Rev. Jenny M. Rankin, Interim Minister

Jenny Rankin began her tenure as Interim Minister at the First Church in Salem in August of 2022.  She works closely with the Transition Team (formed by the Standing Committee of First Church in Nov 2022) to help guide the congregation through its work on the five interim goals.

An ordained Unitarian Universalist minister, Jenny has served as both a settled parish minister (in Concord, Mass) and an interim minister (in Lincoln, Franklin, Lexington, Gloucester, Cohasset and Hopedale).  She enjoys walking with a congregation through this “liminal time” between settled ministries, with the opportunity its provides the community to take a fresh look at itself, clarify its vision, celebrate its strengths, and work on critical issues before welcoming a new minister.

A life-long learner, Jenny likes to teach as well as to learn and has taught classes on Transcendentalism, Creativity as a Spiritual Practice, Celtic Saints and Scholars, the Celtic spiritual tradition, and has led retreats and walking tours in the US and Europe.

Jenny has an undergraduate degree in history and literature from Princeton University and is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School.  Jenny and her husband Rich Higgins have three (young adult) children and live in Concord, Mass.  

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Michael Kraft, Director of Music

Michael was appointed President in 2016 and is Senior Reed Voicer at C.B. Fisk.  Earning his Bachelor of Music degree in organ performance from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, he was a student of Garth Peacock and Lisa Crawford.  His Master of Music degree is from the New England Conservatory of Music, where he was an organ student of Yuko Hayashi.  Michael joined the Fisk workshop in 1986, apprenticing as a pipemaker and reed voicer.  Research trips to England, France and Germany have given him the opportunity to hear, play, and measure many historic organs, a significant influence on his conceptualizing and voicing of reed pipes.  He oversees the design, construction, and voicing of all reeds, as well as the maintenance of and modifications to all Fisk instruments. Michael has been the Music Director of The Dover Church in Dover, Massachusetts since 1993 when Fisk Opus 107 was installed there.  Michael and his wife Stacia, a singer and preservationist, are restoring and renovating a 1794 home in Salem where they live with their three children, John, Ilsa and Oskar. 

Catherine Bertrand, Congregational Administrator

Catherine was born and raised in Lynn, MA and has lived in Salem for over twenty years since attending Salem State University where she earned her Bachelor's Degree in Theatre Arts. In a past life she was a stage director whose work has been seen in Boston and on the North Shore primarily in Salem and most recently Lynn. She recently joined the Board of the local nonprofit The Clothing Connection which is housed in the First Church basement. In addition to her love for Salem and theatre she has a passion for photography, houseplants, reading, trying to solve true crime, watching bad teen angst drama, and animals of most species.

Catherine has been at First Church since 2011. She and her wife, Caroline, and their twelve-year old son, Gavin, have a home here in Salem, which they share with their cats Luna and Apollo and their dog Stella.

Theo Burbank, Director of Lifespan Religious Education

Theo was hired as the Religious Education Coordinator in 2022, and expanded to the role of Director of Lifespan Religious Education in 2023. In this role, she organizes and runs programming for people of all ages, including Sunday Morning RE for our children and youth and regular adult and intergenerational activities.

Theo has a BA in Anthropology from Smith College, and lots of work experience in childcare and education, including Early Intervention playgroups, a pre-school, and an elementary school library. She was also raised at First Church, and volunteered and worked in RE here for a number of years before taking on an official staff position. She brings her institutional knowledge, as well as new ideas and innovation to this role.

Theo lives here in Salem, where she enjoys visiting museums, spending time near the ocean, reading, writing, and crafting.

Billy McCarthy, Sexton

Billy is a native of Salem and has worked as a custodian and painter for many years. Most recently he was the caretaker of the VWF in Beverly.

 Tricia Pini, Director of Henny Penny Preschool

Tricia has been fostering independence and a love of learning in young children on the North Shore for over twenty years.  Prior to Henny Penny she worked at the innovative Fox Hill School in Danvers.  When she is not at Henny Penny, Tricia's is schedule is filled with many roles, including being a member of Salem High's Career & Technical Education Steering Committee, Salem High School's Early Childhood Education Advisory Board, as a cooperating teacher for North Shore Community College and Endicott College interns, building puppets (yes, puppets), and meeting quarterly with like-minded Early Childhood Educators who are passionate about advocating to keep play as the primary work of children in preschool programs...and more!  She is excited to instill a lifelong love of learning with the children at Henny Penny giving them opportunities to learn through play.