Meet the New Members!

Posted on by jimvondracek

On Pentecost Sunday, we welcomed seven people into membership at Augustana.  Below are photos and a brief introduction to each:

Patricia and Yohannes Armstrong moved to Hyde Park in 2022 and are delighted to have found Augustana. A higher education administration professional, Patricia has most recently served as Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs at Kennedy-King College in Englewood. Yohannes is currently completing high school and works in the play park at Hyde Bark Dog Walking and Pet Care. They both like to travel (four continents down, three to go) and love all that Chicago has to offer culturally. Patricia enjoys yoga and fitness classes while Yohannes loves camping, the great outdoors, and hanging with his friends.

Susan and Chris Clapp moved to Hyde Park in the summer of 2018. Susan grew up in Tampa, FL and Chris grew up in Flemington, NJ. They met as undergrads at Clemson University (GO TIGERS!). Holden and Huck were both born here in the neighborhood, Holden in November 2018 and Huck in October 2021. The boys were both baptized at Augustana. The Clapps also have a golden retriever, Boomer, who they adopted on Easter Sunday 2017 and who is now 9. Susan is a Senior Statistician at NORC and Chris teaches Economics at UChicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. They spend most of their free time chasing the boys around, and they especially love going for bike rides in Hyde Park and taking walks on the lakefront trail. Susan is big into crafts (she loves to crochet and is currently making a quilt out of the boys’ baby clothes) and Chris is a big into Cubs baseball (he’s a lifelong Cubs fan even though he grew up in Jersey). 

Steve Barrett was a Methodist pastor and nurse in Texas.  His father was in Chicago during WWII at the Great Lakes Naval Base.  After Gene’s death in 2019 Steve retired to Chicago in 2020.  His passion is to study theology and philosophy at the University of Chicago.  He is open to suggestions for hobbies.  He traveled to Greece and Kyoto, Japan last year.  His cat is named Prissy.  

Elizabeth Roma has attended Augustana with her family since moving to Hyde Park in 2018. She serves as co-chair of Augustana’s Green Team, and in her free time she enjoys reading, cooking, and travel. Elizabeth works in nonprofit fundraising, and her husband Rob is a welder. They are the parents of two boys. Sam was confirmed at Augustana in 2021 and attends King College Prep. Kevin is finishing sixth grade at Murray Language Academy.

The Rev. S. Philip Richard is an ordained pastor of the Church of South India for 13 years  and presently doing his Master of Theological Studies at McCormick Theological Seminary.