ABOUT US
What We Believe
Mission Statement
How Eliot Works
Open and Affirming
Safe Church
Eliot History
UCC History
John Eliot
Staff
Directions
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If you would like to learn more about Eliot, please don't hesitate to contact us - or simply stop in for a Sunday service. Church office hours are 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM, Monday through Friday, or please email us:
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Interim Senior Minister, The Reverend Dr. Debbi Carter
Rev. Deborah Carter (Debbi) has extensive experience as an intentional interim pastor in both UCC and American Baptist churches. She has also served as the director of several non-profit organizations and has worked as both a settled pastor and a clinical pastoral counselor.
Debbi recently served as the interim senior pastor at The First Congregational Church (UCC) of Hanover, MA and prior to that served for three years as interim senior pastor at The First Baptist Church in Tewksbury. She also served in three other interim pastor positions While at Hanover she carried out the "regular" responsibilities of a senior pastor, but also led a mission trip to Haiti, ran the confirmation program and organized and facilitated house meetings to help the congregation with the visioning process as they sought a new settled pastor.
Debbi served for four years as Executive Director of The Anchorages, a residential treatment program for at-risk youth in Beverly MA. Included in the program was a home for boys, a home for girls, an independent living program, a vocational program and a creative development program.
From 1996 to 2002 Debbi was the Director of Pastoral Care and Education for the American Baptist Council of Massachusetts at the Evanswood Center for Older Adults. The Center is a multi-faceted residential program for older adults. As Director of Pastoral Care and Education, Debbi created and administered all spiritual programs on the campus, provided pastoral care to residents, families and staff and provided an interface of the Center with religious communities.
Debbi attended Spelman College in Atlanta, GA where she earned a Bachelor's degree with a major in sociology and history. She attended seminary at Colgate Rochester Divinity School in Rochester, NY, receiving a Masters of Divinity. Then Debbi entered Andover Newton Theological School where she received a Doctor of Ministry degree in pastoral psychotherapy in 1981.
Debbi was born in Manchester, New Hampshire. Both of her parents were ordained ministers. Debbi is married to Nick Carter, the President of Andover Newton Theological School, and lives in Newton. She is a member of Old South Church. Debbi and Nick are the parents of one adult son, Isaac, and one adult foster son, Alan. She enjoys reading, swimming, traveling, canoeing, and music.
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Associate Pastor, Rev. Karla Jean Miller
Rev. Karla Miller is our associate pastor specializing in Religious Education and Church Membership, Vitality and Outreach. She is a member of the Newton Clergy Association, and the Evangelism Commission of the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ. She volunteers at the Chetwynde Health Care Center, and is a volunteer chaplain with animal rescue and advocacy through Kitty Connection of Medford, MA.
She contributes regularly to both the RevGalBlogPals (http://revgalblogpals.blogspot.com) and their prayer blog, "A Place for Prayer" http://revgalprayerpals.blogspot.com/. She also writes for the Episcopalian sermon blog, Feminist Theology in an Age of Fear and Hope, http://feministheology.blogspot.com/
Prior to serving Eliot Church, Karla was the Minister with Youth and Children at Umstead Park United Church of Christ in Raleigh, NC where she also chaired the board of the North Carolina Coalition to End Homelessness. In addition, Karla served as the Chaplain and Director of Spiritual Life at Peace College where she taught courses in Hebrew Bible, New Testament, and First Year Studies. While at Peace, she spearheaded the development of the Office for Community Involvement, the college's community service and learning initiative.
Karla earned her Masters of Divinity Degree at Union Theological Seminary in NYC, where she focused on worship, the arts and spiritual formation in young people. She has pursued further study in Pastoral Care and Counseling, Church Coaching, Literature and is a potter, specializing in hand building and carving functional ware and tiles. She and her spouse enjoy gardening, hiking, sports, and tending to their menagerie of cats and dogs!
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Minister of Music, Charles Raines
Charles Raines moved to Salem, Massachusetts in 2009 having served as the Director of Music Ministries and Organist for Grosse Pointe Memorial Church (Presbyterian) in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. There he led a program that includes children's and youth choirs, a handbell choir, a choir of adult singers and a concert series.
From 1980 - July 2002, he shepherded a similar music program as Director of Music and Organist for Christ Church Cranbrook (Episcopal) in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Under his leadership the Christ Church Choir and Chamber Choir produced an acclaimed CD recording now listed in the Organ Historical Society catalog. The Christ Church Choir was voted The 2001Best Church Choir in metropolitan Detroit by readers of Detroit HOUR Magazine.
With university degrees in both organ performance and conducting, Charles Raines also is a harpsichordist and an occasional composer/arranger. His second set of the Preces and
Responses for Evensong has been sung by numerous Episcopal choirs including All Saints Church, Beverly Hills, California and The Cathedral of St. Paul, Detroit. He has performed as organ recitalist, harpsichord soloist and chamber ensemble musician and has given organ concerts in New England, the South and Mid-West. In 1991, he led the Christ Church Cranbrook Choir in a tour of England where they performed in London's St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Clare College Chapel (Cambridge), Salisbury and Canterbury cathedrals.
Additionally, Charles Raines chaired the national American Guild of Organists Committee on Denominational Relations for five years. The committee produced during that period the AGO publication, A Musician's Guide to the Denominations. He served on a committee of the Association of Anglican Musicians that produced the publication, Musicians Called to Serve. He has chaired the Commission on Liturgy and Church Music of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan and has served on the faculty of the Church Music Conference of the Diocese of Mississippi.
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474 Centre Street, Newton, MA 02458 - 617-244-3639
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