Meet Our Leaders
The Rev. Heather Wenrick
Rector
Heather is a deeply thoughtful pastor, community organizer and preacher. She brings a passionate energy that breathes new life into centuries old stories and church practices, demonstrating the gifts of gathering and connecting people, vision, strategic and relational leadership and sincere faith.
Growing up in Oregon, she was baptized, confirmed and active in diocesan leadership in the Episcopal Church. Graduate of Gonzaga University, Heather’s first career was as a Special Education teacher. She taught in both Portland and Vermont Public School Districts. When she married, Mike, they joined the Peace Corps in Honduras. International work and participation in the Episcopal Church of Honduras confirmed her call to priesthood. Her formal discernment was at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral while she served as the Director of Youth Ministries at Trinity and then seminary at Yale Divinity School. Ordained in 2012, Heather has served three parishes and been a school chaplain. In 2019, Heather was called to serve Ascension and here she shares her passions of her being a mother of two enthusiastic girls, running, reading, friendship and travel with the congregation.
Contact: heather@ascensionseattle.org or 206-283-3967
Kim Silver
Parish Administrator
Kim has served as the parish administrator since 2023. She keeps the parish running through her work on liturgy support, communication throughout the parish and within the community, maintaining the church calendar, assisting Ministry leads in their programming, and management of the building and grounds. Kim is humbled by—and grateful to be part of—a parish deeply committed to living justly, caring for its neighbors, and being good stewards in the community of Magnolia. She lives with her husband, three boys, often spending time watching their local sports or music events. She also loves to bike, garden, spend time in the mountains, and travel when she gets the chance.
Contact: office@ascensionseattle.org or 206-283-3967
David Boeckh
Music Director
David Boeckh joined the staff of Ascension in 2024. Originally from Seattle, David started playing the organ as a teenager when his family was living in Berlin, Germany. David continued his organ studies with Mel Butler at St. Mark’s Cathedral and went on to attend the University of Washington, Oberlin Conservatory, and Indiana University. A passionate church musician, David has served Episcopal congregations throughout the Pacific Northwest and the Midwest, and before coming to Ascension, David was the Associate Director of Music at St. James Cathedral in Chicago. David has a deep love for the Anglican choral tradition, especially the musical formation of children and the intersection between music and faith, and he is continually inspired by all the ways that beauty in worship can bring people closer to God.
David lives in West Seattle with his husband Nick, and when he is not playing the organ, he enjoys spending time with family, traveling, and cooking recipes from around the world.
Contact: music@ascensionseattle.org
Megan Bartsch
Sunday School Teacher
Megan is a trained preschool and elementary school teacher. After years managing a daycare center, Megan currently holds two positions: Ascension’s Sunday School Teacher and para educator with Shoreline School District. A unique aspect of Megan’s ministry is that Church of the Ascension is her childhood parish. Megan was baptized, confirmed and married here at Ascension. Her husband, Jonathan, and Megan are now raising their two children (and their dog) at Ascension. Megan brings a depth of faith and teaching skills to Sunday School each Sunday.
Contact: childrens@ascensionseattle.org
Marie Hebert
Nursery coordinator
Marie is a beloved parishioner, caregiving for several families with children, before serving on staff as the Nursery Caregiver. Marie was hired at Ascension as the Nursery caregiver in 2019. Her calm and creative engagement with our youngest members creates a safe environment for care while parents are in worship. Marie is certified through our diocesan Safeguarding God’s Children program, has decades of caregiving experience, and has the excellent gift of welcoming all children into the Nursery classroom.
Contact: office@ascensionseattle.org
Lauren Schulz
Ascension Bookkeeper
Lauren joined the staff of Ascension in the spring of 2022 and is very happy to be here. She also serves as the bookkeeper for several other local churches of different denominations and loves bringing her finance skills to use for these communities.
Contact: finance@ascensionseattle.org
The Rev. William MacDonald "Mac" Murray
Priest Associate
Following a 26 year career with General Dynamics Fr. Mac responded to the call to Holy Orders in 1999. After graduating from the Virginia Theological Seminary Alexandria VA he served as Associate Priest at Grace Church in The Plains VA. In 2006 he was called as Rector of Trinity Church in Milford MA, where he served for 13 years before retiring at the end of 2019.
He and his life partner Merline settled in Magnolia at the end of 2020 close to children and grandchildren.
Soon after arriving in Magnolia Fr. Mac met with Mtr. Heather to see where he might offer support and it is delighted to be part of the Ascension community.
Anna Jeglinski
Anna was first hired at Ascension in 2004 in the nursery, where she provided care for our youngest members until 2019. She was asked to come back in 2023, once again to help out in the nursery. Anna is certified through our diocesan Safeguarding God’s Children program. She has over 35 years of child care experience, and she provides a fun and safe environment for children.
Our Vestry is an elected nine-person governing board whose primary responsibilities are to help shape and communicate the congregation’s mission, to support that mission through leadership and service, to select the rector, to ensure sound organization and planning, and to oversee the church’s financial and material resources. Vestry members serve for three-year terms.
Debbie Crouch
Senior Warden of Vestry
Debbie Crouch and husband Jim began attending Ascension in 1986 when they realized they wanted to raise their infant daughter, Megan, in a smaller church than St. Mark’s Cathedral. Ascension has been the family’s spiritual home ever since, and all, including son Devon, have served in a variety of ministry areas over the past three and a half decades. Debbie currently serves on the Vesty as the Senior Warden, and you’ll often see her Sunday mornings in the choir and on the acolyte team.
Todd Henderson
Junior Warden of Vestry
Todd joined Ascension when he married Stephanie in 1999. Daughter Allison was baptized at Ascension in 2004, and daughter Ella was baptized in 2009. Todd grew up in the high desert of Southern California and attended Fresno State graduating with a degree in History, or his Pre-Unemployment degree. After college Todd moved to Seattle in 1993 and spent 10 years in the industrial construction field. Currently Todd co-manages a commercial real estate appraisal firm that covers Washington, Oregon and Idaho.
This will be Todd’s second Vestry nomination, having served from 2008 through 2010 and was the primary manager of the Deepening Faith project that renovated the DeWitt classroom space, Mclauchlan Hall, kitchen, bathrooms and office wing. When not saving the world one commercial appraisal at a time, Todd can be found near his family or quoting obscure some line from the Star Wars movie franchise.
Randy Hardy
Randy was the son of a career naval officer and, as such, lived in many different locations, and was exposed to many different Protestant religions, growing up. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1966, spent most of the next 10 years in the Navy on deployments to East Asia and obtaining a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Washington. He left the Navy in 1976, moved to Seattle and started a second career in the Northwest electric utility industry, including 13 years as CEO of Seattle City Light and the Bonneville Power Administration. He has been a practicing Episcopalian since his marriage to Jane in 1974 and a regular member of Ascension for the last several years. With one brief exception he and Jane have lived in Magnolia since 1988. He enjoys participating in community activities and particularly admires the variety of Ascension’s community outreach/assistance efforts as part of its Christian mission.
Byron McMullen
Byron grew up in the northwest in Lake Tapps, Washington, and was raised in the Lutheran Church. After moving up to Seattle while attending the University of Washington, he met his future wife Kimberly McMullen née Todd and began a career in software. Byron transitioned to management, where he finds greater fulfillment in helping his team flourish and develop their careers. In his free time, he plays with his son Calvin, studies Japanese, or runs several tabletop roleplaying groups after falling in love with the hobby a decade ago. He finds the theology of the lessons and church to be the most enriching to his faith, as he loves to gain an even deeper understanding of God’s message.
Jon Canning
Jonathan (“Jon”) Canning was raised in the town of Piffard, New York, where he grew up attending services at the Episcopal church in the neighboring village. He moved to Seattle in 2021 with his fiancée, Emma, and they joined Ascension’s congregation after settling in Magnolia. Jon works as an Administrative Assistant with Global Partnerships, an impact-first investment firm. He was formerly a Case Manager at Hecker & Fink LLP in New York City, where he worked on a number of public interest and pro bono cases supporting victims of racial and gender discrimination and harassment. He also spent a year teaching middle school English in Changsha, China, and worked with the Enlace Project in El Sauce, Nicaragua to develop tourism programs highlighting the specific history and culture of the region. Outside of work, he enjoys fencing and playing the steel drum with his band in Seattle.
Greg Fritzberg
Greg has attended our Church of Ascension for 3 years and currently serves as a lector and a member of the Mission to Seafarers board of directors. He retired in 2024 after 30 years in education, most of it as a university professor. Greg and his wife Marie, a happily committed Presbyterian elder, have two adult children, Emma and Ethan.
Kevin Christen
Kevin was born and raised in Texas, where he was active in the youth group and youth choir of his family’s Methodist church. He attended Rhodes College in Memphis, where he met his wife LaShon and earned a BS in Physics in 1984. After graduation, he spent four years on active duty as a Marine Corps officer, after which he began a career as a software engineer, earning an MS in Computer and Electrical Engineering from New Mexico State University while he and LaShon raised their children Emily and Jared. The family became Episcopalians when they joined St. Andrews Episcopal in Las Cruces, NM. They later moved to Dallas, where they spent 17 years raising their kids and attending two different Episcopal churches. In 2014 Kevin joined Amazon and he and LaShon moved to Seattle. Settling in Magnolia, they planned to visit a number of neighborhood churches before choosing one but never made it past the first Sunday’s visit to Ascension. A few years ago, he joined the Ascension choir, rekindling his childhood enjoyment of making music. Recently retired, he hopes to spend his newfound leisure on travel, music, reading, and fitness. His particular interests at Ascension are the health and expansion of the music and children’s programs.
Garrett Silver
Garrett grew up in Roslyn, Washington, after a series of short-term homes in California and Maryland. He had an eclectic spiritual upbringing, with parents raised in Catholic and Presbyterian traditions who separately explored a range of Eastern, Western, and nature-based practices throughout his childhood. By the end of high school, Garrett had attended evangelical conferences, Bible camps, and a variety of churches. He developed a deep appreciation for Taoism, somewhat confused by his studies in engineering, mathematics, and the disorienting revelations of modern physics. By the time Garrett graduated from Western Washington University, readings such as The Structure of Scientific evolutions convinced Garrett that he really knew nothing and had little foundation for any kind of belief.
Some decades later, Garrett found peace again in Christian faith. He was baptized at Ascension in 2021 and lives in Magnolia with his spouse, Kim, their three boys, and a furry dog. He is retired from a career in technology and leadership, including recent work as CEO of a cybersecurity company, and is now a novelist and writer of the Substack series The Flannel CEO. He is managing principal of The Flannel CEO LLC, offering consulting and executive coaching focused on purpose-driven leadership.
Amy Sprague
Though Amy was raised in the Catholic Church, she transitioned a few years ago to the Episcopal tradition and now is excited to volunteer on the Vestry of Ascension, where she values collaborative leadership and service. Her path led her to seek a welcoming, engaged congregation where she is already part of both the Garden Ministry and Ushering team.
Professionally, Amy works in communications for the University of Washington College of Engineering, where she creates content that makes complex technical work accessible and compelling. She is also the mother of two teenagers. Outside of her many responsibilities, she enjoys gardening, finding satisfaction in nurturing plants and creating spaces that invite reflection. Whether supporting her church community, engaging in her work, or tending her garden, she is motivated by connection and a belief in steady, intentional growth.
Emma Buckland Young
Treasurer
Emma Buckland Young is a Budget Analyst with Seattle Housing Authority, where she works collaboratively with departments to craft budgets and to track and analyze financial data. She currently oversees the budgets for SHA’s mixed-income properties and its community services divisions. Prior to her time with SHA, Emma worked as a researcher and data analyst for Indigenous Wellness Research Institute/Partners for Our Children. She was also Senior Case Manager at Kaplan, Hecker & Fink LLP in New York City, where she led the case team in their suit against the white supremacists and neo-Nazis who stormed Charlottesville in 2017.
Emma holds a Master of Public Administration and a Master of Social Work from the University of Washington. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Classics and Dance & Movement Studies from Emory University.
Contact: treasurer@ascensionseattle.org or 206-283-3967
For more information on the history and roles of the Vestry,
look here:
Vestry – The Episcopal Church