Pastor

Rev. Dr . Linda D. Even was born and raised in Levittown, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia .  She completed undergraduate and MBA degrees at Pennsylvania State University. While in graduate school, Rev. Even was drawn to attend church for the first time and was later baptized in the State College Presbyterian Church. While still attending Penn State , she was ordained as a deacon and later an elder, focusing on work with Older Adult Ministries and also served on the Worship and Music Committee.  

With the encouragement of members and clergy, she began to consider a call to Ministry of Word and Sacrament. In 1990, she moved to Chicago to attend McCormick Theological Seminary.  Upon ordination, she served a church in Bay City, MI and then as Associate Pastor for Congregational Nurture and Pastoral Care in Cincinnati OH .  She earned a Doctor of Ministry in Pastoral Theology from Drew University in Madison, NJ.  

She is an eclectic reader, as well as a novice perennial and vegetable gardener.  She enjoys movies, theater and music, like to swim, bicycle and walk, do needlework, cook and bake, entertain and just be with friends.

United Church welcomed Tom Parmenter as its new Director of Youth Ministries in September of 2006. Tom is a graduate of Central College in Pella, Iowa, where he majored in Religion and minored in Psychology on a pre-ministerial scholarship. He earned an MA in counseling at Ball State University in Muncie , Indiana, and he will begin work this fall toward a Master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at Syracuse University where his wife is also pursuing a PhD in Religion.

As our Director of Youth Ministries, Tom sees his role “as helping to create an inclusive environment which embodies compassionate acceptance.” He is also interested in drama, music, and sports.

Administrative Assistant

Lisa Gargano joined the United Church staff in June of 2005. She has lived the last 20 years in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, but recently returned to Central New York leaving a wonderful church family and established career to be closer to her family, friends, and fiance. Outside of work and church, Lisa has a number of pastimes. She enjoys quilting, gardening, playing the piano, reading and spending time with her dog Dante, an English Setter. She loves children and in New Hampshire provided safe, loving homes to foster children on a temporary basis as well as respite to other foster families.