Rev. Elizabeth N. Oettinger

I began my pastorate here in March of 1991. I find this church to be a place of intelligent questioning and seeking faith, a community committed to creating a welcoming space for all who come within its reach. Whether you are young or older, single or partnered, gay or straight, certain of your faith or full of questions, you are welcome here. I'm always available to hear concerns, answer questions, or be helpful to you in any way we can on your faith journey.

I love the diversity and the opportunity for personal connection in parish ministry. In 25 years, I have served churches in Duluth, MN, Seattle, WA, and since 1992, Corvallis. I have learned from and loved each of these congregations.

When I'm not working, I try to stay connected with my two twenty-something daughters who are the light of my life. I like to cook for friends, visit the coast, and read any kind of novel that tells a good story.

If you come to visit First Congregational, please make yourself known to me. Or if you have a question, you can contact me at the e-mail address below. Everyone in the congregation, adults and children alike, calls me "Liz." I look forward to getting to know you.

- Elizabeth Oettinger,
Senior Minister
liz@ucc-corvallis.org

Jen Butler, Seminary Intern

It’s an honor for me to serve and learn from this congregation as the seminary intern.

I’m currently completing my final year of the Master’s Divinity program at George Fox Theological Seminary. My thesis work revolves around the theology of ecofeminism, the joint oppression of women and the earth.

The focus of the United Church of Christ on peace and justice played a significant role in drawing my husband and I to this congregation, and this community’s commitment to love, inclusivity, and embodying the call of Christ has kept us here and led me to seek ordination within the UCC.

This is my first experience with parish ministry, and I’m delighted to get to do this work here – within a community that understands faith as both mystery and truth, individual and communal, active and contemplative, and the narrative of Christianity as life giving and hopeful.

My family includes my husband, Peter Walker (also an M.Div student), and our two cats, Dot and Karl Marx. If I had free time, I’d fill it reading liberation theology, going on long, solitary walks, listening to Billie Holiday, and spending evenings in the kitchen with friends. There’s nothing I enjoy more than lingering over a strong pot of coffee and the NY Times early in the morning.

- Jen Butler
Seminary Intern
jen@ucc-corvallis.org