Meet the 2021 Vestry at Grace Church
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Meet the 2021 Vestry at Grace Church
Executive Committee
Leah Gassett, Sr. Warden: My family and I have been coming to Grace for about
thirteen years now. Jose and I have three children, Timothy (18), Maya (15), and
Mariana (12) who participate in a variety of activities at Grace. This is my second
opportunity to serve on the vestry and I have also been active with Christian
formation for youth as a Godly Play teacher and member of the Christian education
committee in the past. Professionally I am a Principal at ECG Management
Consultants. My work affords me the opportunity to travel all over this great country
to medical schools and academic medical centers where I work with some of the brightest and most
mission-driven professionals in higher education and healthcare. Hobbies – sadly I don’t think I have any!
I try to spend every minute that I can with our family when I am home. We take advantage of all being
near Boston and in New England has to offer, theater, music, hiking, boogie-boarding, and skiing when
we can find the time. I very much look forward to serving as Senior Warden as we embark upon what
promises to be a productive and exciting year of working together to resolve our tower issues and advance
our new vision, mission, and values.
Scott Aquilina, Jr. Warden: I grew up in Buffalo when its streets were still lined
with a canopy of Elms. My daily crosstown commute to school took me past Frank
Lloyd Wright houses and through an Olmsted Park. That early exposure to great
design was why I became an architect. My first real job was in the office of fellow
Grace Church member, Larry Bauer. My work then and now has focused on the
modernization and expansion of heritage buildings for education, the arts, and
culture. Local buildings I have worked on include the Currier Museum of Art and
Symphony Hall. It's been very rewarding. I have been an active member of Grace Church for 27 years
and was last on vestry in 2002. Ellen and I raised our daughter Madeleine and son Patrick at Grace. Their
Senior Sunday homilies were a highlight for our family. They both mentioned the many Grace Church
people who helped them grow up. It's wonderful to see a new generation following in their footsteps.
After about 5 years of teaching Sunday School and realizing I needed two gin and tonics after every class,
I switched to Acolyte Coordinator in 2009 and continue to enjoy that very much. I am looking forward to
serving as Junior Warden and continuing as Project Manager for the Tower.
Carol McNally, Clerk: I came to Grace in 1984 (the same year as Reverend Jim
McAlpine) to have our son Patrick baptized. I knew that if I wanted Patrick to have a
church life, that church would have to be close to home! I like to say that I came to
Grace for Patrick and stayed for Carol. I have served on Vestry in the past, most
recently as clerk and previously as Senior Warden. Although now retired, I taught
Russian, English, and English as a Second language in Acton and at Newton North
and South. My late husband Raymond taught Russian history at Boston College as
well as pursuing the historical Dracula. This afforded us the opportunity to travel to some pretty strange
places! My favorite, however, was the year or so we spent in Istanbul. Having grown up in Margate, New
Jersey, my happy places are still the beach and the ocean. That’s why you won’t see a lot of me in the
summer as I spend July and August on the Cape. I am looking forward to working with this dynamic
Vestry as we implement our work on the Jeremiah Project and continue to envision our dreams for Grace.
Diane Droste, Treasurer: After moving to the Boston area in 1989, I first came to
Grace as the alto section leader in the choir in 1990 or 1991. I had been raised in the
Methodist church, but even as a child, I had a longing for a more liturgical form of
worship, which drew me to the Episcopal Church in college, and eventually to the
Catholic Church in graduate school. Even in my early years at Grace, when I was not
much involved with parish life beyond the choir, I loved how the parish seemed to
appreciate each person for their unique gifts, and over time, I became active in many
aspects of Grace community life: first Grace Notes, then search committees for music directors and
rector, Vestry, Worship Committee, and Stewardship, to name some. Taking on the role of Treasurer is a
stretch for me, but I am excited to work with the Vestry and eager to increase my understanding of how
Grace uses its financial resources to live out its mission and values.
Vestry Members
Brad Davenport: Our first time at Grace was the September 2018 Welcome Cookout.
The amazing food and the parish’s welcoming warmth made Grace an easy choice as
the church to raise our young family. Amy, Brooks (6), Nelle (4), Clark (2) and I look
forward every week to Sunday mornings with Grace. Our highlights over the last few
years include the children’s participation in Christian Formation, Christmas Pageants,
and their baptisms with the Grace congregation. Born in Boston and raised in the area, I
attended St. John’s Methodist Church in Watertown with my parents and sisters. After a Bachelor’s
degree at Boston College, a first job at Dell, a Master’s at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, I
joined Bain & Company, where I work with companies all over the world to transform their technology
capabilities. With work travel suspended, I am enjoying my time at home and spend as much time as I can
enjoying my favorite hobbies - cooking, fishing and being active – with Amy and the kids. I am thrilled to
be serving with the vestry in what will be an exciting and important year for Grace. I look forward to
working with, learning from, and getting to know this group better throughout the year.
Wildon Farwell: After moving to Newton in 2016, my family and I began attending
Grace Church. We previously attended an Episcopal Church in Natick while living in
Wayland. Ellen and I along with David (9) and Emily (6) have enjoyed becoming
involved in many of the children’s and family programs at Grace Church. I grew up in
the Ozarks region of Southwest Missouri and attended an evangelical church all
throughout my childhood. I lived in Indianapolis for a few years before moving to
Boston in 2003 to complete my training as a General Internist. After practicing
medicine and conducting academic research for 7 years, I left the VA Healthcare System in 2010 and
went to work at a pharmaceutical company. My team and I work as a bridge between research and clinical
practice for neuromuscular diseases such as SMA and ALS. When I am not working, I enjoy being with
my family, going for an occasional run, or continuing to learn to ski. After having grown up in Missouri,
it is wonderful to have both the mountains and ocean so close. My favorite part of Sunday morning is the
stillness and reflection of the main service.
Don Ferree: My wife, Myra, and I have been members of Grace since moving to
Newton in 2019, which represented a return to New England for me after growing up
in West Hartford Connecticut. I’m retired from teaching Political Science and
Sociology, with a focus on public opinion and survey research, at UConn and the
University of Wisconsin-Madison. As a “cradle Episcopalian” I have always felt
active involvement in the Church to be a fundamental part of my identity, based on a
strong belief that lay leadership is a special hallmark of the Episcopal Church and
Anglican Communion. Expressing that conviction, I have been privileged to serve as Senior Warden in
one parish, and Vestry Member and later Clerk in two, as well as serving or chairing several calling
committees for rectors or diocesan bishops in both dioceses. Although I have had no formal theological
training, I also served as Diocesan Ecumenical Officer and a member of the Executive Council in
Connecticut for almost twenty years and was delighted to officially represent the Episcopal Church on
national and international levels. While we had originally “tried out” Grace simply because it was
geographically closest to our new home in Newton, we were immediately impressed both with the
worship and the warm welcome we felt from other parishioners, including our participation in the
Jeremiah Project. I now look forward to deeper involvement at Grace as the parish faces difficult
decisions and we seek more fully to embrace our work and witness in the local community and beyond.
Crissy Hutchison-Jones: I have been attending Grace with my husband Chris and our
son Nathan (now 6) since 2015. I previously attended Marsh Chapel at Boston
University, where I completed a PhD in American religious history at BU in 2011.
After Nathan was born, Grace had many things we were looking for, but most
importantly a nursery (!), a growing children’s program, and a congregation small
enough to get to know the community. My previous engagement with Grace beyond
Sunday service has been in support of children’s activities, and I participated in the
Jeremiah Project in 2019. In the world beyond Grace I am currently the Project
Manager for the initiative on Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery, which seeks to understand and address
the legacies of slavery across the university. This spring I will serve on a City of Cambridge advisory
committee that will develop recommendations on dealing with monuments and markers tied to
problematic historical figures. Starting in February 2021, I will be an academic mentor in the Boston
Public Schools through Boston Partners in Education. I previously volunteered as a public educator with
the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, and I recently stepped down after five years chairing a committee at
the American Academy of Religion, a professional society for religious studies scholars, on careers
beyond the academy. During this pandemic year our family has extended our love of long walks,
exploring eastern Massachusetts and getting to know our native birds while hiking and biking. I’m
excited to join the Vestry as Grace takes the next steps to implement the Mission, Vision, and Values that
we identified through the Jeremiah Project.
Liz McCarthy: Two years ago, my husband and I moved from the mountains of Virginia
to Newton and began looking for an Episcopal Church home. Thanks to the great picture
of the congregation on your website and a wonderful, warm welcome from Regina on a
cold wintry morning, we settled in at Grace - and it has been good. We both grew up
Roman Catholics in the deep South, and since finding the Episcopal Church we have
been active members of churches in New Orleans (Trinity), the Diocese of Georgia, and
the Diocese of Southwest Virginia. Over the years, I have served as Junior and Senior
warden, on Diocesan Executive Committees, as Chair of Outreach Activities, and
trained as a Community Organizer. I feel very blessed to have had these opportunities to
serve, and I am truly honored to be considered for your Vestry at Grace Newton.
Jenny Rosser: Newly arrived in Newton during the fall of 1974, our small
family of three showed up on a Sunday morning at Grace’s front door. We
were invited in by Isabel Coleman’s warmth, by Tom Lehman’s progressive
leadership, and by a congregation whose tradition of welcoming the stranger
made us feel we already belonged. We’ve stayed ever since. Two more
children were soon added to the family fold, including a daughter who broke
tradition as Grace’s first ever female baby Jesus. (More challenges to tradition came much later
when our twin grandsons doubled as “babies” Jesus.) It wasn’t long after arriving that we were
drawn into service to Grace—for me it was Sunday school teaching for years, Vestry terms
several times over, including responsibilities as Junior and Senior Warden, Altar Guild
commitments, and Social Action/Outreach activities that support so much of Grace’s mission.
Now that I’m fully retired from decades of fulltime teaching at Bunker Hill Community College,
I’m looking forward to joining the Vestry once again, eager to treasure Grace’s traditions and to
welcome positive change.
Austin Stewart: My husband, Charlie, and I started coming to Grace the day after we
moved to Boston in 2018. It was a blustery January day, but the moment we walked
in the door, we were welcomed by a congregation of warm-hearted folks that have
become our community. Originally from Western Michigan, I grew up with a
spirituality falling somewhere between my mom’s Roman Catholic heritage and my
dad’s evangelical, blue-collar worldview. When I was in college, I was confirmed
Catholic, came out, and started looking for a place where this messiness of being was
fully accepted and embraced. I became an Episcopalian at St. David’s in Austin, TX, during grad school,
then sang in the esteemed choirs of Christ Church Grosse Pointe, MI, during my doctoral work. Charlie
and I were married at St. Andrew’s in Ann Arbor in 2019. I’m a trained musicologist and historian, as
well as a relatively active musician still, and during the week I work with arts organizations and in
securing government and foundation support for various groups.
Beth Thompson: My family and I joined Grace in October 2015 at the time when our
three daughters (Makalyn – 13, Avianna – 12, and Madisyn – 9) moved in with us
following two years in foster care. We were able to officially adopt them in February
2018. My husband Dan also has two older children, my step-children, Anais – 26, and
Gavril – 22, who are in graduate school in North Carolina and college in New York
respectively. Prior to joining Grace, Dan and I attended services at the BU Marsh
Chapel. When we knew that we wished to expand our family, we wanted to find a
church where there was an active program for children. We were fortunate to hear Pastor Regina give a
sermon at Marsh Chapel which frankly knocked us out for its progressiveness, intelligence, and
compassion. This led us happily to Grace. Professionally, I am assistant dean for academic and
development planning in the office of development for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard. In
this role, I work with the academic leadership and faculty to lead the planning, strategy, and translation of
the academic priorities into our fundraising plans and programs. I have been at Harvard since 1995, with a
brief hiatus in 2003-04 to Miami, Florida. I grew up mostly in New Jersey and in the Lutheran Church.
Some of my best childhood memories are of the many summers when I worked at a Lutheran summer
camp in the Adirondacks. This is where I felt unconditionally loved and nurtured, and where I was
enabled to grow both spiritually and as a leader and contributor to the broader good. It is what inspired me
to work in education and to stay close to the church – particularly churches that value compassion and
openness to all – something I have found and felt strongly at Grace.
Melissa Umbsen: I grew up in Connecticut, moved to Massachusetts after college and
then began a search in where I could find my spiritual nourishment after graduate school.
I was introduced to Grace Church by Alison Umbsen over 25 years ago and just kept
coming! I remember how warm and welcoming a place it was. And that has never
changed. Both of my boys, now young men, considered it a home and felt totally
comfortable sneaking into the kitchen to grab snacks during the Christmas pageant. I
remember being asked to be on the Vestry after a short time at Grace. The invitation was
a wonderful introduction to being involved in so many wonderful aspects of Grace – from Children’s
Ministry to Alter Guild and so much more in between. I am a clinical social worker and have worked in
so many different areas in the world of behavioral health. In addition to working for a Behavioral Health
Managed Care Organization, I have started a business myself as a Behavioral Health Advocate. This is
both exciting and scary. It is wonderful to have the support of so many at Grace Church in this endeavor!
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