Acting Director of Children’s Ministries

Pam Cochrane

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.

Congregational Care Coordinator

Rev. Margaret Anzalone

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Our Congregational Care Coordinator (who goes by Meg), is an ordained minister in the Unitarian Universalist Association, serving in four different UU congregations over the past eleven years. She currently is affiliated with the UU Church of Wakefield where she served as a consultant last year. A life-long learner, Meg completed her Master of Divinity degree from Andover-Newton Theological School and Starr King Seminaries. In addition, Meg has a Master’s degree in Pastoral Ministry and Religious Education and a Master’s of Social Work from Boston College. A Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and a Licensed and certified Marriage and Family Therapist, she has extensive experience counseling families and children, as well as pastoral care. Meg brings a solid grounding and wide-range of skills to her ministry. Prior to consulting in Wakefield last year, she served as Interim Minister at First Parish in Cambridge, MA, where she designed and implemented a program for lay congregational care of the sort that we are seeking to create here. Meg lives in Littleton, MA with her partner of 18 years, Martha, along with a Labrador retriever, four cats, and several geese and ducks. Their backyard has a pond and is a place to appreciate nature. Meg enjoys gardening, reading, cooking, and being outdoors. She’s delighted to be here!

Meg's office hours are Tuesdays, 9am-3pm & Sundays, 9am-1pm and by appointment.

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.

Marilyn's office hours are

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.

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.

Thad's office hours are Tuesday-Friday from 9am-3pm.

Office Administrator

Norma Blake

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As of the start of the 2010-11 church year, Norma is entering her 25th year at Hancock! With her encyclopedic knowledge of Hancock history, Norma provides administrative support to all Ministry and Program Staff and church committees and coordinates the church office.

For 35 years, Norma and her husband, Jeff, have lived in Arlington where they brought-up their two children. They now enjoy sharing in activities with them and their three grandchildren, all of whom live close by.

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

Facilities Manager

Dan dos Santos

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Our Facilities Manager, Dan dos Santos, works with our church and community groups, scheduling the building and ensuring its smooth functioning and overall cleanliness. Dan is a 2001 graduate of the UMass, Boston. For nearly ten years he managed day-to-day operations for a building company and a manufacturing concern. He has returned to school at Wentworth Institute of Technology to become a certified Facilities Manager. He brings a wide variety of building skills to us, as well as organizing and supervising abilities. He enjoys a variety of sports and roots for Portugal (and the US) in the World Cup.

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

Communications Coordinator

Angela Gaffney

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Our Communications Coordinator is Angela Gaffney. As Communications Coordinator, she produces all the church’s publications, including the bulletin, The Herald, and the weekly e-newsletter, and consults with the staff and committees to create wider awareness of Hancock UCC programs in the community. She also oversees the website. Angela lives in Harvard with her husband, Joe, where they have been restoring their “new” home, the former parsonage of the Harvard Congregational Church (circa 1869). Angela has a degree in English from the University of Pennsylvania and has also undertaken graduate work at both Cornell and Harvard. She has a range of marketing and advertising experience and, for six years, coordinated communications for the MBA program of Harvard Business School. She and Joe are active members of Harvard Pro Musica chorus and of Holy Trinity parish in Harvard, MA.

Angela's office hours are Tuesday-Friday from 10am-4pm.

Seminarians (2010-11)

Seminarian

Eric Sherlock

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Eric Sherlock is in his first year of studies in the Masters of Divinity program at Boston University School of Theology and will work primarily with our HYG. He is originally from the south shore of Massachusetts, and served as Youth Minister for North Congregational Church UCC, in Middleboro for two years. Prior to BU School of Theology, Eric completed his undergraduate work at Bridgewater State College and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. While attending BU School of Theology he hopes to explore and learn more about liberation theology. Eric is an avid coffee drinker and enjoys good conversation at any Starbucks location. Recently, Eric began training to hopefully run and complete his first half-marathon. He currently resides in Boston with his partner Shawn.

Eric is in the office days, times.

Seminarian

Joy Fallon

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Joy, a third year student at Harvard Divinity School, will be assisting with our Sunday Evening Worship Services and other duties. Joy is preparing to be a UCC pastor, after an earlier career in law and government. Joy served as the Chief Legal Counsel to Governor Michael Dukakis at the end of his tenure and as Executive Assitant US Attorney in Boston during the Clinton administration, where she worked on programs to prevent gun and gang violence.  She served for five years at Trinity Episcopal Church in Boston, overseeing their  many social justice programs, and worked briefly in the Patrick administration before beginning at Harvard Divinity School in 2008.  This summer Joy worked at a small church on Cape Cod, where she enjoyed preaching, teaching and visiting members. She looks forward to working at Hancock, especially on the continued development of the alternative Sunday evening service, and the efforts to support lay pastoral ministry.

Joy lives in Newton with her husband of thirty years, Bob Fallon, the CFO for a health care non-profit.  Their son just began college at the University of Chicago; their daughter is a recent graduate of the same school, and now lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her husband  There is something about cold climates that apparently none of them can shake!  Both Joy and Bob are excited that she will be graduating in June, finally bringing the family back to just one tuition at a time.

Joy is in the office days, times.

Seminarian (On one-year sabbatical leave)

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.