Our Team

Brynn Harrington

LEAD PASTOR

Brynn grew up in Southern California, but moved to the North Shore in 2002 to study theology and writing at Gordon College. It didn't take long for Brynn to fall in love with the North Shore coastline, Captain Dusty's ice cream, and her now husband Aaron, a Massachusetts native. After college, she spent time working with churches in California and Georgia before heading back north to pursue a Master of Divinity degree at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Brynn gets excited about seeing God's Kingdom breaking in all over the community, encouraging others to live into their unique gifts, and throwing massive parties. Click here to read about Brynn’s pastoring philosophy.
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Ali Barrett

PASTOR TO KIDS & YOUTH FAMILIES

Ali was born and raised in Beverly. She studied Biology at Wheaton College before returning home to pursue a Masters of Divinity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Ali loves talking about God’s redemptive plan, good coffee, and trying out new recipes with her husband, Will.
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Ethan May

PASTOR OF COMMUNITY LIFE & OUTREACH

Ethan grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma and studied education at Oklahoma Wesleyan University. Roughly 36 hours after getting married, he and his wife Caila moved to the North Shore so he could pursue a Master of Divinity at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. Ethan immediately fell in love with all things New England, and he and Caila now live in Beverly. Ethan gets excited talking about the realness of Biblical characters and the relatability of their stories. He loves disc golf, Harry Potter, Star Wars, novels, and board games.
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Gene Park

PASTOR OF CONGREGATIONAL CARE & HOSPITALITY

Gene was born and raised in Northern California. While studying I.T. at San Jose State University, he developed an undeniable passion to be in ministry that led him to pursue a Master of Divinity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Gene gets jazzed about sharing the story of God, serving the church from behind the scenes, engaging in quality conversations, and cooking a variety of cuisines. Here is a fun fact: He can speak Japanese (just not fluently yet). He has been on two incredible missionary trips to Japan and plans to go again in the near future.
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Betsy Noyes

Administrator and Marketing Manager

Betsy was born and raised in a small town in South Carolina before moving to the North Shore to study Biblical Studies and Theology at Gordon College. While she misses aspects of the South dearly, she has fallen in love with all things New England – especially rocky beaches, Polar seltzer, experiencing all of the seasons to the fullest, and iced coffee during inclement weather! Betsy is passionate about lived theology, particularly that which cares for the oppressed, outcast, and broken-hearted. She can often be found chatting with friends at her favorite coffee shops, or crocheting while watching the Great British Baking Show!
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Kenny Smith

CARETAKER

Kenny grew up in upstate NY before coming to the North Shore for college. He stayed here after meeting his wife, Amelia. Kenny loves a good story whether it's on stage, through film, in a video game, or collaboratively told through a table top role-playing game. He also enjoys playing video games, board games, and other nerdy activities.
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Susan Morneau

COMMUNITY CARE SUPPORT

Born in Salem, Susan lived on the North Shore until, at the age of 20, she married Paul and moved to upstate New York. They lived away from this area for 23 years before moving back to Salem. Susan has been a nurse for over 40 years, loves her job and continues to work part time at Lahey Burlington. She has three adult children and two grandchildren. Her favorite things are caring for people, hosting family and friend events, the beach and coffee.
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Jess Modaff

DIRECTOR OF WORSHIP ARTS

Jess grew up in Washington State, attended college in Illinois, and has resided in Massachusetts since 2006. She holds multiple music degrees, including a doctorate in piano and collaborative music. Jess works at Gordon College where she teaches music theory, chamber music, mentors students, and acts as music director for musical theatre productions. She has been with Anchor Bay Church since the church was founded, and is thrilled to be serving in this role. Prior to serving at HRNS, Jess has held positions at churches elsewhere as worship leader, pianist, music arranger and choral conductor. When not making music, Jess enjoys drinking coffee, puzzles, audiobooks, honest conversations, and being present with those who need encouragement and a listening ear.
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Ruth Feins

BOOKKEEPER

Ruth grew up in Scotland, but moved to the US in 1997 after marrying Dan who was born and raised on the North Shore. They have two grown daughters, a dog and a cat. Ruth has been a bookkeeper for local churches since 2014 and prior to that involved with a variety of ministries. Some of her favorite activities besides bookkeeping are singing, camping and kayaking.
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The Board

Stephen Cushing

BOARD CHAIR

Steve currently serves as the Senior Chaplain and Executive Director at the New England Seafarers Mission, an international outreach and advocacy organization within the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC). He has served there for over 20 years and is ordained within the ECC. Steve served as an overseer at Highrock during its initial years and continues to participate with us. He grew up in the Boston area and now lives in Wakefield, MA with his wife Sharon. They have two adult children. He is a second career minister, having worked in small business and self-employed small business prior to entering the ministry.
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John Entner

VICE CHAIR

John grew up moving throughout the US with his family, came to the North Shore in 2003, and finally settled here with his wife, Kathryn, in 2008. He attended Suffolk University Law School and graduated with a JD in 2012. John is currently a business litigator with a small firm in Boston. John enjoys playing music and sports, great storytelling in any form, and doing home improvement projects to his 19th century Salem home. John is especially passionate about the intersection of politics, law and religion, much to the dismay of all his friends.

Kathy Cahill

SECRETARY

Kathy and her husband, Tim, reside in Beverly with their three children: Aidan, Justin and Gianna. Prior to the church being adopted by Anchor Bay, they attended Dane Street Congregational Church for over twenty years. She served on many ministries but is especially dedicated to supporting missionary work. Since 1998, Kathy has worked as a French and Spanish teacher at North Reading High School. She is passionate about educating adolescents and instilling a bigger worldview into her students' lives. She is devoted to adhering to her college's motto of being "men and women for others" through foster care and adoption. She also strives to live "ad majorem Dei gloriam", for the greater glory of God.

Lance Nicolaysen

TREASURER

Lance Nicolaysen and his wife Tina reside in Beverly, relocating here from Georgia in 1989. Their three grown children - Ben, Susie, and Lizzie - live and work in the Boston area. Lance has undergraduate degrees in Chemistry and Mathematics, and a Ph. D. in Analytical Chemistry, from Emory University. Before joining Anchor Bay in 2020, they were members of Dane Street for over 20 years where Lance served in multiple leadership roles including Moderator. Lance also enjoys preparing and serving food for the congregation and participates with the team that maintains aspects of the church facility and operation.

Kelliann Henry

PASTORAL CARE COMMITTEE LIAISON

Kelliann has called Anchor Bay and the North Shore home since moving to the area in 2018. She works in higher education and thinks college students are the best. At church, she serves on the Sunday Coordinating team and is a member of the Boogies Lifegroup. Kelliann enjoys spending her free time with friends and exploring new places.

Kenann McKenzie-DeFranza

BOARD MEMBER

Dr. McKenzie-DeFranza is the Founder of Aspiring Spirit, LLC organizational consulting group. She has served as the Founding Director of the Generous Listening and Dialogue Center, Tufts University from 2021-2023. She continues to serve the higher education community as a strategic partnerships professional, fostering working around civil discourse and civic engagement.
Her background and expertise includes civic engagement research & practice, organizational consulting, PreK-12 schools and higher education professional development on subjects such as educational practices, policy, administration, culturally, responsive practices and leadership. She has served as Executive Director for the National Board of Education Sciences in the US Department of Education for several years.
To Kenann, being a follower of Christ means loving all people and understanding that we have different lived experiences, but that ultimately the goal is to learn to love one another as Christ taught us to love one another, and one of the best ways to do that is through service to each other.

Chris Nazareth