Staff
Brynn Harrington
LEAD PASTOR
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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.
Ethan May
ASSOCIATE PASTOR
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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.
Alana Abbot
TEMPORARY FAMILY MINISTRIES DIRECTOR
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Alana grew up in Western New York, moved to the North Shore for college, and has been here ever since. Anchor Bay has been a foundational piece in making the North Shore feel like home. She has held a wide variety of professional roles from working on an HGTV show at an interior design firm, to being a Teaching Assistant at a special education school, but the thing she has loved the most about each position was the opportunity to be a part of a team and build relationships. She has a passion for people and is excited to play a role in equipping and empowering the next generation at Anchor Bay. Alana loves running, reading, travel and adventure (just ask her husband, who she persuaded into a skydiving experience), but can often be found sitting on her couch with her puppy, her husband, and her current knitting project, watching their favorite show.
Laurie Groff
DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION + FAMILY MINISTRY FELLOW
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Laurie grew up just north of New York City, where her earliest memories of faith in community involved close-knit relationships with other families and celebrating with friends from different religious traditions. She is a former competitive gymnast and NCAA swimmer and coach. Laurie is a certified aromatherapist with clients around the world. She holds degrees in theology and ancient near eastern languages from Gordon College and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and lives on the north shore of Boston with her husband, their children, and dog, Dobby.
Jess Modaff
DIRECTOR OF WORSHIP ARTS
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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.
Kenny Smith
CARETAKER
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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.
Ruth Feins
BOOKKEEPER
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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, both married. 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.
Volunteer Staff
Doug Calhoun
EXECUTIVE PASTOR
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Doug’s ministry experience focuses on people seeking transformation in Christ. This internal focus combines with his missional desire that God’s glory fill the whole earth. Doug’s ministry began working with university students on InterVarsity staff and then as an IFES staff member. Moving to the church arena, he has served in a wide range of roles. As a pastor, he has traveled to five continents resourcing national churches, leading mission teams, serving on boards, and forming or strengthening mission partnerships.
Doug loves to teach, to mentor, and guide others in their walk with God. He is a spiritual director and Enneagram teacher; he also presents workshops and pilgrimages with wife Adele. Doug is a graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (M.Div. and D.Min. in Christian Spirituality). Doug currently serves on the faculty of the Soul Care Institute and chairs the board of the Del Camino Connection. He is adjunct faculty and board member for PAX Center for Christian Spiritual Formation and has also been adjunct faculty to The Transforming Center and a founding member of the Transforming Church Network. He enjoys cooking, movies, nature, wine tasting, and (when he gets a chance) scuba diving.
Susan Morneau
COMMUNITY CARE SUPPORT
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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.
The Board
The Board is a group of lay leaders nominated and elected by the Anchor Bay Partnership and tasked with serving as keepers of our vision and values, providing oversight to the church's ministry and business affairs, offering partnership to the staff, and serving the congregation through prayer and care. Board members are elected for two-year terms, which may be renewed once before rotating off.
Monica Knaak
BOARD CHAIR
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Monica grew up in Connecticut and moved to the North Shore for college and has stayed ever since. She is a special education teacher and enjoys walking at the beach, ballroom dancing, spending time with friends, reading, and doing puzzles in her free time. She has attended Anchor Bay Church since 2021 and currently serves in Kids Crew and as the co-leader of the Foster and Adoptive Family Ministry.
John Entner
VICE CHAIR
Colby Smidt
SECRETARY
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Colby grew up the oldest of six children, moving across the country as his parents both served in the U.S. Army. He attended Gordon College, where he met his wife, Eva, and they now have two boys and call the north shore of Boston home.
In 2006, Colby started attending Hightock Church in Arlington, and the Anchor Bay Church family is an important part of what makes Beverly home. You will often find the Smidts playing at parks around town or paddleboarding and kayaking in Mackeral Cove. Colby works with Eventide Asset Management, guiding financial advisors towards ethical investments.
Steven Greisdorf
TREASURER
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I was born just outside of Chicago, Illinois, but spent most of my early and teenage years in Daytona Beach, Florida. After graduating from college, I moved to Washington, DC to begin a career with the International Monetary Fund. After about 10 years, my career pivoted into education - first in the classroom and then into school administration. My past six years have been spent working at the college level, primarily in Human Resources, first for Gordon-Conwell and currently for Montserrat College of Art. Karen and I have been married for 31 years and are blessed with two grown children, Sarah (living and working in New York City) and Kate (living and working in Burlington, VT). In my "free" time, I enjoy working in our yard, reading, collecting baseball cards, and Olympic-style weightlifting.
Caitlyn Matykiewicz
PASTORAL CARE COMMITTEE LIAISON
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Caitlyn grew up in Massachusetts, but left to attend Wheaton College and earn her Master's in Public Health at Emory University. She came back in 2020 and now calls the North Shore home. Caitlyn and her husband, Mike, live in Beverly and have attended Anchor Bay since 2021. She is currently serving on the Pastoral Care Committee and Nursery team, and is also involved in the BIPOC Affinity Group. Caitlyn works for the Salem Health Department and enjoys watching Boston sports in her free time.
Chris Nazareth
BOARD MEMBER
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Chris and his wife, Jamie, along with their two daughters, Mairead and Emilia have been attending Anchor Bay Church for over 10 years. Originally from Rhode Island, Chris moved to the North Shore after meeting Jamie, and now calls Beverly, MA home. Chris works in nonprofit philanthropy and is currently the Director of Development and External Affairs at Beverly Bootstraps. At church, Chris has served in many different capacities over the years from Kids Crew, to Coordinating to leading the Boogies Lifegroup.
Appu Thomas
BOARD MEMBER
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Appu and his wife, Shilpa, have lived on the Northshore for almost twenty years. They have two children, both in high school. Prior to the church's adoption by Anchor Bay, they worshipped in the same space with Dane Street Church for about 8 years. He works as a mechanical engineer in the Semiconductor Industry and enjoys mentoring college grads and interns on a regular basis. He enjoys carpentry and fights losing battles with yardwork.
Rebecca Wood
BOARD MEMBER
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A central Massachusetts native, Rebecca has resided on the Northshore since the turn of the century. She currently lives in Salem with her husband Peter, daughters Catherine and Esme, and downstairs neighbors (and parents!) Ken and Dianne Lowe. She has been involved in children’s ministry at Anchor Bay, and previously at Dane Street Church, for twenty years; currently serving in the 3rd-5th grade class. Outside of church she can be found behind the wheel of her minivan, backstage at dance recitals and Shakespeare plays, walking by the ocean or completing puzzles while watching and rewatching her favorite tv shows. In 2027 she will conclude her career as a homeschooling parent and is looking forward to whatever may come!