First Congregational Church of Beloit, WI

Our Staff and Leadership

Our Pastor, Rev. Kendell Nordstrom

I come from a Congregational background. My father was a minister for the Congregational Christian Conference in Illinois, and served as pastor of the First Congregational Church in Oshkosh. I was ordained by the United Church of Christ in 1973 after getting my degree from Chicago Theological Seminary. I served churches in Rosendale, Tomah and Whitewater, all in Wisconsin. In 1998, my wife and I moved to Beloit when she took a position with the Beloit Public Schools. I then did a number of full-time interim ministries until two years ago. At that time, I decided to follow a long held dream of mine and began training as a chaplain. My internship was at Iowa Health Systems in Des Moines. Following nine months there, I was hired as a chaplain by Fairhaven, a retirement community in Whitewater. In addition to my chaplaincy, I served as a weekly pulpit supply for Faith Presbyterian Church in Franklin, WI. For nearly two years. My last Sunday with them is September 14.

My wife Kay and I have been married 38 years. She is currently teaching kindergarten at

BurgeSchool here in Beloit. We have four adult children and two grandchildren. Our oldest son, Drew and his wife Deborah live in Bloomington, MN. Sara, our first daughter, her husband, Joel and our two grandchildren Ellen (6) and Benjamin (3) live in Burlington, WI. David, our third child, is a 1^st Lt. in the Army stationed at Fort Riley, KS. Bethany, our youngest (and BeloitCollege grad), lives in Las Vegas, NV. Without too much prompting, I would be delighted to show you pictures and tell stories about any or all of the above. I lam a proud father, a blessed grandfather, and a lucky husband. Can you tell?

Church Administrative Assistant, Linda M. Gabel-Vaughan
Linda worked for us when we moved into the new church building in 2001,and left in 2003 and then was asked to come back in November 2007, in which Linda gladly accepted.

Linda is married to Joel Vaughan from Rockton, IL. They married April 1st, 2000. Joel works at Taylor Company in Rockton and has been there for 34 years.

Linda was brought up in Roscoe, IL and has one son, Sean Swanson. Sean has a daughter (Hailey) and is married to Carrie. Linda and Joel have 4 other grandchildren. Joel's daughters, Angie (Steve) live in South Beloit WI, Devin (8) and Kira (3), Katie and Jermiah live in Beloit with their two children, Miah (5) and Christian (2).

Music Director, Max H. Yount

Max Yount is Professor of Music and Chair of the Music Department at Beloit College. He appears regularly as harpsichordist with the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble and the Eaton Chapel Players. Max has toured Germany several times as a concert organist, and in this country and Canada he has appeared recitalist and concerto soloist on the organ or the harpsichord. Max studied at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, and did his graduate work at Eastman School of Music, with private study of harpsichord under Isolde Ahlgrimm in Salzburg and Louis Bagger in New York.

Max has composed music for chorus, chamber ensembles and orchestra, as well as solo instruments, some of which have been performed in this country and Germany. In 1999 he composed an Anniversary Hymn for Saint Paul's Lutheran Church in Beloit and an Anniversary Hymn for First Presbyterian Church, also in Beloit. Two compositions were recently performed at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in Milwaukee, WI. In March of 2007, a symphony composed by Max was presented by the Beloit Janesville Symphony Orchestra.

Max has served as dean of the Madison Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and as President of the Midwestern Historical Keyboard Society (MHKS). He has presented papers and performances at MHKS meetings and at meetings of the American Musicological Society. Presently, he is serving as a judge for an international competition of compositions for the harpsichord, headquartered in Greensboro, NC.

Max lives in Beloit and has two sons, Wade and Noah.

Treasurer, Larry Hines

Larry has been a member of First Congregational Church since 1972. He has served as Moderator, Trustee (3 times), New Building Committee Chair and other volunteer positions. Larry came to Beloit in 1966 with the Beloit Corporation, but retired from Ingersoll Milling Machine Company in 1998 after 19 years of service. His daughter Amy is a veterinarian residing in Delafield, Wisconsin and has two children. Larry's son,Andy is Regional Sales Manager for Technical Products and resides in Crystal Lake, Illinois and has three children. We are grateful for Larry's longtime and continuing service to First Congregational Church.

Our Sexton, Roger Haugen

Roger has been our sexton for more than 20 years. Roger works hard to keep it intip-top shape. Roger is more than a custodian; he is a part of the team that helps us engage in God's ministry. Roger is our smiling doorman on Sunday mornings, makes great coffee, and is an all-around assistant when any need arises. We thank God for him and the gifts he shares with us every week!