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Please click on any of the links below to learn more about the clergy at Plymouth Church:
Allen Hilton
Senior Minister
 Allen Hilton, Plymouth's 21st senior minister, brings to Plymouth twin passions for parish ministry and imaginative Biblical preaching, as well as a commitment to creating common ground among Christians.
Born in Montana and raised in Oregon, Allen spent two decades in the northeast (New Jersey and Connecticut), where he pursued his advanced studies and teaching in theology. At the same time, he was active in lay ministries ranging from youth group leadership to women's advocacy to gospel choir, in churches and community Christian organizations. Allen holds a BA in religion & philosophy from George Fox College, a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Early Christian History from Yale University. He served on the faculties of St Mary's College and the Yale Divinity School, where he offered courses on Jesus, Paul, early Christian social history, and the Greek language.
In the wake of September 11, 2001–when he ministered to families touched directly by that tragedy, and led worship on the following Sunday–Allen's heart turned increasingly towards parish ministry. That vocation was fulfilled a few months later when he accepted a call to New Canaan (CT) Congregational Church, where he served as Minister of Christian Formation and consensus co-pastor.
Allen is married to Liz, an attorney from Austin, Texas who worked in private practice and for the State Supreme Court and State Attorney General. A graduate of the Yale Divinity School, Liz is also a community leader in issues related to domestic violence. Allen and Liz have two young sons, Sam and Ike, a yen for great Mexican food, and shared interest in God's work at Plymouth and in the world.
Contact Allen at ahilton@plymouthchurchseattle.org. Interested in reading some of what he's written? Click here.
Kristine Anderson Ostrem
Associate Minister of Education
 Although Kristine Anderson Ostrem ("Kris") was born in the Pacific Northwest and lived her early years of life here, she spent the years between 1966 to 1970 with her family in Johannesburg, South Africa. Upon returning to Seattle, she finished her secondary education and attended Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA where she earned a B.A. degree in English literature. After completing a teacher certification program, she worked in Hong Kong from 1980 to1983 as a Short Term Missionary of the Lutheran Church in America. She also taught English to Chinese students at Kowloon Lutheran Middle School in Kowloon, Hong Kong.
After earning a Master of Arts and Religion degree from Yale Divinity School in 1987, she became the Assistant Chaplain and Instructor in Philosophy and Religion at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York for two years. She married R. Michael Ostrem and returned to the Seattle area to raise their two sons Eyvind and Finn.
Between 1988 and 1997, she worked part–time as an Adjunct Faculty member in religion at Seattle Pacific University. She came to Plymouth Congregational Church in 1998 as an Interim Coordinator of Education. Rev. Ostrem is currently an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ and is serving as the Associate Minister of Education at Plymouth Congregational Church.
E-mail Kris at: kostrem@plymouthchurchseattle.org
David Shinn
Associate Minister of Parish Life
 David Shinn became Plymouth’s Minister of Parish Life in June, 2003. Rev. Shinn came to the U.S. from Taiwan at the age of eleven. He has lived in California and Virginia, as well as Atlanta, where he went to school and received his undergraduate degree in Philosophy of History at Emory. He graduated from Princeton Seminary in 1997 and did his Clinical Pastoral Education at the Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Jersey. He is an ordained Presbyterian Minister with dual standing in the United Church of Christ.
Prior to coming to Plymouth, Rev. Shinn most recently served as a pastor of the Taiwanese Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Georgia, for five years. During his time there he was responsible for program development, small groups, and leadership training.
A central part of Rev. Shinn’s role at Plymouth Church as the Minister of Parish Life involves small group ministry, including Plymouth's Covenant Group program, Fellowship Groups and Support Groups. Another core responsibility is Plymouth’s Camps and Retreats program and all-church fellowship events and programs as well as other parish care ministries. His third major responsibility is coordinating the pastoral care ministry of the church. Rev. Shinn is the father of two young boys, Enoch and Ethan.
E-mail David at: dshinn@plymouthchurchseattle.org
Douglas Cleveland
Music Director
 Douglas Cleveland began his tenure as Director of Music at Plymouth Congregational Church, Seattle in September of 2004. At Plymouth he directs three choirs and oversees a fine arts series.
A native of Washington State, Mr. Cleveland began his organ studies with Jane Edge in Olympia and continued his study in high school with Edward A. Hansen at the University of Puget Sound's Community Music School. In 1986 he entered the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester where he earned the Bachelor of Music degree in 1990. While at Eastman, he served as Director of Music at the Lutheran Church of the Resurrection. As an undergraduate at Eastman, he won first prize in several organ competitions including The Westminster Choir College Graduate Competition, The Luther Place Memorial National Organ Competition in Washington, D.C., The Scarritt Undergraduate Competition in Nashville, Tennessee and the AGO Region VIII Competition in Seattle. He was also a finalist in the 1990 Grand Prix de Chartre, France and the Calgary International Organ Competition. Mr. Cleveland received the Master of Music degree in 1994 from Indiana University, Bloomington. While at Indiana University, he served as assistant organist and choirmaster at Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral in Indianapolis, where he frequently directed the famed choir of men and boys and began the volunteer choir program. He also won first prize in the American Guild of Organists National Young Artists Competition in Dallas and the Ft. Wayne National Organ Competition.
Since winning these prizes, he has performed in 48 of the United States, as well as such venues as Westminster Abbey, Notre-Dame Cathedral, The Cathedral of Berlin, St. Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne, The Moscow Conservatory, and the Minato Mirai Concert Hall in Yokohama, Japan. He has performed with several symphony orchestras including the National Symphony at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Mr. Cleveland served as Assistant Professor of Organ and Church Music at Northwestern University from 1999 to 2004. While on the faculty of Northwestern, he received the Searle Fellowship for teaching excellence. He served as a visiting faculty member at St. Olaf College in 1997. Mr. Cleveland has recorded three CD's which have received critical acclaim in Fanfare, The American Record Guide, The Organists Review, The American Organist, The Diapason, the Association of Anglican Musicians and the Living Church Magazine.
E-mail Douglas at: dcleveland@plymouthchurchseattle.org
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