Our Leadership
Our Leadership
Seattle First Baptist has a long tradition of empowering and inviting leadership of diverse backgrounds. In our community, we are served by a Pastoral Leadership team, dedicated staff members, and a robust lay leadership who serve both on our Diaconate (like a board) and in the various committees and task forces who manage the various areas of ministry in our community.
Clergy
Rev. Dr. Patricia L. Hunter
Pastor of Education & Outreach
Rev. Dr. Patricia L. Hunter served as an interim member of the pastoral team at Seattle First Baptist from July 2015 through August 2016. In September 2016 she took on a new role as our Theologian in Residence, following William Malcomson who retired from the post earlier in 2016. In 2019, after a successful Forward in Faith campaign, she agreed to serve as our Pastor of Education & Outreach.
Dr. Patricia L. Hunter is the Financial Planning Services Manager for the Ministers and Missionaries Benefit Board (MMBB) of the American Baptist Churches. She works with pastors and church employees in the areas of investments, retirement benefits, taxes, and financial and estate planning. Dr. Hunter is also a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, practitioner. She is passionate about helping people achieve their personal and financial goals, through proper planning.
Dr. Hunter received her Doctor of Ministry degree from Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Missouri. Her area of specialization was Womanist Theology and Evangelism. Dr. Hunter received her Master of Divinity degree from Colgate Rochester, Crozer, Divinity School in Rochester, New York and her Bachelor of Arts degree from Seattle University in Business Administration.
Dr. Hunter serves as an associate in ministry at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Seattle where she serves in the music ministry, by leading worship and preaching. She was also a Faith & Values columnist for the Seattle Times newspaper for over ten years.
Dr. Hunter is a Seattle native and is married to The Rev. Dr. Renee McCoy. Together they enjoy gardening, baseball, and playing with their dog Baxter.
Rev. Dr. Patricia L. Hunter
Pastor of Education & Outreach
Rev. Dr. Patricia L. Hunter served as an interim member of the pastoral team at Seattle First Baptist from July 2015 through August 2016. In September 2016 she took on a new role as our Theologian in Residence, following William Malcomson who retired from the post earlier in 2016. In 2019, after a successful Forward in Faith campaign, she agreed to serve as our Pastor of Education & Outreach.
Dr. Patricia L. Hunter is the Financial Planning Services Manager for the Ministers and Missionaries Benefit Board (MMBB) of the American Baptist Churches. She works with pastors and church employees in the areas of investments, retirement benefits, taxes, and financial and estate planning. Dr. Hunter is also a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, practitioner. She is passionate about helping people achieve their personal and financial goals, through proper planning.
Dr. Hunter received her Doctor of Ministry degree from Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Missouri. Her area of specialization was Womanist Theology and Evangelism. Dr. Hunter received her Master of Divinity degree from Colgate Rochester, Crozer, Divinity School in Rochester, New York and her Bachelor of Arts degree from Seattle University in Business Administration.
Dr. Hunter serves as an associate in ministry at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Seattle where she serves in the music ministry, by leading worship and preaching. She was also a Faith & Values columnist for the Seattle Times newspaper for over ten years.
Dr. Hunter is a Seattle native and is married to The Rev. Dr. Renee McCoy. Together they enjoy gardening, baseball, and playing with their dog Baxter.
Rev. Anita Peebles
Pastor for Next Gen Ministries
Rev. Anita Peebles (she/her/hers) began her ministry with Seattle First Baptist in July 2018. She graduated with a Masters of Divinity at Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, Tenn. in May of 2018 with the project “Suffer the Little Children to Come Unto Me: Non-Traumatizing Alternatives to Atonement Theology for Early Christian Education.” She was ordained April 15, 2018 by Glendale Baptist Church, an Alliance of Baptists affiliated congregation.
Anita was born and raised in Michigan, where her family still lives. She completed her undergraduate education in Religion and Environmental Studies at Oberlin College in northeast Ohio with a final project entitled “Ecotheology and the Parables of Jesus: Creative Re-readings of Parables In Light of the Environmental Crisis.”
Anita is a contributor to Growing in God’s Love: A Storybook Bible (John Knox 2018), Deep Blue Sunday School curriculum (UMC), and Journeys (ABC Judson Press). Anita serves on the board of directors for the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America~Bautistas por la Paz. For sabbath time, Anita finds restoration in gardening, writing, kayaking and singing.
Phone: 206.325.6051 x106 | Email:
#PastorAnitaPeebles
Rev. Anita Peebles
Pastor for Next Gen Ministries
Rev. Anita Peebles (she/her/hers) began her ministry with Seattle First Baptist in July 2018. She graduated with a Masters of Divinity at Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, Tenn. in May of 2018 with the project “Suffer the Little Children to Come Unto Me: Non-Traumatizing Alternatives to Atonement Theology for Early Christian Education.” She was ordained April 15, 2018 by Glendale Baptist Church, an Alliance of Baptists affiliated congregation.
Anita was born and raised in Michigan, where her family still lives. She completed her undergraduate education in Religion and Environmental Studies at Oberlin College in northeast Ohio with a final project entitled “Ecotheology and the Parables of Jesus: Creative Re-readings of Parables In Light of the Environmental Crisis.”
Anita is a contributor to Growing in God’s Love: A Storybook Bible (John Knox 2018), Deep Blue Sunday School curriculum (UMC), and Journeys (ABC Judson Press). Anita serves on the board of directors for the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America~Bautistas por la Paz. For sabbath time, Anita finds restoration in gardening, writing, kayaking and singing.
Phone: 206.325.6051 x106 | Email:
#PastorAnitaPeebles
Rev. Mario-Seth Morales
Interim Pastor
Pastor Mario Seth Morales was born and raised in Guatemala and immigrated to the United States to join his parents when he was 21. Consequently, he has first-hand experience and interest in the poor and immigrants. Pastor Mario also appreciates the educational and occupational opportunities the United States has afforded him. He holds a BS in Philosophy and Religion from the University of La Verne, a Master of Arts and Theology from Fuller Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry from Carey Theological College in Vancouver, Canada.
These educational experiences prepared him to minister among South Central LA’s Hispanic and African American communities. Rev. Morales has also served as Associate Director of the Parent’s Institute in Orange County, helping train teachers and immigrant parents to forge a better education for their children. He was Pastor of the JY Baptist Church from 1989 to 1999. At the turn of the century, he responded to the call to serve as a missionary in Latin America with ABC-USA International Ministries. During his time as a missionary, he taught seminary courses on death and bereavement, crisis intervention and the spirituality of creativity.
Since his return to the USA in 2015, he spent much of his career as Hospice Chaplain and, for several years, held an Adjunct Professor position in the Department of Religion and Philosophy at La Verne University in the ABTC program in Pasadena. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Rev. Morales served as interim Pastor at Cambridge Drive Community Church in Goleta, one of the Evergreen Association churches. He presently serves as a community organizer at Making Housing and Community Happen with the North Fair Oaks Initiative in Pasadena. Rev. Morales is a strong advocate for people living in poverty and experiencing homelessness, is a thoughtful scholar and a compassionate listener and leader.
Rev. Mario-Seth Morales
Interim Pastor
Pastor Mario Seth Morales was born and raised in Guatemala and immigrated to the United States to join his parents when he was 21. Consequently, he has first-hand experience and interest in the poor and immigrants. Pastor Mario also appreciates the educational and occupational opportunities the United States has afforded him. He holds a BS in Philosophy and Religion from the University of La Verne, a Master of Arts and Theology from Fuller Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry from Carey Theological College in Vancouver, Canada.
These educational experiences prepared him to minister among South Central LA’s Hispanic and African American communities. Rev. Morales has also served as Associate Director of the Parent’s Institute in Orange County, helping train teachers and immigrant parents to forge a better education for their children. He was Pastor of the JY Baptist Church from 1989 to 1999. At the turn of the century, he responded to the call to serve as a missionary in Latin America with ABC-USA International Ministries. During his time as a missionary, he taught seminary courses on death and bereavement, crisis intervention and the spirituality of creativity.
Since his return to the USA in 2015, he spent much of his career as Hospice Chaplain and, for several years, held an Adjunct Professor position in the Department of Religion and Philosophy at La Verne University in the ABTC program in Pasadena. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Rev. Morales served as interim Pastor at Cambridge Drive Community Church in Goleta, one of the Evergreen Association churches. He presently serves as a community organizer at Making Housing and Community Happen with the North Fair Oaks Initiative in Pasadena. Rev. Morales is a strong advocate for people living in poverty and experiencing homelessness, is a thoughtful scholar and a compassionate listener and leader.
Phone: 206.325.6051 x104 | Email:
Staff
BEN LUEDCKE
Minister of Music
Ben Luedcke is the choir director at Seattle First Baptist Church in downtown Seattle and was recently promoted as the new Minister of Music. In addition to directing the choir, Ben coordinates special music and congregational singing, as well as organizes outsides collaborations and musical outreach. He is currently finishing his Doctorate of Musical Arts at University of Washington, studying with Dr. Geoffrey Boers and Dr. Giselle Wyers, and he has held teaching positions in the choral, musicology, and English departments. Ben was recently appointed as the new Artistic Director of the Bellevue Chamber Chorus.
Before moving to Washington, Ben was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Monmouth College and also served as faculty at Grinnell College. Ben is known in Madison, Wisconsin for several of his startup organizations: he was the co-founder and director of Voces Aestatis, a Wisconsin-based professional choir that specialized in the a cappella repertoire of the sixteenth century. Likewise, Ben was the founder and artistic director of Madison Summer Choir, a community chorus that performed large orchestral works. Ben completed his Masters of Arts in choral conducting at the University of Iowa where he studied with Dr. Timothy Stalter, and he holds a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He lives in Seattle with his wife, Vanessa, and their two dogs, Luthor and Oona.
DARREN HOCHSTEDLER
Church Administrator
Darren Hochstedler joined the staff of Seattle First Baptist as our Church Administrator in January 2016.
Darren has extensive experience in church administration, most recently serving as administrator at Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church for nearly 10 years. He also brings his knowledge from a previous career in theater management and lighting and set design.
Phone: 206.325.6051 x102 | Email:
JUDY SCOTT
Office Manager
Judy resides in Seattle, Washington where she has lived all her life. Although born in Chicago, Illinois, Seattle is her home. She is a long-time member of Mt. Calvary Christian Center, where she has served faithfully for over 25 years.
Judy comes to SFBC with many wonderful gifts: administration, organization, and the gift of loving people. Every day she endeavors to provide a warm and inviting climate for everyone visiting the church office & its employees. She does this by having a good attitude and serving in the Spirit of Excellence.
Judy has been with SFBC for 12+ years. She enjoys her work and loves the SFBC congregation.
CHERRY JOHNSON
Retreats Coordinator
Cherry Johnson serves in the capacity of a Companis volunteer as SFBC Retreats Coordinator. In her past lives pre-retirement, she was a junior high English and Drama teacher, managed Cascade Meadows Baptist Camp as part of the Windover (intentional) Community, worked at Suzzallo Library at the UW, was a community organizer and educator for the LGBTQIA+ and HIV/AIDS communities, served on the Board of the Church Council, counseled women in housing transition through Jubilee Women’s Center and served as social work clinical supervisor at Bailey-Boushay House.
She has held numerous roles at SFBC and is passionate about providing opportunities for spiritual growth, education, relationship-building, community-nurturing, and FUN through all kinds of retreats.
CHRISTINA SUNSTONE
Communications & Digital Services
Christina joined the staff at Seattle First Baptist in 2021, after serving for more than a decade at Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church. In her work here she focuses on the website, The Spire monthly newsletter, email communications, and social media. She is a member at St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in Ballard. She and her sweet old black lab Hugo live in Magnolia.
JESSICA STOTT
Nursery Caregiver
Jessica joined the SFBC team in June 2022 as the main coordinator in our nursery. Jessica has a BA in Early Childhood Development from Texas A&M and recently graduated from Seattle University with an MA in Nonprofit Leadership. Jessica is assisted by a rotating team of Nursery Assistants.
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