Meet the Team
A note from Pr. Jeff
Welcome to the Chapel -- a community of faith so conscious of God's grace that we seek to love God, love each other, and love our neighbors to the best of our ability and with as much energy as we can muster!
I have the pleasure of serving as one of the pastors in the Chapel community. You'll discover that once you settle in here, it's difficult to imagine life as a part of the body of Christ in quite the same way again. Once you give community at the Chapel a chance, you'll discover the unique gifts and charisms of this place, and these will change you and help to quicken your service at work in the world.
Wherever you are on your journey of faith, you are welcome in this community. Join us as we emerge from pandemic, engage new directions, and evolve in our ministry together.
Pr. Jeff
Welcome to the Chapel -- a community of faith so conscious of God's grace that we seek to love God, love each other, and love our neighbors to the best of our ability and with as much energy as we can muster!
I have the pleasure of serving as one of the pastors in the Chapel community. You'll discover that once you settle in here, it's difficult to imagine life as a part of the body of Christ in quite the same way again. Once you give community at the Chapel a chance, you'll discover the unique gifts and charisms of this place, and these will change you and help to quicken your service at work in the world.
Wherever you are on your journey of faith, you are welcome in this community. Join us as we emerge from pandemic, engage new directions, and evolve in our ministry together.
Pr. Jeff
Senior Pastor - Rev. Jeff Johnson
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Pastor Jeff was ordained in 1990, and is the fourth pastor to serve University Lutheran Chapel of Berkeley, the Lutheran community at the University of California, Berkeley. He serves on the Spiritual Care Team at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary. Prior to his ministry at the Chapel, Pr. Jeff was pastor of First United Lutheran Church in San Francisco's Richmond District.
Jeff is a graduate of California Lutheran University (1984 BA in German and History) and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley (1988 MDIV). Upon graduation, he founded with Ruth Frost and Phyllis Zillhart Lutheran Lesbian and Gay Ministry and in January 1990 was one of three openly lesbian and gay Lutherans to be ordained extra ordinem (contrary to official church policy) in San Francisco. Both First United (expelled) and the Chapel (censured) have been disciplined by the ELCA for having called as pastor someone who was in violation of the ELCA's denominational policy of discrimination requiring life-long celibacy of lgbt pastors. Jeff was received onto the ELCA’s roster of clergy following a change at the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in official denominational policy. Contact Pr. Jeff. |
Associate Pastor - Rev. Sanna Reinholtzen
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Pastor Sanna has been the Associate Pastor for Prayer and Healing at the Chapel since 2010. Additionally, she serves as the Executive Administrative Assistant to the President at St. Mary’s College in Moraga, CA.
Pr. Sanna has a Master's degree focused in Liturgical Studies from Graduate Theological Union and an MDiv from Luther Seminary. Prior to her work at the Chapel, Pr. Sanna served in the midwest at Bacyrus Lutheran Parish and First Lutheran Church. Contact Pr. Sanna. |
Director of Music - Andy Bouman
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Andy Bouman has been the Director of Music at the Chapel since 1994. Andy chooses and plays the hymns and service music for Sunday worship, blending a variety of musical styles. Andy also recruits singers to serve as cantors and members who play musical instruments.
Andy was born in Minnesota and grew up in the Chicago area, but he has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area most of his adult life. He started piano lessons at age 6 and organ lessons at age 15. His first Sunday morning position was playing organ for a small, inner-city church when he was 16. Andy studied organ and church music at Valparaiso University (a Lutheran college in Indiana near Chicago), where he also sang bass in the choir. He studied theology and worship at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. He later studied English literature in the Ph.D. program at the University of California at Berkeley. When he is not making music, Andy is a Senior Content Manager for Kaiser Permanente’s website, kp.org, which serves more than 12 million members in 9 states across the country. Andy started ballroom dancing as a graduate student at Cal, but after discovering West Coast Swing, he’s never looked back. Andy is a former president of The Next Generation Swing Dance Club in the San Francisco Bay Area and has been an Event Director for Next Gen’s annual convention, Boogie by the Bay, since 1999. He volunteers his time as a judge, chief judge, and scorer at other swing dance events. Andy is married to Holly Halligan, whom he met in college. They live in a 1920s bungalow in Oakland. Contact Andy |
Parish Administrator - Catherine McElaney
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Catherine (she/her) is thrilled to be joining the team at the Chapel as the Parish Administrator. Catherine graduated with a BFA in Acting and a minor in Classics from Montclair State University (2018). She has experience working as an office administrator and teaching artist at non-profit organizations on the east coast. She is excited to be starting a new chapter out here in the Bay; she can’t wait to explore the area and become connected in the community.
Contact Catherine |
President - LuAnn Aakhus
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LuAnn and her family settled in the Berkeley-Oakland area 20 years ago when their son David enrolled as a senior at Berkeley High School. In addition to the Bay Area, she and her husband Steve have lived in seven states and worked as expats in three countries (Syria, Malaysia, Singapore).
Born in North Dakota and graduating from Augustana Univ, LuAnn earned her MBA from St. Mary’s in Moraga. She spent her career as a Healthcare Operations Executive working in kidney care, building clinics to bring life saving treatments to patients in California.. And the jungles of Borneo. Recently, she managed a provider group of doctors making house calls to elderly high risk patients in OR & NorCal. Today she serves as the Chief Operations Officer for Bicycle Health, a healthcare tech startup treating patients with Opioid Use Disorder. LuAnn and her husband Steve are the parents of Elizabeth and David, and have three active grandchildren, Roland 7, Viggo, 4, and Semret 3.. and a new puppy named Leo. She is planning to retire this winter to do more painting, gardening, travelling, writing stories and telling them to anyone who will listen. Contact LuAnn |
Kids & Community Coordinator - Clare McElaney
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Clare (she/they) is very excited to continue at the Chapel in contract work for Children, Family and Youth and Young Adult ministries and some work with Campus Ministry. Clare finished her internship at the Chapel in August 2022, and is awaiting first call in the Sierra Pacific Synod in the ELCA and upon call will be ordained! They also work as a hospital on-call Chaplain, mainly in pediatric settings. Clare identifies as queer and is a member of Proclaim, a ministry within Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries, which is a professional community for Lutheran ministers and candidates who identify as LGBTQIA+. In their free time you can find Clare spending time with their partner, maybe reading, or tending to their potted plants or adventuring around the bay.
Contact Clare |