Meet Our Staff

The Reverend Doctor Mark J. Suriano

Pastor

Mark comes to First Congregational after serving for 13 years in parish ministry, first as pastor at Old South United Church of Christ in Kirtland, Ohio, and later as Associate Pastor at Rock Spring Congregational UCC in Arlington, Virginia.

Initially ordained in the Roman Catholic tradition, Mark joined the United Church of Christ in 1993 and began his ministry in the UCC in 1997 when he was called to serve as Minister for Congregational Stewardship for the Stewardship Council at the UCC National Offices in Cleveland, Ohio. While working at the UCC national office, Mark worked extensively with UCC congregations throughout the country in giving, vitality, and mission interpretation and support. 

He and his husband, Matthew, married in 1997 at Pilgrim Congregational UCC in Cleveland and raised Mark's nephew, Jeremy, together. Mark enjoys photography, reading, and the occasional bike ride!

Evan Cerqueira

Organist and Choir Director

Evan T. Cerqueira is a lifelong musician and wearer of many hats. She studied Drama and Music at Vassar College, then earned her Master's in Vocal Performance from Montclair State University in 2007. She has been a working musician ever since, both in liturgical settings and also teaching voice and piano lessons privately. She is also very active in local community theatre as a performer, director, and music director. Evan has performed in New York, London, and Spoleto, Italy, and her latest adventure is transitioning into classroom teaching as an elementary school music educator. Evan is happily married and lives in Little Falls with her spouse and their latest addition, a four-month-old Chihuahua-Shih Tzu mix named Chaplin. You can follow her adventures on www.evanmakesmusic.com

Julie Luce

Bell Choir Director-The Valley Ringers

Julie Luce has a varied musical background. She has sung in the First Congregational Church since she was in the Junior Choir. She now sings in a local community choir, the Lakeside Choraliers. She plays the flute and also studied violin for ten years. She dabbles with the guitar and the piano.

She directed variety shows for Park Ridge High School, where she was a full-time teacher of French and German. Julie played handbells in a junior handbell choir at First Congregational and has been playing with the Valley Ringers for some time now. She is happy to be directing a wonderful group of enthusiastic bell ringers.