Pat joined the St. Francis community in September 2014. Prior to coming to Holden, he served as the Associate Rector at St. John’s Church in West Hartford, Connecticut for five years. He currently serves as a member of the Standing Committee of the Diocese; he is the Diocesan Disaster Coordinator and is a member of the Diocesan Disaster Planning & Recovery Team; and supports the local community through the Holden CERT, and is involved in various emergency communications through VOAD and local volunteer groups. Prior to being ordained,  he worked in various positions of quality and operations management, following more than ten years of service as a Nuclear Submarine Officer in the United States Navy. Pat and his wife, Carol, live in Holden, and Carol works for the town of Holden.

Beth Keusch grew up in rural southwestern Indiana and is a daughter of music teachers/church musicians. Following the family vocation, Beth enjoys performing, teaching and sharing music.

She plays piano, organ, and guitar. As a classical soprano, she has been a soloist with Boston Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, and has also performed avant garde operas with Paris Opera and Stuttgart Opera, among many others. While being an international soloist for a number of years, Beth still kept working with spiritual music, as vocal soloist and then organist at First Baptist Church Waltham, with the intention of transitioning more fully to worship music. Currently, in addition to her ministry at St. Francis, Beth is a cantor at St. Leonard's Catholic Church in Boston, and Vocal Soloist and choral conductor at Temple Beth Elohim in Wellesley. Beth has a Bachelor of Music from University of North Texas,

and a Master of Music and Artist Diploma from New England Conservatory of Music

Amy started attending Saint Francis in 2016.  She volunteered in the church school ministry as a teacher last year and is very excited to be Church School Coordinator this year! She has earned her Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy from Worcester State College and currently works with children aged birth to three for Early Intervention.  She is also a dance instructor at Premier Dance Academy in Auburn, MA where she loves teaching children of all ages.  Amy, her husband, Andy, and their two children, Addison and Jacob live in Leominster and love being a part of the Saint Francis community.

Elena joined the St. Francis staff in February of 2018. She holds a bachelor's degree from Clark University and prior work experience in medical and corporate offices. Elena, her husband Mike, their two children, Andrew and Katy, alongside Esme the cat and Westley the dog, reside in Holden.

Jennifer and I have been members of St. Francis since 2000. I was received at St. Francis into the Episcopal Church in 2004. Both of our children, Chelsea and Nicholas, have participated in Church School as well as both being confirmed at St. Francis. After previously serving on the Vestry, and also serving as both Junior and Senior Warden, I have had the privilege of chairing Stewardship for the last several years. In addition, in conjunction with our Rector, I was honored to lead an outstanding RenewalWorks mission team – focusing on the importance of spiritual growth at St.Francis. I have also been a member of the Vestry since 2020 and have served as the Usher Coordinator for the last decade. As an Usher Coordinator, it has been my pleasure to greet St. Francis members at the 10:00 AM service as well as welcome visitors. I am honored to again be nominated for the Junior Warden as the faith community of St. Francis is a vital part of my life. My hope is to continue to welcome and invite folks into participating in our ministries so that they, too, can experience the blessings that have been bestowed on me at St. Francis.

Laura came to St Francis in 1991. Her now adult children grew up at St Francis and she has been involved in many ministries over the years. Currently she is a LEM, member of the handbell choir, and a shopper for Mustard Seed. She is honored to be considered for Warden again (this will be her second time in this position). She is looking forward to serving St Francis in this capacity.

Dawn and her husband Brian have lived in Holden since 1990 and have attended St. Francis since 1991. They feel blessed to have been able to raise their three children in this wonderful church that places such a strong emphasis on supporting, nurturing and honoring its youth. During her years at St. Francis, she has been involved with the Newcomer/Fellowship Committee, Dismas Farm Ministry, and served four years on the vestry. She is currently serving as a convention delegate and has been the clerk of the vestry since 2006. She looks forward to continuing to serve the St. Francis parish.

Joel Wesson and Lisa Nicholas moved to Holden in November of 2022 from Mississippi, when we joined St Francis. Joel is a lifelong Episcopalian and has been Sr. Warden, Jr. Warden, and Treasurer for many years at St Paul's Episcopal Church in Picayune, Mississippi. He was also a choir member and Lay Eucharistic Minister at St Paul's. He is a member of the bell choir here. He has also been active in the Men's Saturday Morning workdays and has joined the Finance Committee and an ad hoc lighting committee. He has also worked with Steve Henning this year on some building maintenance items. Since August, Ann Tripp has been re-introducing Joel to Quickbooks accounting and the Treasurer's responsibilities.

Ann Tripp and her family have been a part of the St Francis community since they moved to Rutland about 30 years ago. She was a Sunday school teacher for about 10 years while her children were active in the program and for several years after. Ann has also been on the Finance Committee and Stewardship Committee. Ann and her family are best known for bringing Ali the donkey to Palm Saturday and several sheep and goats to the Christmas pageant every year. Ann’s day job is President of Opus Investment Management and Chief Investment Officer for The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. ("THG"), the parent company of Opus, as well as the company's operating subsidiaries where she has oversight of the portfolios managed by Opus or third-party managers for affiliated and non-affiliated accounts. She also serves on boards and sub-committees of area non-profit organizations, including Fallon Community Health Plan and the Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts.

Jeremy was born and raised near Clemson, South Carolina. He grew up in the Baptist tradition, and as a young adult was involved in teaching and leadership within his church. Jeremy and his wife, Jenny, found the Episcopal Church several years ago when invited by a friend. They moved to Massachusetts in 2020, and landed in Princeton later in the year. As the pandemic eased, they found a church home at St. Francis. Now Jeremy serves as a reader for the 8 am service and Jenny serves on the altar guild.

Rich Farrell was raised in Marshfield Ma and brought up Roman Catholic. He attended UMass Amherst as a Forestry major. He and his wife Blanche live in Jefferson and have two sons, Richard and Sean. He was employed as a Forestry supervisor by Massachusetts Electric/National Grid and retired after 38 years of service. He has been attending St Francis for 30 years and serves as Acolyte and LEM at the 8am service. He was received into the Episcopal Church in May of 2009. He is a member of the Holden Municipal Electric Power advisory board. He is a model train enthusiast, and one of his favorite things to do is hike or bike at the Quabbin reservoir. He finds that sitting at the shoreline is very peaceful and allows him one on one time with God.  He is looking forward to this next chapter of his faith journey by serving on the Vestry.

Susan Dresley moved to Holden with her husband Larry Doxsey and joined St. Francis in February 2022. Previously, Susan attended the Church of Our Redeemer Episcopal Church in

Lexington, MA. There she led the Altar Guild, the Liturgy Team, and finished her first term on the vestry. Currently Susan co-chairs the St Clare Quilters with Barbara Henning, is a member

of the Senior Ministry, and serves as a reader and LEM at Sunday services. Retired now, Susan worked for 41 years as a reference librarian for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s

Volpe Center in Cambridge, MA.

Laura has been a member of Saint Francis since 1999. She previously served as a church school teacher for six years and as acolyte coordinator for five years. Her two children attended and were confirmed at Saint Francis. Laura is a professional musician

and also worked for thirty years as office manager for her husband’s former optometric practice. She is honored to be asked to join the vestry.

St. Francis has been my family’s church home since 2023. My wife Leah and I moved to central Massachusetts when I started teaching at Assumption University. After our daughter Juniper was born and the pandemic subsided, we went looking for a church, having previously attended St. James’s Episcopal Church in Cambridge. We were drawn to St. Francis for its active Sunday school program and mission ministries, not to mention its friendly people! I became one of the Pre-K/Kindergarten teachers in fall 2024. For the last two years, I have also helped Susan Bastardo organize the church’s Lenten reflection series. In November 2024, I was confirmed in the Episcopal Church by Bishop Fisher. I’m now taking the lay preaching class. My family and I are grateful to be growing in faith as members of this church community, and I am honored to give back as a new member of the vestry.