Our Team

Rev. Alison Andrea Young

Pastor

Born on a ship in the harbor of Tsingtao, China, Alison has never had a conventional life or career. After graduating cum laude from Oberlin College (OH) in 1970, she worked in several college administrative offices and taught Art. She graduated with a M.Div. with Honors from Andover Newton Theological School (Boston) in 1993 and was ordained in Portland, Maine on October 10th of that year. Alison has served churches in Minnesota, South Dakota, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. She is the mother of two adopted sons, two stepsons and a stepdaughter and a foster son. She also has nine grandchildren. She and her husband, Denis, currently reside in the parsonage in Onekama.

Dan Wilson

Music Director

Carolyn Brooks

Church Pianist

Carolyn Brooks is a native Michigander, born in Muskegon to a musical family with 4 children. She graduated from WMU with a Master’s Degree in Library Science and was a Children’s Librarian for 17 years in the Mt. Pleasant and Muskegon areas. After the births of her 2 children, she switched careers and became the secretary of the Crystal Congregational Church for 18 years while also homeschooling her children. Upon the retirement of the church pianist, she joined the organist in providing the music for the church as well as singing in the choir. When her husband, Steve retired 11 years ago, they moved up to Onekama to a home they had been building since 1979. They have been members of this church for about 30 years and Carolyn has been playing the piano in churches for 26 years.

Kathy Beene Wilson

Choir Accompanist

Kathy and her husband Dan have lived in Onekama since 2006. She started playing the piano when she was 12 and has been playing off and on ever since. She also started playing clarinet at the age of 12. After moving to Michigan, she quickly took up accompanying students from Onekama, Manistee and Frankfort at solo and ensemble festivals, along with teaching some private clarinet lessons. She and her choir director husband Dan have two children, both girls, and five grandchildren, ages 15 down to 4. They recently celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary. She pretty much hibernates in the winter but loves being outside in the summer and fall.

Vickee Sawhill

Handbell Choir Director

Vickee Sawhill and her husband Bill have been residents of the Manistee/Onekama area since 1976. They met in high school and have been dating ever since. They were
fortunate enough to raise their children Andrew, Patrick and Melissa in the area.

Vickee worked 47 ½ years as a nurse with 19 of those years as a Family Nurse Practitioner in Manistee. She owned a practice in Manistee known as Manistee Family Health Care. She closed her practice in 2016 and retired officially in 2018. She thanks God for the opportunity to be a patient care person and advocate.

Vickee has always loved music. She took piano lessons for several years and played clarinet for 6 years in her school’s band. After she joined Onekama UCC, she was excited to join the church bell choir. When the director became ill, Vickee was approached to fill this position. This required a step out in faith, because Vickee had never been taught any skills in this area. However, she loves directing such a group of dedicated hardworking musicians along with chairing the Music Ministry to choose hymns for services and to plan musical events and special music. Within the last year, she has also joined the choir.

Since receiving the Lord as her Savior at age 12, Vickee has sought ways to help spread the wonderful news of the free gift of everlasting life. She believes music spreads that news so well in ways that people enjoy and find life changing.

Joy Lind

Treasurer and Secretary

Joy Lind moved with her family from Rochester, MI to Chief Lake in Kaleva when she was two years old. She graduated from Onekama High School in 1980. By then, she had already started her career as a hairdresser in 1979 working at Harolds Hair Loft in Manistee, where she continued to work for ten years.

Joy was raised in the Lutheran church but found her home as a member at the First Congregational UCC in Onekama which she joined in 1995. In 1989 she opened her own very successful salon “Hair by Joy” at her home on Chief Lake. Joy was a charter member of the church Bell Choir when it started in 1997. She became church treasurer in 2009 after being trained for a year with Ed Jans.

Joy has a son Derek Etheridge who lives in the UP in the small town of Wakefield. Joy and Tom Lind were married here at the church in 2010.Through this marriage she gained a stepson Travis, who currently lives in Grand Rapids Michigan with his wife Misty.

Anyone who knows Joy, will tell you that she is in love with fly fishing. She joined a group called “Flygirls of Michigan” in 2013. By 2015 she was on the Board of this non-profit as the fundraising chairperson. She currently plans five annual fishing events for the organization. Her love of fly fishing has taken her to seven other states to fish with some amazing ladies. In 2023 she added the church secretary position to her list of jobs. When you go to Joy’s hair salon, you cannot help but be greeted by her golden retriever, Jasmine who is 4 years old and is Mommy’s girl! Jasmine helps keep Joy fit through long daily walks which add to her routine of Stretch & Balance exercise classes twice a week at the church.

Carol Rackow

Sexton

Carol grew up in Onekama in a family of 2 sisters and 3 brothers. She remembers attending Vacation Bible School and church at the Church of the Brethren in Onekama. She has sought out a relationship with God in many different denominations- Baptist youth group, Lutheran Bible Study, and Methodist Sunday service. It was more about being close to God rather than a certain denomination.

Carol found the church of her heart at the First Congregational UCC of Onekama where she attended with her future husband John Rackow and his mom Linda. She met Linda when she began working at Head Start and she actually knew John as a classmate when she grew up in Onekama. She later got a teaching job at Kaleva Norman Dickson Schools where she taught for 31 years and retired in 2023. In 1998, Carol and John welcomed their only daughter Olivia into their family. Olivia, now 27 graduated from the Manistee ISD last year.

Carol’s involvement at this church has been comprehensive and multi-faceted. She has represented our congregation at United Northern Association and Michigan Conference meetings throughout the years. She heads the Worship Ministry team and performs altar duties, especially in the winter months. She coordinates coffee hour after worship and other potluck events. In addition, Carol keeps the building clean and organized.

Joining this church has meant so much to her she couldn’t imagine her life without it. Through the years, faces have changed but the feeling in this church has remained. She feels it’s a God thing.