Ministry & Program Staff

Director of Children’s Ministries

Pam Cochrane

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Dedicated to educational ministries, Pam’s passion brings together more than 25 years of experience in the arts with her study of art in worship and Christian Education as a means to foster spiritual and creative expression in communities of faith. She earned her Masters in Religious Education at Andover-Newton Theological School this past May and plans to continue her graduate work at ANTS towards a Masters of Divinity. Pam has served as the Director of Christian Education of the Congregational Church of Harvard, MA (UCC) for three years and this past year served as the Interim Director of Creative Worship and Arts as well as Ministerial Intern at First Church in Cambridge, MA, Congregational (UCC). Pam has also focused on community-building in the town of Harvard as Co-Founder of For Art’s Sake – Harvard, a non-profit community association celebrating artistic expression in the schools and the community through exhibitions, workshops, and performances. Pam, her husband Ken, and grown daughters, Sarah and Maggie, have lived in Harvard, MA’s Still River village for more than 17 years.

Pam’s office hours are Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday from 9am-3pm.

Director of Music

Mark Morgan

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Director of Music Mark Morgan joined the Hancock staff in June of 2009. He has served 6 different churches in 5 different states over the course of his nearly 25 year career in church music. Mark firmly believes in the integration of music with the rest of the worship in order to create a unified, uplifting worship experience. With a keen interest in children and education, he encourages persons of all ages to share their musical gifts with the congregation. A professional singer, conductor, teacher, and composer, Mark is the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of New England Light Opera and serves on the voice faculty of Eastern Nazarene College. A native of Wisconsin, Mark is a graduate of Macalester College and the Eastman School of Music. He lives in Somerville with his wife Amy and baby boy, Owen.

Mark's office hours are Tuesday-Thursday from 9am to 5pm.

Associate Director of Music

Marilyn Becker

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Marilyn Becker became the Associate Director of Music in 2009 after serving for a year as Interim Director of Music. She has served as a professional church musician since her first job as a paid chorister in college. She brings a love of music and teaching to all her work at Hancock. With a background in conducting, organ & piano, and accompanying she is a versatile member of the music staff. Her responsibilities at Hancock include directing the Hancock Carillon and playing the organ. Marilyn is a graduate of New England Conservatory of Music and Westminster Choir College.

Administrative Director, Hancock Bells Ministry

Cheryl Kraley

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Cheryl joined Hancock Church in 1983 and began ringing handbells 10 years later when a family bell choir was started. Three non-musical friends asked her to teach them to ring bells in 1996 and the Morning Glory Ringers sprang to life. Three years later, when Hancock was unable to find a bell director, Cheryl was drafted by her fellow ringers to fill the position. Under her volunteer leadership, the program has grown to include seven choirs for ringers of all ages led by one professional and five volunteer directors.

Cheryl's "official" professional title is Ob/Gyn Nurse Practitioner and Childbirth Educator. She has found that her skills helping couples achieve their goals for labor and parenting within a supportive community where they can learn and grow is not that different from her work with the Hancock Handbell Ministry. Though the technical skills may be different, nurturing each participant to achieve their greatest potential using their particular talents and gifts is exactly the same.

Cheryl is available on Fridays from 10:45-11:45am in the Bell Room.

Congregational Care Coordinator

Joy Fallon

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Joy Fallon is Hancock’s Congregational Care Coordinator, working with a team of lay leaders to help members provide care to one another. Joy received her M.Div. from Harvard Divinity School in 2011, and continues to prepare for ordination in the United Church of Christ.  Previously Joy was an attorney, working in government. She served as the Chief Legal Counsel to Governor Michael Dukakis, and as Executive Assistant US Attorney in Boston under the Clinton administration, where she worked on programs to prevent gun and gang violence. Joy also served for five years at Trinity Episcopal Church in Copley Square Boston, overseeing their many justice programs. Joy served as a seminarian at a church on Cape Cod and at Hancock from 2009-2010. She lives with her husband of 31 years in Cambridge, and has two grown children.

Administrative Staff

Business Administrator

Thad Jackson

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Thad has served Hancock Church as Business Administrator since June 1999. He is responsible for the financial administration of the church, including the recently added role of Collector. He maintains the church’s general ledger, performs the accounting, manages the bank accounts, pays the bills, monitors pledge and other income, manages the payroll, produces the monthly and annual Treasurer’s Report, administers the budget, and responds to any financial queries that arise. In the Collector’s role he oversees the Assistant Collectors who count and tally the collection each Sunday, makes the weekly bank deposit, records collections in the computerized Contributions system, maintains giving records for all donors and issues periodic giving statements to donors. Thad works closely with the Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, and Finance, Endowment and Stewardship Committees.

Until the recent addition of a Facilities Manger and arrival of Dan dos Santos in May, Thad was responsible for facilities management and supervision of the church sexton(s). Before coming to Hancock, Thad’s career was in corporate treasury and financial operations at DuPont, Sanders Associates, Nashua Corp. and 20 years at Digital Equipment. He served the Metropolitan Boston Association – UCC as Treasurer for many years and currently is a Member at Large on the MBA Council. He is an Army veteran, a graduate of Middlebury College and holds an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh. His wife, Patience, is the Building Consultant for the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. They have two daughters, Rebecca and Elizabeth who both work and live in the Princeton, NJ area and two grandchildren, George age 8 and Marion age 4.

Thad's office hours are Monday-Thursday from 9am-3pm.

Facilities Manager

Dan dos Santos

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Dan dos Santos is the Facility Manager at Hancock Church. He is responsible for maintaining the church, including managing building rentals, overseeing contractors and working with church committees. During his time at Hancock, dos Santos has overseen several large projects, including the revitalization of hallways and other areas of the church and its offices. He is responsible for handling the building needs of the Hancock Nursery School and facilitating the relationship between the school and the church.

Dan is a 2001 graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Boston and earned his Facilities Management certificate from Wentworth Institute of Technology in 2011.

Dan's office hours are Monday-Wednesday from 9am-3pm.

Seminarians (2010-11)

Seminarian

Eric Sherlock

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Eric Sherlock is a second year student at Boston University School of Theology. Born and raised in Massachusetts, Eric received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Bridgewater State College in 2010 and was the youth minister for North Congregational Church in Middleborough from 2008-2010. As a seminary student, Eric is interested in liberation theologies, interfaith dialogue and the ecumenical movement. In his free time, Eric likes to keep his mind, body, and spirit healthy through the reading of non-fiction, running, and meditation. For the 2011-2012 year, Eric’s responsibilities will include HYG, weekly participation in morning worship and the Well, as well as further discernment and growth of the LGBTA group at Hancock. Eric currently resides in the quaint neighborhood of Jamaica Plain located in Boston.

Seminarian

Brian Gruhn

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Brian Gruhn has finished his second year studies in the Masters of Divinity program at Andover Newton Theological School and served as the Seminarian at Hancock for the 2009-2010 Academic Year. Brian is originally from Arizona, where he served as Youth Minister of Shadow Rock United Church of Christ for four years, and Interim Youth Director for the Southwest Conference United Church of Christ for one year. Brian has settled into New England living very well, developing a love for icy roads and soup served out of pumpkins. Among his duties at Hancock are worship planning, co-organizing/facilitating the Theology on Tap group, and making silly jokes at staff meetings.