Leadership
Robin Meyers, Pastor
If you doubt that life is a series of circles, consider that the founder of our church in 2006 is now its pastor. After retiring from Mayflower UCC in Oklahoma City, where he served as senior minister for 35 years, Rev. Dr. Robin R Meyers was called to lead First Congregational Church of Norman UCC in February 2022.
Meyers has been both an ordained UCC pastor and a college professor for his entire career. He is Distinguished Professor of Social Justice Emeritus in the Philosophy Department at Oklahoma City University where he continues to teach public speaking and ethics. He is the best-selling author of eight books about religion and American culture (including the national bestseller, Saving Jesus from the Church: How to Stop Worshipping Christ and Start Following Jesus) a fellow of the Westar Institute (home of the Jesus Seminar), a prolific columnist for numerous publications, and a commentator for NPR. Dr. Meyers lectures nationally and internationally on the merits of Progressive Christianity, gave the esteemed Lyman Beecher Lectures at Yale, and is the subject of a feature-length documentary about the unlikely success of his progressive pulpit in perhaps American’s most conservative state: American Heretics: The Politics of the Gospel. https://www.americanhereticsthefilm.com/ now streaming on Amazon Prime.
Recently named a trustee of Union Theological Seminary in New York City, Robin is married to Shawn Meyers, MFA, an artist, and retired professor, and they are the parents of three children, Blue, Chelsea, and Cass, and grandparents to three remarkable granddaughters, Iris, Hazel, and Eleanora.
Kiegan Ryan, Lead Musician
Kiegan Ryan is a contemporary classical composer and accomplished cellist from the Cherokee nation. Kiegan is 22 years old. Ryan composes chamber music, art song, opera, orchestral and film scores. He grew up in Broken Arrow Oklahoma and is currently completing his graduate degree in composition and cello performance from Oklahoma City University, studying with Edward Knight and Emily Stoops. Ryan also brings special guests to First Congregational Church to perform, and doubles as a song-leader.
Mary Sallee, Pianist
Mary Sallee is a native of Collinsville, having grown up on a registered Holstein dairy farm until she came to OU in 1979 to major in music. Five years later, she graduated with a degree in piano performance and vocal education before leaving for Vienna to study music for a year as Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. After receiving her masters, she opened her own piano studio and shortly after began composing music for voice, choirs and her piano students. To date, she has over 50 publications with Alfred and various other publishers. She now teaches about 13 students, mostly adults.
Mary is active as a community volunteer and serves as editor for a community-wide resource list that was started by the McFarlin Food Pantry where she volunteers 4-days a week managing the produce and scheduling of 70 volunteers. She has served her Rotary Club as pianist since 1996 and enjoys her membership in the Sierra Club, Women in Action for All (WIAA) and the local Audubon Society.
Mary and her husband Larry (Johnson) are both members of McFarlin Methodist Church. They enjoy traveling as long as they have trust-worthy ‘sitters' for their two cats, Vinny and Rebel. To date, they have visited 57 national parks and are prepared to cut back on travel while Mary undergoes treatment for a recent diagnosis of nasopharynx cancer at the OU Stephenson Cancer Center in OKC.