Our Clergy and Staff are here to help you find meaning and purpose in your every day life with their strong commitment to preaching, teaching, pastoral care and offering many opportunities to serve others.

Seminarian

Dave Stuart

Long time church member and frequent guest preacher, and our current Seminarian Dave Stuart, will be graduating in the spring. Dave recently retired early from his law firm after 27 years of legal practice to enter Yale Divinity School and provide pro bono legal services to incarcerated victims of domestic and sexual violence. Dave has served on the SCC Boards of Deacons and Trustees, and the Stewardship Committee.

Seminarian

Matthew Ceurvorst

Matthew currently resides in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he is pursuing a master’s degree at Harvard Divinity School to support his calling to spiritual care and counseling. Previously, he spent five years in Maui, Hawaii, working as an end-of-life caregiver for the author and spiritual teacher Ram Dass alongside Scott Whitmore. During this time, he developed a passion for fostering community through devotional music and meditation practices. Matthew is looking toward Ordination in the UCC, and to becoming a Seminarian at SCC. He is deeply grateful to his best friend Scott, and Revs. Paul & Laura Whitmore for welcoming him to the Southport Congregational Church! 

Church Secretary

Pamela Poling

Pam and her husband Jeff with their son Will, joined SCC 25 years ago. During those years, she has served our Church Family in many capacities; first, as our beloved Church School Assistant, then as our Ministerial Assistant, and now as our Church Secretary. She has served on the Board of Christian Education, Stewardship Committee, Buildings and Grounds Committee, Preschool Committee, and the Fellowship Committee. Pam is an avid photographer and modern/traditional quilter who loves to explore textiles and designs in new ways; this comes in handy as she helps design and sew many of our Christmas Pageant costumes! She is our warm and welcoming voice on the phone and smiling face as you enter church.

Director of Christian Education 

Alix Morrow

Inspired by the values they wanted to instill in their daughters, Alix and her husband Patrick joined SCC in 2022. After joining the Board of Christian Education, she recalled thinking she’d finally found a place that made sense to her, where her confluence of perspectives and ideas was enriched through her faith. Laura’s pending retirement and her maxim “God is love,” made Alix feel called to the role of Director of Christian Education in a way she could only describe as confirmation of her faith. A novelist and screenwriter, Alix serves on the Board of Directors for the Westport Writers Workshop and as PTA President for her daughters’ school. 

Music Director

Elaine DeGrood

Elaine has served as our delightful Music Director for the past 27 years. Elaine oversees our Senior Choir and our Handbell Choir. She is a master pianist and organist, and she teaches both piano and organ, sharing her vibrant spirit and love of music. She resides in Stratford with her Boston Terrier, Cleo. She is also an avid Boston Red Sox fan.

Youth Choir Director

Phillip Bettencourt

Phillip has been part of the SCC community since 2002, and has been a church member for many years. He started working for the church as the Senior Choir’s tenor section leader in 2007 and served in that position for four years. His enthusiasm and experience as a music and theater teacher in Manhattan and Southport led to the church hiring him as the Youth Choir Director in 2011. Phillip is known for being an effective teacher who creates a supportive learning environment. His high musical standards and compassionate nature have resulted in many SCC youths earning coveted spots in a cappella groups and choruses, and roles in various theater productions. Students of Phillip have worked on Broadway, off-Broadway, in television, major motion pictures, at New York City Ballet and the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus, and many have attended theater programs in colleges across the country. Phillip is the Artistic Director of Broadway Bootcamp, a beloved summer program and area institution that has called SCC its home for over twenty years. Much like our church, Phillip is committed to community outreach. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the People’s Theater Project, a theater production, education and advocacy organization working with and for immigrant communities to make a more just and equitable world. 

Children’s Choir Director

Marnie Kruse

Marnie and her husband, Scott, joined our church in 1995 and immediately they both joined the Senior Choir. They met in Ohio at college as a soprano and tenor in the Denison Singers!  It wasn’t long before we found out that Marnie was a children’s music teacher and we recruited and hired her to be our Cherub Choir Director. She is a wonderful, gentle teacher who believes that no child is too young to learn music theory so our choir participants learn not only proper voice technique, but also how to read music and sound out notes. Using the piano, chimes and other musical instruments, the Cherub Choir always delights when they perform and reflect the love of music that Marnie instills in them. Marnie is currently in year 25 as SCC's Cherub Choir Director!  She is also a preschool special educator, having returned to school to earn her second masters at SCSU in 2023.  Marnie and Scott have three children; Ben, Ryan and Maggie, all of who are wonderful musicians in their own right! 

Facilities and Grounds Manager

Tim O’Neill

Preschool Director

Laura Amicucci

Laura has been a part of the Southport Congregational Preschool staff since 2017 and the school's Director since 2019. Laura is certified in grades K-6 and holds her Masters in Elementary Education. She also worked at KPMG in both the audit and consulting groups. Her education and business career paths have now come together wonderfully in this job where a typical day may include giving a tour, reading to a class or working on the school budget or enrollment. There are no two days that are alike! Laura readily admits that she is happiest when she is in the classroom spending time with the children. 

Laura (a lifelong resident) and her husband Joe have three grown children, Chris, Ellie and Carrie. Some of her favorite activities include tennis, travel, long walks and reading.

Bookkeeper

Maria Bogitakova

Maria joined the SCC staff in 2020 bringing with her 20 years of successful experience in accounting and finance. Maria was born in Russe and moved to the United States to study. She received her B.S in Finance and Computer Information Systems from the University of Bridgeport as well as a five-year degree in Business Management in Russia. She lives in Fairfield with her husband, Andrei, and their two children, Artem and Alina. Maria’s part-time passion is teaching mathematics to children; she enjoys having a good laugh, spending time with her friends and family, traveling, cooking, ballroom dancing and reading a good book in her spare time.