First Congregational

          Church       

          in Canandaigua, New York

   

 

Our Staff:

 

PASTOR - Reverend Thomas A. Herbek

 

A former hospital chaplain, medical school faculty member, and healthcare administrator, Tom brings a varied background of experiences to his ministry as our pastor. He has a compassionate, understanding view of both the joys and struggles of life. Tom grew up in Norfolk, VA, and retains a love of the ocean. He holds a master's degree in education from the University of VA and an MBA from SUNY Binghamton as well as his Master of Divinity from Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY. He is an adjunct associate professor in Business at Monroe Community College.

DIRECTOR OF CHILDREN'S EDUCATION - Pat Curchin

Pat leads our ministry to children, including the nursery and Sunday School programs for 3 & 4 year olds and grades K – 5. Pat holds a BA in Elementary Education from SUNY – Oswego, a Masters in Elementary Education from SUNY – Brockport, and a Sixth Year Degree teaching the gifted and talented from the University of Connecticut. She taught for two years at the Congress Road School in Rochester before becoming a teacher for the Department of Defense Overseas Schools for 29 years. She has taught in Lakenheath England, Misawa Japan, Guantanemo Bay Cuba, Incirlik Turkey, NeuUlm Germany, Kassel Germany, and Taegu Korea.

 

Pam received both a Bachelor of Science in Art and a Master of Science in Education from Nazareth College. She taught art at Newark Middle School for sixteen years before leaving to stay home with her four young children. Pam brings many years of experience working with young adolescents to her position. She provides programming in the areas of faith, fellowship and service for the youth of our church.

ORGANIST - Denise Morphy

 

Denise is an accomplished organist and pianist who holds a Bachelor of Music in organ performance from Nazareth College, and a Certificate in Church Music from The Leadership Program in Church Music of the Episcopal Church. She is also a member of the American Guild of Organists. She enjoys walking, reading, music, and spending time with her husband and two college-age children. She also teaches private organ lessons.

MUSIC DIRECTOR - Edith Rice

 

Edie received a Music Education degree in Choral Conducting from the Eastman School of Music. She has taught vocal, string and general music in the Greece and Penn Yan Central School districts and at Keuka College. Currently, she is the high school choral teacher for Churchville-Chili High School. She also teaches private voice lessons.

OFFICE MANAGER - Jo-el Hibbard

 

Jo-el has twenty years experience in office management and bookkeeping and has been managing our church office for the past three years. She has completed two courses in designing websites and is our current website manager. Jo-el and her son, Jesse, enjoy swimming, walking, riding bikes, art and music.