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Little River UCC
Ministerial and
Administrative Staff
Little River UCC has two pastors who share pulpit and pastoral care responsibilities. Each of the pastors also
coordinates some of the individual church activities such as parish care of Christian education.
Verne Arens
Senior Pastor
Verne's Sermons
The Rev. Dr. Verne Edward Arens serves as Senior Pastor of Little River United Church of Christ in Annandale,
Virginia, a Fairfax County congregation founded in 1954. Prior to assuming this position in 1988, Dr. Arens served
United Churches of Christ in Brookside, New Jersey, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and Maple Hill, Kansas.
Community and civic activities include the Braddock District (Fairfax County) Religious/Human Services Coalition,
Mendham Township (NJ) Welfare Board and Family Life Education Committees; the Board of Directors of the Morristown
(NJ) Memorial Hospital Chaplaincy Services, the Mendham Area Senior Housing, and a Community Youth Worker Program.
He is co-founder of the Morris Area Chapter of The Compassionate Friends.
Religious and ecumenical activities include the Woodson Area Clergy (Fairfax County); Potomac Association UCC
Church & Ministry Committee and Stewardship & Missions Committee; the Personnel Committee of the Central
Atlantic Conference, UCC, and the Board of Directors of the Oakland University (MI) United Ministries in Higher
Education.
Born August 25, 1944 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Rev. Arens received a Master of Divinity degree (1969) from
Union Theological Seminary in New York City, and in 1985 he earned the degree of Doctor of Ministry from The Theological
School at Drew University. He also holds a Certificate in Pastoral Studies (1981) from the Blanton-Peale Graduate
Institute in New York City, and is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University.
Rev. Arens is married to the former Julie McClellan. They have a daughter and a son.
Rev. Ginna Minasian Dalton
Pastor for Christian Education, Youth, and Evangelism
Ginna's Sermons
Ginna joined the staff of Little River in June 2002. She and her husband Sam Dalton are completing their move
to Northern Virginia from Richmond, where Ginna served as a commissioned minister specializing in Christian Education
at St. John's United Church of Christ. She has led workshops and written curriculum materials for the UCC and interdenominational
groups.
Coming from a background in the Armenian Apostolic Church, Ginna holds a Master of Arts degree in Christian
Education (1987) from Union Theological Seminary-Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Virginia.
Rev. James M. Bell
Minister of Community Relations
Jim's Sermons
Jim, a native of Thomasville, North Carolina, serves as the Minister of Community Relations. He also serves
as the Associate Conference Minister for the Chesapeake Association of the UCC and works as a private consultant
working with organizations committed to social justice.
A graduate of Eden Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Jim has served churches in Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.
He has headed a metropolitan Council of Congregations and a national advocacy organization. He is a founding member
of the AIDS National Interfaith Network.
Jim and his wife, Carolyn, have a son, Kevin, an attorney in Washington, D.C., and a daughter, Jennifer, a student
at Virginia Tech.
Other Staff
Jane Johnson, Office Administrator
Sylvia Koch, Secretarial Assistant
Craig Stapert, Organist, and Choir Director
Nancy Huddleston, Contemporary and Youth Choir Director
Kenyon Erickson, Children's Choir Director
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