harm us. I will carry the lessons learned here with me always.
I look forward to seeing many of you again as we continue onward together, organizing among our many interwoven circles of community. Until then, I wish CCGS and everyone to whom I am connected through it safety and success in every future endeavor.

In gratitude & solidarity,
Irene

At the end of 2022, we said goodbye to two wonderful staff members, Meli Morales (Organizer, Faith Land Initiative) and Cristhian Josue Ordoñez Gomez (Accompaniment Associate). We thank them for the impacts they’ve had on The Church Council, and we wish them well in their future endeavors.

Joey Lopez shares this about Meli:

The Faith Land team shares deep appreciation, admiration, and love for the way Meli shaped the emergent work of our Faith Land Initiative. Their wisdom and expertise will be deeply missed.

“My contract with The Church Council has come to an end and I am preparing to transition out of my role with CCGS. However, I want to let you all know how grateful I am for each one of you.”

Cristhian Ordoñez

“Thank you” is such a powerful statement and at the same time, such a small one when you are trying to convey all the many things that you are grateful for. My time as part of the accompaniment program has filled me with great joy and much richness in my life. I have become more human, a better listener and dare I say, a better person.

It is opportunities like these, the ones that mark a before and after in someone’s life. I was one Cristhian before I had met all the wonderful community members and their life-changing stories, one before I saw how much of an enthusiast a volunteer can be. I am a different Cristhian now, one that is sensitive to other people and their needs.

My contract with The Church Council has come to an end and I am preparing to transition out of my role with CCGS. However, I want to let you all know how grateful I am for each one of you.”

Thank you.
-Cristhian Ordoñez