UCMI STAFFOUR STAFF works together to coordinate the ministry of United Church. Each Staff person has particular skills and responsibilities, but in the end, we all work together to complete any task requiring staff leadership and coordination. Our Staff members are listed below. Please click on each picture and get to know them. They are here to serve you and will be available to you at any time for pastoral care and information as required.Click on each picture to enlarge it, then hit the back arrow to return to this page.
Ministry is a second career for Neil. Prior to beginning his formal ministry he worked with Consumers Power Company for 13 years . He grew up in Jackson, Michigan, and there attended Arbor Grove Congregational church. Neil and Sharon have been married for the past 43 years. They have two children, Michelle Simino and Bill Hunt, along with three grandchildren, Hunter, Michaela and Madisyn.
Dr. Betty R. Pursley, Minister of Music, has at various stages in her career, calmed nervous singers, taught piano, worked in a machine shop, earned a doctorate, played recitals, toilet trained a toddler, conducted choirs and orchestras, played gospel piano, taught in a university, produced musicals, composed and arranged song settings, worked as a library assistant, conducted children’s choirs, wrote skits, designed worship services, and preached one sermon (her alpha and omega). She also plays the organ. In her spare time, Betty loves a) to plan meals she has no intention of cooking and b) to plan her next quilt. She reads voraciously, everything from the back of cereal boxes to the latest self-help books. Betty is a self-confessed news junkie and her favorite past-time is worrying about retirement.
Jan Kelly, Administrative Assistant, recently moved from Boston to Marco Island, with her husband Neil. They have two children: Justine, a junior at Connecticut College and Jason, a freshman at University of Tampa. Jan comes to us with over 30 years of office experience. She has worked in a wide variety of fields, mostly those connected with accounting and bookkeeping. While her children were toddlers, she dabbled in the decorating Field. For the past 15 years, she was the church administrator at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Westwood, MA. She will tell you that her interests and hobbies some would consider quite boring. Although she still dabbles in decorating whenever she can, she is an obsessive Boston Red Sox fan (never misses a game from Spring training on) and you will find her every Sunday afternoon watching the New England Patriots Football games during the winter. Yes, she is the one that controls the remote control in her household. She looks forward to meeting everyone here at UCMI, and she hopes her knowledge of “church lingo” will lend itself to an organized efficient office. Come by and say hello!
Angela Dowdy Stephens, Financial Assistant, is a semi-retired “Okie” who moved to Marco Island in 1997 when her husband retired from the FAA in Miami, FL. Before finding her way over the Jolley Bridge, Angela worked as a CPA and an administrator in the legal and healthcare professions. She has a teenage daughter in high school who keeps her as busy as any full-time job. As a family, they enjoy boating, fishing and movies. In her spare time, Angela enjoys crafts and is a self-proclaimed bead-a-holic who works to keep buying beads.
Sandy grew up on a farm near Hoopeston, IL., where she acquired her homemaking and business skills. She enjoys being a homemaker, cooking, gardening and all kinds of crafts. She enjoys planning and developing Creative Memory Photo Albums and she also collects orchids.
Max Stein, the Sexton of the United Church of Marco Island.
After meeting our staff, if you have any questions, please send an e-mail to the church. We'll be glad to get back to you with a response. Or feel free to call the Church office or our Pastor's home if you have an emergency or immediate need. She is always happy to accommodate a request for assistance and so is our Associate Pastor.Top of Page |
The
Reverend Dr. E. Neil Hunt,
our
Senior Minister, recently retired as the Senior Minister
at Meadowbrook Congregational Church
in Novi, Michigan, where he served for almost 20
years. He received his M/Div from the Chicago
Theology Seminary in 1983 and was ordained the same
year. Neil received his D/Min from the
theological school at Drew University in 1987.
Neil has served churches in Illinois and
Michigan. He has served the National
Association of Congregational Christian Churches as a
member and chairperson of each of the following;
the Youth Commission, the
Congregational Foundation of Theology
Studies (CFTS) and for the Congregational Church
Development Division. 
