Our Mission
Our mission is to unite through the Spirit to build a diverse, inclusive, welcoming, and beloved community that cares for God’s creation and works for justice and peace for all.
Our Vision
We open our arms to the beauty and joy of each moment on the journey beyond faith. We believe God lures us moment by moment to join in Christ’s unconditional, transforming love in creating racial, social, economic, and environmental justice. We at Live Oak UCC offer an open and affirming theology as comfortable with questions as we are with answers. All are welcome here.
Staff
Rev. Sarah Averette-Phillips
Co-Senior Pastor
Pastor Sarah was born and raised in Southern California and much of her faith formation occurred at Redlands United Church of Christ (UCC). Sarah received her BA in Peace Studies from UCC-related Chapman University in 2012. She then spent a year living in Varanasi, India, completing a Masters in Conflict Management & Development. Sarah earned her Master of Divinity from Claremont School of Theology in May of 2017 and was called as pastor of Brea Congregational UCC—one of the predecessors of Live Oak UCC—in September 2019. Sarah brings energy for preaching, engaging young folks in the church, and connecting the Gospel with contemporary justice issues. In her free time, Sarah enjoys spending time with her spouse, Omari, and dog, Thistle, crafting and traveling to new countries.
Rev. Chrissy Siva
Co-Senior Pastor
Pastor Chrissy grew up in the Lutheran Church and found her way to the United Church of Christ as a young adult. After studying Women’s Studies and American Racial Studies in her undergrad at St. Olaf College, she attended Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA. She earned dual Master’s Degrees—an M.Div. and an MA in Biblical Language. She loves looking at the original Hebrew and Greek versions of the Bible to enrich our understanding of the text and the ways it speaks to us today. She was ordained in 2015 and called as Pastor of the Congregational Church of Fullerton, a Live Oak UCC predecessor, in the same year. In addition to her role as pastor, Chrissy has three children, Jack, Phillip, and Annabelle. She loves baking, crafting, reading, being a terrible gardener, and coaching Little League baseball.
Rev. Michael Lewis
Worship Pastor
Pastor Michael has a Bachelor’s degree from Graceland University in speech communication and a Juris Doctor from the University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law. He received the final year of his legal education at Harvard Law School. Michael has been active in various forms of ministry for over 30 years, originally as an ordained minister in the Community of Christ before making his way to the UCC over 10 years ago. Michael is a lifelong student, especially of process theology, and focuses his ministry now on worship leadership and preaching.
Rev. Rick Marshall
Pastor Emeritus
Rick is happily retired after serving as Pastor of Brea Congregational UCC for 32 years. He is equally happy to be sitting in the pews on Sundays as part of the current version of this thriving community, Live Oak UCC. Rick identifies as a skeptical Christian committed to the teachings of Jesus—his life, death, and resurrection—all pointing to the creative, transforming power of God in THIS world. Rick has one foot in Brea and the other in Oregon, where he is from and has family. He is married to Ann and has five daughters and six grandchildren.
Ron Kobayashi
Co-Music Director & Accompanist
Ron Kobayashi has been a musician for the Congregational Church of Fullerton (now the newly formed Live Oak UCC) for more than 40 years. In 1986, Ron graduated from Cal State Fullerton with degrees in Political Science and Communications. Soon after graduating, Ron decided to be a full time musician, playing around the Southland ever since. Ron leads a Jazz Trio he has played with for more than 30 years, recording a DVD released in Japan, and six CDs, receiving airplay around the country. He has played numerous concert halls and venues including The Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Irvine Barclay Theater, The Yuma Arizona Jazz Festival, 54 Below in New York City and Disneyworld in Florida. Ron has performed with such artists as Mel Torme, Margaret Whiting, Tom Scott, Peter Frampton and Kenny Burrelll. For five years, Ron was musical director for the Hollywood Diversity Awards. He has appeared on television shows The Jerry Lewis Telethon, The Johnny Yune Show, “Life After” on TVONE, “All Rise” on CBS and “Brothers Son” on Netflix. In 1996 Ron’s trio was voted best Jazz Group in Orange County by the OC Weekly and in 1992 Ron played for President Bill Clinton. He currently teaches at the Orange County School of the Arts. Ron grew up in Fullerton with his sister Lorna and parents Roy and Irene. He has a son, Grant.
Jessica Cosley
Co-Music Director & Accompanist
Jessica joined Brea Congregational UCC—a Live Oak UCC predecessor—in 2014 as a piano accompanist and has been the Music Director since 2016. She studied choral music education at California State University Fullerton and now works full-time for Disney Live Entertainment at Disneyland. Jessica enjoys spending time with her husband Matt and their two dogs, Winston and Maggie.
Alice Fields
Organist
Alice has a Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance from California State University, Fullerton, and was trained by Esther Jones, Norberto Guinaldo, and Justin Colyar. Skilled at playing the organ, piano, harpsichord, and flute, Alice is also a member of the Orange County Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, leading the committee for children’s scholarship study grants. Alice has been the organist and choir accompanist at Brea Congregational UCC—a Live Oak UCC predecessor—since 2004.
Aidan Mitchell
Sunday School Director
Aidan is currently a student at California State University Fullerton working on her Bachelor of Arts in English. Aidan began working with the children and youth at Brea Congregational Church—now Live Oak UCC—in the summer of 2021 and strives to find fun and engaging ways to lead Sunday School each week. When she is not being crushed under a mound of homework, Aidan enjoys spending time with her loved ones, reading, and writing (and doing anything that helps procrastinate her writing.)
Kimly Hoang
Administrator
Kimly has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from California State University, Fullerton. Kimly began working at Brea Congregational UCC—a Live Oak UCC predecessor— in 2016. Kimly is a songwriter, having written some songs for the church, and is actively pursuing her career in the music industry.