Staff & Leaders
The pastors, staff and leadership here at Bellevue United are folks who love,
care and pray for every single person in the church. If you have any questions for one of our pastors
or any of our staff, feel free to reach out and email them or call our church office to speak with them.
You can contact the church office at office@fumcbellevue.org
Rev. Phil Antilla
Lead Pastor
Rev. Phil Antilla joined our church in the summer of 2017. Ordained in 2014, he previously served as the Lead Pastor for Ashland First UMC in Ashland, Oregon and as the Pastor for Young Adults at Church of the Resurrection in Kansas City. Phil has a B.A. in Christian Theology, a Master of Divinity Degree, and is currently working towards a Masters of Education in Counseling at Seattle University. When he's not at church, you can find him watching soccer or basketball, in a local coffee shop reading poetry, or cooking up a mess in the kitchen.
Director of catalyst Ministries
A lifelong Methodist, except for a brief teenage Presbyterian rebellion, Laurie has been on staff at Bellevue United since 2011. Before that she had a varied career as an English as a Second Language teacher and higher education administrator. When she's not at church you can find her hiking, behind a sewing machine, or travelling far and wide. Three awesome daughters and a wonderful husband, and dog Keeva, keep her busy, too!
Aya Sato
Office ADMINISTRATOR
Thriving on checklists and planning, Aya enjoys having a diversity of tasks to work on throughout her day. Her prior experience has been in project management and customer relations management. Aya holds a BFA in Graphic Design and Multimedia and has been running her own photography and design business for the past 14 years. Aya loves looking at cat photos (she is allergic to real cats), coordinating the Seattle chapter for Progressive Asian American Christians, and planning her next trip.
Melissa o'neal
Worship leader
Melissa O’Neal has been a part of the staff at Bellevue FUMC since 1987. She has a Bachelors of Music Education from Willamette University in Salem Oregon. Melissa has also worked at Morningside United Methodist, and Ravenna United Methodist. She loves teaching piano and accompanying students in the Seattle area. Her all time favorite job has been being a mom to three wonderful sons. Favorite pastimes include volunteering as a pianist at Evergreen Hospital, spending time in the garden, and reading a good book!
Abby duke eagleson
Worship Leader
Abby grew up here at Bellevue First UMC where she began leading worship at age 12. Since then she received her BFA in musical theatre and directing, performed in New York and Seattle, teaches acting/singing/piano lessons, and directs or music directs theatre. She went back to school to receive her BS and then Master's in Medical Speech Language Pathology. Abby loves to bring together all aspects of her life; using music, singing and theatre to connect God to our every day life and find ways to create communication for all. She believes in collaboration, empathy, asking questions, abstract discussions, and creative worship. Abby also loves learning, cooking for people with dietary restrictions, eating along the vegan to pescatarian spectrum, working in the wine industry, at-home yoga, laughing, and Harry Potter.
Gretchen Frey
Sunday Child care
A loving, patient, and kind presence in our nursery, Gretchen has many years of experience as a child care professional. She welcomes all with a smile, a story and a great sense of play. When not taking care of children at the church she is spending time with her own children or the preschoolers with whom she works.
Worship Team
Join us on a Sunday morning and you're likely to see the faces of our wonderful worship team! Made up of new and longtime members of the church, this group of gifted musicians and vocalists are passionate about helping to lead our church in expressions of worship. If you are interested in serving on the worship team let us know! Just email office@fumcbellevue.org
Huntley Beyer - Choir Director | Melissa O'Neal - Worship Leader
Abby Eagleson - Worship Leader | Erik Eagleson - Vocalist | Steph Holser - Vocalist
Amarrah Gates - Vocalist | Judi Richardson - Musician
Kim Miller - Musician | Judy Allen - Musician | Mark Richardson - Musician
OUR CHURCH COUNCIL
Since we believe that the church is made up of people with diverse gifts and skills, we make decisions for our future and administration through a church council. This team meets once a month to pray, dream, and help lead our church. Anyone is able to serve on this team, so if you are interested in joining, just send us an email at office@fumcbellevue.org
Click here for a list of our current council members and church leaders
(Church leaders can click here for Council Minutes and Ministry Team Monthly Overviews)
