STAFF

Our Leadership

Our Leadership Team is a partnership, where we serve together to nurture the spiritual life of the church. Our “Leadership” is based on Servant Leadership where leaders serve others with courage and humility to honor God. The focal point of servant leadership within the church is “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:12). A servant leader seeks to invest himself/herself into the lives of our people so that, as a whole, the church community grows to be more like Christ.


•  Covenant is “governed” by a Congregational Spirit  •  Lay Leadership Council  •  Lay Leader Pastoral Relations Board (PRB)  

•  Vocational Staff in Various Ministries  •  Lay Leader Ministry Chairs

  • Cary Slater | Lead Pastor

    Cary grew up in Minneapolis, then fled for balmy Chicago to attend Wheaton College.  He got his Masters of Divinity at Alliance Theological Seminary.  Cary thanks God every day for life with Roseann and their two young adults, Abby and Noah.  They share their home with a dog who wasn’t supposed to get this big.  Cary enjoys history, reading, newspapers and getting outside.


    He has served churches in Seattle and Phoenix.  But it is the Covenant Church of Easton that is home, serving as Student Ministries Pastor on 2 separate occasions for a total of 13 years and as Lead Pastor since 2013.  Cary loves the east coast and the people who live here.  He loves helping people trust and see God in the day to day, and experience the church as a community in ways they never knew possible.


  • Kristine Lackowski| Director of Children's Ministry

    Kristine has a passion for every child to know who Jesus is and to KNOW Him as their personal Savior.  She also has a desire for every child to discover their God-given potential and to learn how to serve Him.  Kristine has a heart for children and families and enjoys organizing meaningful programs which bring them together.  Kristine, and her husband Chris, have three young adults – Brianna, a Freshman who attends Quinnipiac University; and twins, Christopher who attends Northeastern University and Melanie who attends Liberty University.

  • Debbie Packnick | Director of Student Ministries

    Pastor Debbie joined the Covenant Church of Easton in the summer of 2015 and she and her husband Rob quickly fell in love with the people and the purpose of our church; Loving God, Growing Together, Serving Others.  Debbie is actively involved in the life of our church through Bible studies, service and mission projects and of course, youth ministry; and is actively pursuing ministry credentials through the Evangelical Covenant Church.


    In her free time, Pastor Debbie likes to cheer on students at their sports games or high school plays and you’ll frequently find her at Panera Bread or Duchess catching up with them over lunch.  Whether it’s serving the homeless, riding a roller coaster or gathering for a group prayer, Pastor Debbie LOVES helping youth connect their every-day-lives to the things of God and their true purpose.


    Debbie and Rob live in Shelton with Chloe and Zoe, their 2 terrors, I mean terriers!  They have three young adult children (Kyle, Craig and Ally) and recently welcomed their wonderful daughter-in-law Tess into the family.


  • Bob Rieger | Director of Discipleship

    Bob was born and raised in Connecticut.  He earned his Bachelors of Science in Business at UConn and his Masters of Science at New York University.  Bob is blessed with 29 years of marriage to Kim and their two young adults, Matt and Tori.  Bob is passionate about learning, music, sports, mentoring, and serving in the community.


    Since October of 2016, Bob has been serving as our Director of Discipleship, while also leading his own Business IT Consulting firm.  Our mission is to further develop and oversee our thriving small group ministries and our emerging connections ministries, to create new opportunities for learning and fellowship, which will encourage adults to grow TOGETHER toward Christ-likeness.


    Bob loves to come alongside others and encourage folks to share and grow together on this crazy journey we call life! We were never meant to be alone; we are created by God to work together for His Glory.

  • Kristian Otten | Director of Worship Arts

    Kristian Otten has worked faithfully as the Director of Worship Arts at Covenant for over seven years, following the unexpected call to serve in his home church after attending Wheaton College (many years after Pastor Cary).  God is good and He provides!  Besides his worship leading and musical responsibilities, Kristian occasionally works with Service Ministry on various building and fixing projects in service to the local community throughout the year.  He is also an active member of a life-giving men's group at the church.  Kristian hopes to continue to grow in his relationship with Christ through ministry at Covenant, serving the surrounding community in all the ways God calls him.


    Kristian and his wife Nicole, a member of the Worship Team, welcomed their firstborn son Forrest in January 2020; the kid has an inevitable lifetime of music in his future.  In Kristian's (nonexistent) spare time, he also works as an analyst for arts management consultant AMS Planning & Research and enjoys participating in occasional triathlons early before Sunday morning services.

  • Gail Lent | Church Secretary

    Gail has been part of the Covenant Church family for over 15 years and joined the staff in 2008.  Gail thoroughly enjoys her role as Church Secretary and feels called to serve the people at Covenant while also being able to effectively use her administrative skills to assist the staff, council and various ministries of Covenant to run smoothly and efficiently.  Utilizing her gift of encouragement to build into the lives of friends and strangers alike, she always has a welcoming smile for everyone she meets.  Gail and her husband, Tom, enjoy NASCAR, staying at a good bed & breakfast, and spending time with their toddler granddaughter, Gabriella, and their adult children, Jesse & his wife Christina, and Kyle.