Our Staff

Senior Minister

Rev. Kyle Sears

Kyle Sears is the pastor of La Canada Congregational Church. A native of Texas, Kyle has lived in the Los Angeles area since 2013. He received his Masters of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary. Prior to pastoring in La Cañada, Kyle planted churches in Texas. He has been the pastor at LCCC since September 2016.

Outreach Coordinator

Rev. Marlene Pomeroy

Marlene grew up in Kansas and then La Canada, attending the old LC Elementary School for a year  while they built the new one! She earned her B.A and M.Div at Duke University/Divinity School and has served churches in Charlottesville, suburban Boston and most recently Pasadena, where she served for 27 years as a Co-Pastor with her husband Jake. She has two grown kids who live on the west coast and is a proud dog-mom and yoga teacher. She’s excited to join the church as a part-time UCC clergy member to enhance the program and outreach ministry of this community.

Bass Section Leader

Matthew Ian Welch

Matthew Ian Welch is a recurring lead baritone for LA Opera Connects and Pacific Opera Project (POP). Recent performances include: San Diego Comic-Con, improvising directly with Johnny Depp to promote Bambino: The Opera for Babies, and Lord James George Hardcash in Fra Diavolo. Matthew also appears at children’s birthday parties and corporate events as Spider-Man, Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Pirate, the Grinch, a Dickensian Caroler, among other archetypes. When Matthew is not performing, he works as a freelance photographer, videographer, and audio engineer, specializing in: on-location audio recording for classical music, cinematography, and portrait photography. He is an avid cook of curries and a tinkerer with condenser microphones, optical devices, and electronic circuits.

Director of Worship Arts

Christina Whitten Thomas

Christina Whitten Thomas was appointed Director of Worship Arts at Lighted Window Congregational Church in May 2021. Previously, she held the position of alto soloist and section leader since 2008. As director, Christina helped launch the Novae Children’s Choir as well as the biannual Evensongs performed by the Lighted Window Festival Choir. An award-winning composer, Christina has received commissions for new choral works from both professional and community choirs. A native New Englander, Christina studied music at Middlebury College in Vermont. A desire to study composition at USC brought her across the country to pursue a Master’s degree. In between music events, she can be found reading, pursuing the ultimate chocolate chip cookie recipe, or attempting to cultivate roses.

Soprano Section Leader

Brooke Iva Lohman

Hailed as “witty, adorable, and one to watch”, soprano Brooke Iva Lohman is an adept performer of coloratura repertoire. She received a MM from CSU, Northridge, and a BMus from California Baptist University. She was the 2020 NATSAA winner for the Western Region and received the Irvin Bushman Award.  

Role highlights: Monica (The Medium), Snow Maiden (Snegúrochka), Adele (Die Fledermaus), Queen of the Night (Die Zauberflöte), Olympia (Les contes d’Hoffmann), Atalanta (Serse), and Madame Herz (Der Schauspieldirektor).   

Concert highlights: Faure’s Requiem, Haydn’s Nelson Mass, Bach’s Ein feste Burg, Rutter’s Requiem, and Handel’s Messiah.  

For more info, please visit www.BrookeIvaLohman.com.  

Alto Section Leader

Theresa Patten-Koeckert

A native of Los Angeles, Theresa Patten-Koeckert has sung professionally as a soloist in Germany, Italy, and the Czech Republic. She has performed in over 20 opera productions as a member of the Bavarian State Opera chorus in Munich. Her choral experience includes the Backakademie's Gaechinger Kantorei (Stuttgart), the Bavarian Radio Choir (Munich), the Oregon Bach Festival (Eugene), and the Los Angeles Master Chorale. She currently divides her time as an animation production manager and professional singing engagements.

Organist/Pianist

Mallory Haney Loo

Mallory Haney Loo began serving as a church organist in Chile at age twelve. She later received a scholarship to the Conservatorio de Música de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, studying piano and music theory. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Organ Performance from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University and completed her Master of Music at the USC Thornton School of Music. Mallory has performed internationally in Chile, Argentina, and Germany, including a concert celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Steinmeyer-Orgel at Mariannhill Klosterkirche in Würzburg. She has also performed at the Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta and Christ Church Episcopal, featured on the Paul S. Hesselink Concert Series. In Los Angeles, she performed a commissioned transcription of alternative rock for pipe organ before an audience of 5,000 at Ghouls Day Out.

Tenor Section Leader

Matthew Thomas

Matthew Thomas, tenor, earned his Ph.D. in Musicology from the University of Southern California and teaches music history at California State University, Fullerton. As a member of the Los Angeles Master Chorale, he has performed under the direction of Grant Gershon, Jenny Wong, Gustavo Dudamel, Michael Tilson Thomas, András Schiff, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Zubin Mehta at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. His film score credits include John Williams’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and James Newton Howard’s Jungle Cruise. His recording credits include: Górecki’s Miserere, Eric Whitacre’s The Sacred Veil, Anne Akiko Meyers’s Beloved, and the L.A. Philharmonic’s Grammy-winning albums Charles Ives: Complete Symphonies and Ortiz: Yanga. Musical theater credits include the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz, the Mayor of Whoville in Seussical, and a member of the barbershop quartet in The Music Man.