2023 Diaconate Candidate Profiles

Reactivated Diaconate

Mike Lee
I live in Andover, MA with my beautiful wife Angela and my 4 year old daughter Cora. I have been a lawyer for 17 years and my firm is located in Nashua, NH. I have been at Citylife since 2003.
What are you looking forward to most?
I look forward to serving the church again alongside our new leadership and new group of deacons.One interesting fact:
I am a huge fan of history!
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New Candidates

Avis Lee
(New Deaconess)
I live in East Cambridge with my husband Jon and currently work in Pharma. I have a younger sister who goes to Citylife as well, and my parents and dogs live in Sudbury, MA. I've been at Citylife for ~4.5 years now!
What are you looking forward to most?
I am looking forward to being part of a team that serves to meet the needs of our congregation and to see what awesome things God will do through each of us to help further Citylife's mission!
One interesting fact?
I'm a longtime huge fan of Taylor Swift :)

Benton Hilario
(New Deacon)
I live in Natick with my wife Celina and son Leo. I work in project management at an insuretech company and I've been at Citylife for almost 4 years.
What are you looking forward to most?
I look forward to serving the church in a Christ-like manner and grow along side others.
One interesting fact?
I've been cutting my own hair since high-school

Elle Chu
(New Deaconess)
I've been at Citylife for 10 years (ever since I was a freshman in college!) and work in higher ed administration, but help manage a literary journal and write poetry on the side. Most of my family's over in California, but I have been blessed by the Allston CG fam (and others!) in Boston :)
What are you looking forward to most?
I am really looking forward to caring for the church in this role. After 3 years of serving as a community group leader, I felt that God was preparing me to start giving in a different way and grow my understanding and notion of care.
One interesting fact?
After a biking accident, one of my fingernails fell off and grew back in 4th grade. Now I'm pretty cautious, but the reckless kid energy is still in me...

Jon Chen
(New Deacon)
I live in Cambridge with my wife Avis and work as a UX Designer. I’ve been attending Citylife for 9 years.
What are you looking forward to most?
I’m looking forward to serving and caring for the people of Citylife in helping them through the unexpected things life throws at them.
One interesting fact?
I switched my major 5 times in college and somehow still graduated on time.

Karen Lau
(New Deaconess)
My husband and my 1-year-old are live in Braintree. I moved to Boston in 2010 from Pittsburgh and have been attending Citylife since then. During my time at Citylife, I served in the University Ministry and helped co-facilitate a Community Group. I am now working as a dietitian in the Longwood Medical Area.

‍What are you looking forward to most?
I look forward to serve among my brothers and sisters in Christ in this new chapter of Citylife. I also am excited to help mobilize the gifts of our members to serve the church.‍
One interesting fact?
I'm a Gryffindor!

Kelly Lee
(New Deaconess)
I live in Brighton with my husband Shinyoung and our new pup Bruno. I work in state government (law) and have been at Citylife since 2017.

What are you looking forward to most?
‍I look forward to becoming more like Jesus as a church and doing things we are called to do, especially helping those in need. I am also excited for many new friendships through this opportunity.

One interesting fact?
‍I went to 7 different elementary schools in 3 different countries

Chinese Congregation Candidate

Song Zhang
(New Deacon)
My wife and I reside in the Newton area and work as a software engineer and consultant, respectively. We have been attending Citylife since early 2020.
‍What are you looking forward to most?
I am thrilled about serving the church's practical needs through the Deacon role and eager to collaborate with other church leaders, connect with more members, and hopefully provide both spiritual and practical assistance.

One interesting fact?
I love billiards. I even own a billiard table in our small apartment.