Meet the Team
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!
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.
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.
Pastor - Kwame Pitts
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Rev. Kwame has immersed herself in justice movements advocating transformative and revolutionary change. Her name honors a collective ancestor, Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana. It also serves as a reminder of the responsibility and accountability she holds towards her Ancestors, starting from the maternal lineage of the Mandikia peoples of Senegal, whom she respects greatly, and the journey of multiple faith traditions in which she is engaged.
A native Chicagoan, Kwame began her deep dive into spirituality over 20 years ago personally; academically, she initiated this path in 2010 when she was accepted to the Lutheran School of Theology, Chicago, focusing on Black Liberation and Womanist theology. She graduated in 2015 with her Master of Divinity (M.Div.) and was ordained that same year. She continued her studies in 2017 at the Chicago Theological Seminary, earning a Master of Sacred Theology (STM) with a concentration on Black Ancestral theology, and received her degree in Spring 2021. Her thesis for her STM degree is entitled: The Oppression of Syncretism: The Erasure of Our Religious History and The Validity of These Traditions to Address Historical and Generational Trauma Due To Racism and Oppression. As ordained clergy and a Queer Womanist, she remains deeply engaged in community justice at the intersection of food insecurity and access to sacred spaces. From 2021 to 2025, she operated the Fresh Collard Greens and other Healthy Things mobile food pantry, through Community of Good Neighbors (CGNBuffalo), serving areas where African American, Caribbean, and immigrant communities reside, as well as creating a communal space to combat socio-economic injustices faced by BIPOC communities. She articulated her goals and vision for what the ethos for CGN Buffalo and the Fresh Collard Greens and other Healthy Things Mobile Food Pantry, evolved into "Community of Good Neighbors is rooted in the tenants of both Black Practical theology and Womanist theology in that we are bringing together the voices of the scholar and the organizer into relationship to counteract the oppression and corruption of not only the modern day empire but also Platonized Christianity-that is Christianity steeped in white supremacy." CGN was committed to being an inclusive, sacred, and safe space to discern about God's Word through small group discussions, theological, spiritual, and practical as well as utilizing and engaging Creation by being in the outdoors, meeting Creation and one another with discussions about what God's Word means for us now and how we can work towards liberation and transformative justice now. Rev. Kwame lived and worked in Buffalo from 2019 to 2025 as a part of the Upstate New York Synod as Pastor and Mission Development Pastor until September 2025 when she answered and accepted the call from the Sierra Pacific Synod and University Lutheran Chapel to serve as Pastor. Embracing the West Coast, she lives in Oakland with her partner Robert who is a doctoral candidate at UB (American Studies concentration in Africana Studies) writing his dissertation and an accomplished artist with the Burchfield Penny Art Museum and one of their two young adults: Izzy (recent Buffalo State University grad, B.S 2025 in Fashion and Textile Design) and two of their cats, Thyme and Rosemary. Their son Arif (Senior, Africana Studies/Psychology; Buffalo State University grad B.A 2026) is finishing out his final year of university and lives with their other cat, Duchess. Contact Pr. Kwame |
Director of Music - Andy Bouman
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Andy Bouman (he/him) 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. 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. |
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 |