Rev. Katie Aikins, Pastor (she/her)
The Rev. Katie Aikins joyfully serves the community of Tabernacle United Church as Pastor, since 2013.
Katie spent her formative years growing up in Reykjavik, Iceland, as a pastor’s kid and missionary kid. Iceland remains Katie’s home, and she is always eager to return there to reconnect with friends and the land.
Katie completed her B.A. in Theology at Colorado Christian University (1998). After one semester of theological studies at Háskóli Íslands (The University of Iceland), she moved to Montgomery County, PA where she cleaned houses and worked as a pipe threader and truck driver before moving south to Atlanta, GA to begin seminary studies. Katie received her Master’s of Divinity at Candler School of Theology at Emory University (2007). Also at Candler, she met her future wife, Heather Bargeron.
Katie served two churches in Atlanta prior to her call to Tab. She was Co-Pastor at Mercy Community Church, a grassroots ecumenical church serving a congregation of mostly unhoused people. She was also Associate Pastor at Druid Hills United Methodist Church where she created opportunities for spiritual nurture and social justice with young adults. Katie was ordained at Mercy Community Church in 2009 and received Privilege of Call in the United Church of Christ in 2011.
Katie strives to be faithful to the call of Jesus Christ and sees the church as not as an institution but as a community of people seeking to embody the radical love and justice of God on earth. Katie advocates for the church to live out its call to truly be a sanctuary, a place of refuge, especially for those most excluded or harmed by our society.
Katie enjoys hip-hop music, baking, walking in nature, playing drums and soccer, and spending quality time with her child Oscar and wife Heather.
You can be in touch with Katie through email: tabunitedpastor@gmail.com
Her office hours are Tuesday and Thursday by appointment.
Pax Ressler, Minister of Music (they/she)
Pax is a Philadelphia-based performer, composer and theatre artist who grew up in the Mennonite Church. A love of hymns and singing in church inspired Pax to pursue a career in music. They studied music education and theatre at Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana. In addition to directing music at TAB, Pax works as a performer, composer, designer and music director for Philadelphia theatre companies. She started writing music at the age of 10 and has written commissioned instrumental and choral works for ensembles in Philadelphia and across the country. Pax is a queer non-binary transfemme; they are committed to queer and transgender justice, as well as operating in solidarity with other marginalized communities. She sees music as a powerful spiritual practice to sing our values into action and to build strong community connections.
Caroline Orejuela, Office Manager (she/they)
Caroline (she/they) is incredibly excited to be working with the Tabernacle community. She is originally from Virginia and is happy to have settled in Philadelphia for her post-grad journey. Growing up in the Episopal/Anglican Church, she has spent her whole life volunteering and working for various church communities, focusing on children’s ministry and teaching artistic summer camps. In addition to her position at TAB, Caroline is also a voice actor and podcast producer. Through her work, Caroline is dedicated to building bridges of understanding and challenging the status quo. In her free time, she loves to read, watch cartoons, and sew.
Prosie Palad, Nursery Caregiver (she/her)
Prosie is a former 7th grade Social Studies & Science teacher and now runs an after-school program for students interested in technology. Prosie grew up in central New Jersey and also lived in Eastern North Carolina. During her free-time, Prosie loves to hang out with her dog and is also trying to teach herself how to sew. She enjoys finding new places to eat (Quality Taste on Lancaster is her fave!) and trying to learn new languages.