Ivar Hillesland
Pastor

Ivar was raised in the glamorous municipality of Pasco, WA as the youngest (and obviously most wonderful) of 5 kids. After changing his field of study four times, he graduated from Pacific Lutheran University in 2002 and moved to Santa Monica, CA to work as a youth director and musician. He attended Yale Divinity School and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and was then called and ordained as pastor at Church of the Apostles in 2012 where he continues to make a fool of himself in front of people in new and innovative ways.

Ivar teaches and serves on the steering committee of the Episcopal College for Congregational Development. He works as a developmental consultant for churches and, as an administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory, works with individuals and organizations on cultural competency and communication. He also teaches preschool music at Phinney Ridge Child Development Center and leads music at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Ballard on Sunday mornings.

Ivar is married to Targhee Haveman and together they have three boys, Olyver, Odin, and Orion. He is deeply involved with both Lutherans and Episcopalians and is devoted to furthering their common communion. He sees Church of the Apostles as a vital voice in the church for creative expression, life-giving worship, communal engagement, and the intersection of our ancient relationship to God with our current and future contexts. Interests include sarcasm, irony, money, and power.

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Katherine GrayBuck
Pastor & Hospital Chaplain

Katherine GrayBuck is an Associate Pastor at Church of the Apostles. She is also called as a professional Spiritual Care Provider, or Chaplain, at Harborview Medical Center and serves on the Palliative Care Team and as a faculty member of the Palliative Care Fellowship.

Katherine has roots in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and in the evangelical church, converting to ELCA Lutheranism as an adult. She was baptized on Holy Saturday in 2011 in the Pacific Ocean and holds the sacredness of the liturgical year and baptism in high regard, celebrating her own anniversary each year as CotA celebrates our primary festival, RISE or Easter Vigil. She joined CotA in 2013 as a member and became ordained here in 2018. She also married her husband, scientist Lucas GrayBuck, at the Fremont Abbey in 2016.

Her grounding as a Pastor is rooted in the practice of deep listening and empathy. Her particular ministry leanings are feminist, LGBTQIA+ inclusive, and engaging in anti-racism work.

Her work as a hospital Chaplain during the COVID-19 crisis was featured in the New York Times and The Ringer.

 

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LACEY BROWN, M.M.
MUSIC DIRECTOR

Lacey Brown is a percussionist, singer/songwriter, teacher, and worship leader from Seattle, WA. She holds a B.A. and a M.M. in Percussion Studies and enjoys performing and teaching an array of instruments and styles of music. When she’s not playing the drums, you can find her plucking away at her guitar, singing, recording, and songwriting.

Lacey currently works as Music Director at Church of the Apostles, where she has the joy of designing worship with the community, directing the music as well as writing and recording original music and re-imagined ancient chant and hymns for worship.

Born and raised in Washington state, Lacey is passionate about the Northwest and loves spending time in nature whenever she can.

Lacey’s music can be found at laceybrown.com and poorclaremusic.com.

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Lacy Clark Ellman
Kids and Family Ministry Coordinator

Lacy Clark Ellman has been a COTA member since 2014 and joins us as our first staff member devoted to our growing Kids and Families Ministry. She has a Master of Arts in Theology and Culture and a Doctor of Ministry with an emphasis in transforming spirituality. As a spiritual director, spiritual formation educator, and parent to a young child, her vocational interests intersect in this role as she seeks to help foster the spiritual formation of children at COTA.

Along with her expertise in spiritual formation and practice, she brings her love for the Christian contemplative tradition to the role and seeks to provide programming that is focused less on dogma and orthodoxy and more on cultivating curiosity, embracing mystery, and exploring what it really means to love God and neighbor. As the Ministry Coordinator for Kids and Families, her focus extends to supporting spiritual formation in the home as well for children and parents alike, and she enjoys providing recommendations and resources that help families engage in the invitations of the liturgical seasons at home as well as broaden their experience of the sacred and their images of God.

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Matt Quarterman
Technical Support and Volunteer Coordinator

Matt Quarterman has been a COTA member and volunteer in various capacities since 2008. He’s currently assisting with audio/visual tasks, coordinating volunteers, as well as organizing or documenting supplies and processes.

Matt grew up as an expatriate in Portugal and Ukraine but has made Seattle home for fifteen years. He holds a degree in English from Belhaven University and one in Songwriting from Berklee College of Music.

Matt writes and performs music under his own name, as well as with his partner Erin in the band Star Called Sun (starcalledsun.com). He is a mediocre roller skater and an incompetent surfer but doesn’t let that keep him from trying. His creative writing has been published in several outlets – you can find some of his work at mattquarterman.com.

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