Rev. Niels is ordained in the United Church of Christ and received his Master of Divinity Degree from the Pacific School of Religion.

Rev. Niels has a long history with Hillcrest. He preached here from time to time when Rev. Fred Weidmann was Senior Minister. After Rev. Fred departed, he served in the summer of 2022 as Hillcrest’s Bridge Minister for several months.

Rev. Niels most recently served as a hospice chaplain for Sutter Hospice in San Francisco. Prior to that he worked as several other hospice organizations and got his training during a yearlong Clinical Pastoral Education residency at John Muir Hospital in Concord.

Before his work as a chaplain, Niels worked as an Assistant Professor in Sexuality Studies and Anthropology at San Francisco State University and received his Ph.D. in Anthropology from Northwestern University. His dissertation was based on a yearlong fieldwork project in Mali.

In addition, Niels worked as a coach and consultant in private practice and offered parent education in collaboration with his wife, Rev. Angela Jernigan.

Niels is a board member of the Young Lives Matter Foundation in Berkeley that organizes the largest violence prevention and youth development program in Berkeley serving around 150 young people and their families.

When not working, Niels can be found reading, listening to music (of all kinds), spending time with his family and simply walking. Niels was born in the Netherlands where he attended college at the University of Amsterdam.

Rev. Niels’ Hillcrest Office Hours are typically Monday and Wednesday mornings. Please call the Church Office for an appointment 925-689-8260 ext 2. Return phone calls, meetings, digitally or in person, are available at the church and other locations.