Ryan W. Traeger, Senior Pastor
Ryan was born and raised in Lafayette, attending Jefferson High School. He spent some time at Purdue while trying to determine what vocation would look like in his life, only to feel a call to ministry while serving as a Youth Director in Lafayette. Ryan served at Grace UMC in Lafayette for 8 years as the Youth Director/Associate Pastor, splitting his time in the final three years at Grace with Brown St UMC as their Senior Pastor. Ryan continues to serve at Brown St. UMC and is thrilled to have been able to expand his role to Congress St. UMC in July of 2022. Ryan grew up at Congress St. UMC and has a passion for getting to know people, having conversations (and sometimes a gentle debate), and never taking himself too seriously. He is the proud dad of Magnolia and Genevieve and loves to draw and play LEGOs with his girls.
Maia Gibson, Associate Pastor
Maia loves to visit with people, help out in the kitchen at Brown Street’s Family Dinner, wrestle with scripture (she’s gotten really good at the People’s Elbow), and write liturgy. When she isn’t doing those things, she’s probably hiking, hanging out with her friends or her cat, reading, doing yoga, trying to craft something, walking someone else’s dog, or taking a nap. But honestly, she’d be cooler if she could punt a football.
Sarah McCann, Administrative Assistant
Sarah serves as the part-time Administrative Assistant, where she helps keep things running smoothly and enjoys being a welcoming presence for the church family. Sarah grew up in Lafayette, and spent several years in Colorado, before making it back to the Hoosier state in 2020. She also works part-time at Brown St in the same capacity, and full-time at Purdue. Sarah spent much of her adult life away from the church, and is passionate about working to foster the kind of faith community she wishes she had growing up. Outside of work, she spends most of her time wrangling her son, Garrett, drinking too much coffee, and laughing at her own jokes.