Karen Karpow - Pastor
I am a native Hoosier, but I’ve been living in Connecticut for more than 25 years, long enough for New England to feel like home. After graduation from Butler University, where I majored in German and French, I worked for ten years in marketing and management for IBM in Chicago, Raleigh, and New York. When my second child was born, I left IBM and embarked on an extended time of caring for family, volunteering in my community, and part-time work in my local church, all the while explaining to God why I could not possibly go to seminary. In 2000 I finally gave in and started my Master of Divinity degree at Yale Divinity School. I worked at Jesse Lee Memorial UMC in Ridgefield, CT, from September 2002 through June 2007, first as Seminarian in Residence and then as Associate Pastor. In July 2007 I was appointed as pastor to the Danbury United Methodist Church. I am married to Serge Karpow, pastor’s spouse extraordinaire, and we have four children: two college graduates, a junior at Ithaca College, and a freshman at Danbury High School. In my free time, I enjoy reading, writing, hiking, sailing, music, and cooking for family and friends.
Rebecca Blomgren - Music Director
Rebecca was trained as an Opera singer by Juergen Keller, Boston Opera Company; Ingalill Lind, Goteborg Opera Sweden; and Doris Popper, New York City Opera. She has sung as soprano soloist for Dom Kyrkan in Goteberg, Sweden and Meadowlands Festival Chorus of New Jersey. She was a singer for plays presented by Chelmsford Players, Chelmsford, Massachusetts. Rebecca attended Cleveland Institute of Music; Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Oberlin, Ohio and Kent State University, Kent Ohio. She received Organ Pedagogy from her mother, Margaret Bignall Sprague of EastmanSchool of Music.
She is married to Gunnar and has two sons and three grand children. For hobbies she does stained-glass, clay sculpting, gardening, and old-fashioned tent camping.
Mark Baxter - Director, Communications
Mark serves as Director, Communications for the church, responsible for our outreach within the area community, our online presence and social media, and relations with local media, while assisting Pastor Karen in the operation of the church office and scheduling. With 15+ years experience in communications, Mark is presently a partner at the marketing agency Brandloft in Norwalk, helping clients build their brands, reach audiences in innovative ways, and drive their revenue. Previously, he ran country marketing communications for a multinational based in Stamford.
You’ll find Mark at the office almost every day; stop in for coffee. He enjoys reading, writing, the outdoors, and time with his three children.