Pastor
Rev. Dr. Deborah Clark (Debbie) has been the pastor of Edwards Church since 1996. A graduate of Amherst College and Harvard Divinity School, she was ordained in 1989 and has served churches in Malden and Winthrop. In 2001, she completed her Doctor of Ministry degree in creative writing.
Debbie lives in Framingham with her spouse Fran, who is also an ordained UCC minister, and their dog Jeannie, who is a trained service dog for the ministry. They love to travel, and over the last few decades have gone to India, China, Japan, Kenya, Sri Lanka, the Galapagos, and Costa Rica.
As part of her ministry and as an expression of her passion for learning about other religions and spiritual paths, Debbie is Multi-Faith Coordinator for Open Spirit: A Place of Hope, Health & Harmony. She is a Certified Yoga Instructor and teaches Gentle Yoga and Veterans Yoga at Open Spirit.
Debbie recently published her first book, Ice Cream at the Ashram: Holy Journey, Holy River, Holy Week.
School. In 2010, she received her Doctor of Ministry from Hartford Seminary with a focus on interfaith dialogue.
Church and Campus Administrator
Alexis Ortiz joined Edwards Church as the Church and Campus Administrator in September 2023. She provides support to Rev. Debbie Clark and all of our staff and members and manages all campus rentals. Before joining the staff at Edwards Church, Alexis worked in nonprofit healthcare and in Human Resources Healthcare Recruitment.
Feel free to email her at admin@edwardschurch.org for a new name tag, member directory, to sign up for our weekly or monthly newsletter, or with any questions you may have.
Outside of work, Alexis enjoys hiking, going on day trips, and spending time at the beach with her 2 teenage children. She volunteers for the German Shepherd Rescue of New England and loves to sew, cook, and bake.
Sexton
Our Sexton, Don Sherman, joined our staff in January 2025. Since then, he has brought dedication, good humor, and tremendous skill to caring for our campus. We have learned that he can fix almost anything! Don is a Marine Corps Veteran and an avid kayaker.
Organist and Choir Director
Cheryl Elkins brings wisdom, passion, patience and deep belief in our choir’s potential. She loves our historic organ and plays it with great skill and flexibility. She has encouraged our choir to try new things, to grow in our capacity to listen to one another, and to celebrate the gift of a small musical group. Cheryl is also an engineer and a passionate advocate for democracy and civic engagement.
Pianist
When Grace and Edwards Churches merged in 2017, Susan Minor agreed to continue on as pianist, working in tandem with Cheryl Elkins to offer prelude, postlude, hymn accompaniment and conducting and support for our choir. We are grateful that she has continued in her role as pianist; it is always a treat when she plays!
Sunday Morning Tech Support
Olivia Sorensen, a Computer Scientist and recent graduate of Smith College, manages our livestream, sound system and slide shows on Sunday mornings with flexibility and great problem-solving skills. She coordinates a volunteer team to support her as needed.
Commissioned Minister of Music, Emeritus
A lifelong church musician, Rick Seaholm earned his Master of Music in Sacred Music (choir directing and vocal performance) at Westminster Choir College in 2001, and Bachelor of Music in vocal performance at the University of Massachusetts Lowell in 1999. He served Edwards Church from 2009 until 2023. In gratitude for his dedication, the congregation elected him Commissioned Minister of Music, Emeritus.
Recent works include “Advice on Managing a Hymn Competition” in the UCC Musicians Association’s quarterly journal, Worship, Music & Ministry; an occasional lecture series on church music history for the members of Edwards Church; “Empowering the Volunteer Choir through Technology” at the American Choral Directors Association Eastern Division Conference in Boston; a roundtable discussion on “Saving the World Through Singing” at that same conference; and “Music That Inspires Courage” at Open Spirit’s 2018 Weekend of Spirit.