Rev. Dr. Leslie Taylor, Senior Minister

The Rev. Dr. Leslie Carole Taylor has more than 30 years of experience as an ordained minister, including many years as a Senior Minister, Interim Minister, Higher Education Ministry (Chaplain, Student Services, and Admissions), Non-profit Management, and a member of the United Church of Christ national staff. She has been involved with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) as a friend and pastor for many years, beginning with the partnership between the United Church of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). 

She is passionate about the church being engaged in ministry in the community, which will serve us well as we move into our new focus on our outward mission of helping children in our community and our inward mission of deepening our spiritual development and our interpersonal relationships.

Pastor Leslie holds a BA from Grinnell College, Master of Divinity from Chicago Theological Seminary, and Doctor of Ministry, focusing on Transformational Leadership, from Methodist Theological School in Ohio. 

She is (returning to be) a distance walker, loves mysteries, and progressive politics. She and her partner, the Rev. Dr. LaTaunya Bynum, live in Concord.

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Ellie McDougal, Director of Senior Adult Ministry

The mother of three and grandmother of six, Ellie has been a member of First Christian Church of Concord for 50 years. She is a retired teacher and librarian and enjoys storytelling in classrooms and other settings. She serves as the director of Senior Ministries, a thriving program here at FCC Concord. 

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Andie Raymond, Church Administrator

Andie grew up in the Disciples of Christ denomination in the Oakland church and transferred her membership to First Christian Church of Concord in 1977. She spent many years working as an administrative assistant and then as a stay-at-home mom before becoming the office administrator at FCC Concord in 2008, a job she feels is her calling. She loves serving the church in this way.

Andie has two adult daughters.  In her spare time, Andie loves to read, sing, spend time with friends, go to as many Oakland A's games as possible and has recently begun playing bocce ball.

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Audrey Barton, Minister-in-Training

Audrey completed her Master of Divinity in 2022, which she undertook in hopes of becoming a chaplain in a non-hospital setting such as a prison or behavioral health facility. During and since her education, she has gained experience as an interfaith chaplain, meeting people of all sorts to talk about whatever they want, regardless of faith tradition or lack thereof. It’s rewarding for her to learn from others and their spiritual beliefs and practices, while being a listening ear and companion on their journey. In her personal spirituality, she characterizes herself as “some sort of hybrid between progressive Christianity and the more traditional faith (i.e., “evangelical” before that became a problematic name on the socio-political scene), semi-Charismatic, and developing Contemplative.” She trusts that all this put together means she can relate to everyone in our congregation, be a bridge between people of different perspectives, and offer care and support to most anyone in our community.