Our Staff
The Rev. Donald Remick, Interim Minister
The Rev. Don Remick is our new Interim Minister. Don started part-time with us on June 6, 2022 and will be full-time beginning on September 5th.
During his 15 years serving as Senior Minister at the First Congregational Church in Hanover, MA, Don shared the pulpit with talented associates, led two Sunday services and oversaw a capital campaign, making him a great fit for Old North. The Interim Search Committee found him to be warm, articulate, and insightful as he eagerly shared his thoughts on how to lead us through this time of transition.
During part of Don's four decades of ministry he served on our Conference staff as Associate Conference Minister and Conference Minister. During that time, he was responsible for developing programs to help churches with visioning and vitality, supervising staff and gathering resources to guide churches in their search processes, and training and resourcing interim ministers.
Don and his wife, who is also a pastor, have three children and three grandchildren. For the past four years Don has primarily been doing interim work. He has been our Interim Senior Minister since September, 2021. He can be reached at don@onchurch.org.
The Rev. Lindsay Popperson, Associate Minister
Lindsay joined our staff in the summer of 2019. Her focus is on preaching and worship leadership, in addition to supporting the people of this church in using their gifts in ways that bring joy. She works half-time at Old North, and is also the half-time Chaplain at Sherrill House Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing in Jamaica Plain.
She earned her Master of Divinity from the Boston University School of Theology and her Bachelor’s degree from Warren Wilson College in Asheville, NC. Her prior ministry experience includes work in churches in Tallahassee, Florida, Jamaica Plain, MA, and Dedham, MA. In 2015, she was awarded the David H C Read Preacher-Scholar Prize, a national award for a graduating seminarian who shows excellence in preaching.
Her wife, Ashley, is also a pastor in the UCC, serving a congregation in Norwell. They live in Jamaica Plain (a neighborhood of Boston) with their dog, Pope Joan, who is certified to provide pet therapy to people of all ages. They are foster parents who are currently caring for a toddler. Their family enjoys growing vegetables in their community garden and making frequent use of public libraries.
Lindsay's favorite part of ministry is connecting with you, whether you are a long-time church member or a curious newcomer. You can reach her at either Lindsay@onchurch.org or Lindsaypopper@gmail.com.
Maria van Kalken, Minister of Music
Maria joined the staff at Old North Church in the fall of 1989. To this day, she continues to enjoy a thrilling and thriving musical environment – embraced by the ministry, her colleagues on the staff, members of the congregation, and friends from surrounding communities – whereby she contributes to the preservation of a long-standing tradition of sacred music and its place in worship, and directs the overall Music Ministry program as an essential community outreach.
Maria earned the degree of Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music (Oberlin, Ohio) and Master of Music from the New England Conservatory of Music (Boston, MA). Her studies abroad have included pipe organ performance at the Sweelinck Conservatorium in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, under the patronage of the Rotary International Scholarship Fund, and the completion of an historical organ performance program in Pistoia, Italy. In addition to her work as Minister of Music—playing organ and directing the Senior Choir—Maria is Artistic Director of Concerts at Old North, presenting between two and six chamber music concerts annually, in the acoustically-glorious sanctuary of Old North Church.
Maria is a senior staff member of the Boston Early Music Festival (www.bemf.org); as Assistant to the Executive Director, Maria is liaison to musicians from all over the world for the biennial Baroque opera, annual Chamber Opera Series, and opera touring and recording projects.
Please click here to read about Maria’s Music Ministry and her 31 years with the Old North Church Festival Chorus in the Marblehead Reporter.
You can reach Maria at vankalken@gmail.com
Liz Smith, Bell Choir Director
Liz has been joyfully ringing handbells since 2008, when she joined her church’s bell choir. She soon began ringing with New England Ringers, one of New England’s finest audition handbell choirs. Liz has loved making music since childhood, when she studied piano and played clarinet, saxophone and oboe in many school and community music ensembles. She is thrilled to be with the Old North Church Hand Bell Choir. Liz is also a math tutor at Hadley Elementary School in Swampscott. When she is not taking pictures of the sunset or collecting sea glass, Liz spends her free time with her husband, their daughter, and their three grown sons.
You can reach Liz at smith.liz@gmail.com
Lisa Nahatis, Office Manager
Lisa has been our Office Manager since 2002 .She is a resident of Danvers and is a graduate of Boston University School of Management. Prior to working at Old North Church, she worked at the former Bank of Boston as an Accounting/Finance Manager and Systems Consultant. If you need to schedule a wedding or baptism, or have questions about just about anything Old North related, she will either help you out herself, or find someone who will!
You can reach Lisa at office@onchurch.org or by calling 781-631-1244