Staff
Rev. Talitha Arnold
Senior Minister
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Talitha Arnold was called as the Minister of the United Church of Santa Fe in 1987, when the church was a 7-year-old new church start of the United Church of Christ. Since then, the congregation has tripled in membership and is known in Santa Fe for its vital worship, diverse music, outreach and advocacy, environmental ministry, and an engaging approach to the Christian faith for all ages.
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A native of Arizona and a graduate of Pomona College and Yale Divinity School, Talitha was the Interim Associate University Chaplain for Yale and served congregations in Connecticut and Arizona before being called to United.
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In Santa Fe, she’s served as President of Santa Fe Habitat for Humanity and on the city’s first Children and Youth Commission, the Interfaith Leadership Alliance, and the hospital Ethics Committee. On a national level, she is a founding member National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention. In 2017, she was part of a 3-person delegation doing documentary work in the refugee
camps of Kurdistan, Iraq.
Her publications include Worship for Vital Congregations essays in the Feasting on the Word lectionary series and The Animal/Human Bond, along with articles for The Christian Century, NPR’s All Things Considered, The Santa Fe New Mexican, Albuquerque Journal, Tumbleweeds (for children and parents), and the UCC’s Still Speaking devotionals. She is currently working on A Desert Faith for a Desert Time. She has been a guest speaker for the Berkshire Choral Festival, the Santa Fe Symphony, Santa Fe’s “Renesan” lecture series, San Diego County, Muslim Mental Health Institute, Saddleback Church, and numerous UCC settings.
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Talitha’s leadership has been recognized with the United Church of Christ’s “Antoinette Brown Award” for outstanding women clergy, Yale Divinity School’s “Outstanding Recent Alum,” a Lilly Endowment clergy grant, and Santa Fe’s Human Rights Award, and “Ten Who Made a Difference” award.
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Lin Raymond
Office Administrator
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With over forty years of church work experience, Lin brings a wide range of skills to United. He enjoys working on keyboards (both computer and piano).
Having moved to Santa Fe in 2024, Michelle is pleased to call Northern New Mexico her new home and is delighted to be serving as pianist for the United Church of Santa Fe. Hailed for her “…sensitive, flexible, and tempestuous dexterity,” (Fanfare Magazine) Michelle has built a reputation for evocative and moving performances that are infused with unique energy and zeal. Prior to moving to Santa Fe, Michelle was a fixture in the Austin, Texas music scene, serving as Artistic Director of the Austin Chamber Music Center for over 18 years. There, she won awards from the Austin Critics Table for Best Chamber Music Performance, Best Instrumentalist, and Best Body of Work/Season. Currently, Michelle has the honor of being a finalist for the 2025 Texas State Musician. She performs internationally at festivals in Turkey, Slovenia, England, Scotland, Germany, Austria, France, and Canada; and nationally at the Austin Chamber Music Festival, Tanglewood, Round Top, Long Beach, the Massachusetts Museum of Modern Art, Victoria Bach Festival, and Snake River Music Festival. Additionally, Michelle served as Professor of Piano and Artist in Residence at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor where she was the founder and Artistic Director of the Hillman Visiting Artists Series. She holds a Doctorate from the University of Texas Butler School of Music, a Performer’s Certificate from the Vienna Conservatory, and a Young Artist Diploma from the Cleveland Institute of Music.
John Tiranno
Choir Director
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Tenor John Tiranno has been called “ardent and mellifluous' as well as a “clear-voiced tenor ''by The New York Times. Upcoming and notable past performances include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Omaha Symphony, Messiah with Nashville Symphony, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and the role of Tamino (The Magic Flute) with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Handel’s Messiah and Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette with Santa Fe Symphony, Aronne (Mosè in Egitto) and The Holy Fool (Boris Godunov) with Opera Southwest, Berlioz’s L’Enfance du Christ with the New Mexico Symphonic Chorus, Messiah and the role of Spoletta (Tosca) with the New Mexico Philharmonic, Mahler song cycles Das Lied von der Erde and Songs of a Wayfarer (ChatterABQ), Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 and Paul Moravec’s The Blizzard Voices (Oratorio Society of New York), Saint-Saëns Requiem (Festival Internazionale di Musica e Arte Sacra),and recitals at King Abdullah University of Science & Technology in Jedda, Saudi Arabia.
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John lived in New York City for 14 years and during that time was involved in choral music at the very highest levels, as a choir member, section leader, soloist, and conductor. He has worked with famed choral and orchestral ensembles such as the New York Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Voices of Ascension, Musica Sacra, the Oratorio Society of New York, and the American Symphony Orchestra, performing in venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, St. Peter’s Basilica and Archbasilica of St. John Lateran (Rome, Italy), as well as Trinity Wall Street, The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Temple Emanu El, St. Thomas Church, and the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola.
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In addition to being the Choir Director at United Church, John is also the Artistic Director of the Zia Singers, and he directs the choir program at the Gonzales Community School. As a member of The Young-Tiranno Duo, John often collaborates with his wife, violinist Elizabeth Young, performing their unique arrangements for violin and voice from a wide variety of repertoire. www.johntiranno.com
Elijah is a video production specialist and photographer who graduated from the University of New Mexico in 2013 with a B.A. in Cinematic Arts, focusing on screenwriting and production. His work spans a wide range of projects, including wedding films, short films, large-format corporate videos, and marketing content for small businesses.
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Elijah discovered his passion for filmmaking and storytelling through a creative broadcasting class in high school. Since then, he has written, directed, and contributed to more than 35 short films. He previously served as the principal photographer for one of New Mexico’s larger real estate marketing companies. After working as a full-time architectural photographer, he transitioned into wedding and event photography and videography. Whether capturing a still image or producing a moving story, Elijah enjoys creating compelling visual content that connects with audiences.
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At United Church of Santa Fe, Elijah brings his diverse creative and technical skills to support the church’s worship and communications ministries. His responsibilities include live sound, livestream operations, website management, and social media management. He is excited to help continually enhance the audio and visual experience for both in-person and virtual congregants.
Dana Bender
Director of Children, Family, and Youth Ministry
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Dana Bender comes to United Church with a long career singing and teaching choral music. She holds a Bachelor's degree from Wichita State University and a Master's degree from Arizona State University, in music education and choral conducting and she has taught music in both Kansas and Arizona. Dana has been a children's choir director in various churches and other organizations throughout her life, most recently with the Phoenix Children's Chorus, and was a soprano in the Phoenix Chorale, a Grammy award winning professional choir, for 18 years.
Dana's ties to the United Church of Christ are strong. She grew up attending First Congregational Church in Montclair, N.J and later served as Commissioned Minister of Christian Education at Church of the Beatitudes in Phoenix, AZ. She served as children's choir director at Shadow Rock UCC where she also organized the Our Whole Lives (OWL) Human Sexuality curricular offerings. She was Moderator for the Southwest Conference UCC from 2013-2015 and was actively involved in outdoor ministries and Southwest Conference camps. She is thrilled to be relocating to Santa Fe and being a part of this faith community!
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Tracy Church
Volunteer Nurture Center Coordinator
Having retired from a career in healthcare administration, most recently as Chief Administrative Officer for Hartford HealthCare (located in CT, where she was born and raised), Tracy and her husband returned to New Mexico in 2024 and now call Santa Fe “home.”
Tracy has four grown children (and one grandson!) and many years of service in children’s ministries in Albuquerque, Phoenix, and San Francisco, and now here with Kids United. In this new role, she is very excited to further nurturing the children and families that are part of United Church of Santa Fe’s congregation.
