I am a Massachusetts girl with an Alabama heart living in Philadelphia. I have lived in Philly since 2005 and started attending Old First in 2010. I am passionate about higher education, the advancement of womanhood, philanthropy, working out, food and your 2017 Super Bowl Champions - the New England Patriots.

I moved to Philly 9 years ago from Romania. My first Sunday at Old First I felt a connection. But I was living a double life. My church life was happy, full of hope and energy. My other life was often angry and depressed. Did believing in God make me suffer more? But through prayer, I began to feel energized, peaceful, powerful. Even if I cannot overcome my challenges sometimes, I believe in an infinite, eternal, almighty God, perfect in holiness, truth and love. God is Love.

I grew up in a blended family.I’m very close to all of my siblings/cousins/ aunts/uncles. Family and close friends are everything to me. I love anything involving history, interior design, good food and--even better--cocktails. Old First is my first UCC "experience." As the Outreach Coordinator for the church, I’m enjoying getting to know more and more about the domination and incorporating the traditions/beliefs and openness into my Christian journey.

Spring is my favorite season, I love the energy, the blooming, growing things, in spite of sneezing for months with seasonal allergies. I'm a happily married grandma and mother to 2 wonderful adults. I love to learn, to read, cook, quilt and make music. I enjoy movies and plays of all kinds so I usher at 2 theaters in Phila. and one movie theater.

I grew up in a family of five. I've lived most of my life in the Fishtown and Kensington areas of Philly before my current residence in Turnersville, NJ. Singing is my passion. Family, friends and my dogs give me joy comfort and purpose in life. I love working around my home, and most days in the warm months I can be found lounging by the pool or pulling weeds in the garden.

I'm cradle UCC, but I thought confirmation was a vaccination. Immune to further exposure, I stayed away from church for 30 years. When I moved to Philly, I discovered Old First, though I wasn't especially looking for a church. Maybe I was looking for a community, and that's what I found. We don't ask you to stop thinking here. We value your questions and doubts. My faith has grown in this varied, talented, dedicated, hospitable, funny, caring--and occasionally exasperating--congregation.

Old First is my neighborhood UCC church. I joined Old First because it is a congregation that believes in living out Christ's call to care for the least of these in a real way. I am uncomfortable calling myself a Christian because of the judgments that have been cast on others in that name. I am a follower of Jesus and find that the members of Old First are great companions on this journey. There is much to be learned and much to be shared in this community.

English teacher at Philly's agricultural high school (where I teach Shakespeare, start tomatoes in the greenhouse, bottle-feed lambs on the night shift, and cook meat raised lovingly by my students). I came to Old First as a long-term volunteer, was as music director for nearly two decades, almost gave birth to my daughter while tuning the piano, introduced my son to service in the shelter before he could walk, and currently serve as an elder.