Our Staff
You can reach the church office by calling 617-698-6329 and listening to voice prompts for the voice mailbox of the appropriate staff member. General inquiries can be submitted using the Contact Form with a note mentioning the staff member you would like to reach.
Rev. Beverly Waring
Minister
Extension 102
Rev. Bev Waring is an Accredited Interim Minister (AIM) currently finishing her ministry at the First Universalist Society in Franklin, MA. She has served as an interim minister in seven diverse congregations in Massachusetts and NY State.
Rev. Bev’s journey to ministry has been a winding road. She received an undergraduate degree in Computer Science at the State University of New York at Brockport, and it was her first engineering job that brought Bev from Western New York to Massachusetts. Twelve years later, feeling the need to connect more with people instead of machines and numbers, Bev changed careers and earned her Masters of Social Work degree. Her social work experience ranged from working with people experiencing psychiatric emergencies to assisting mentally ill and addicted homeless people access services to a specialty in hospice social work. She is also a trained mediation consultant. When her call to ministry came, Bev went back to school and in 2009 received her Masters in Divinity degree at Andover Newton Theological School.
Bev describes her personal theology this way: “I feel a kinship to much of what defines a Humanist. I embrace free will, reason, ethics, and justice as essential for a moral code. My approach to spirituality does not assume the concept of a supernatural being but rather finds that which is holy and sacred in between and among human beings and the natural world while being equally interested in living daily life in a rational, ethical and purposeful way. The final piece of my theology comes from Process Theology which asserts that the unfolding present is not yet concrete but is ever changing. In Process Theology, divine energy, or the spirit of life, or God, is an energy, which lures us towards what is good.”
Beyond her professional life, Bev is a devoted geocacher and enjoys puzzles of all kinds including jigsaw, Sudoku, logic and crosswords. She is an avid reader and volunteers for a local cat rescue group. Bev lives in Marlborough, MA with Donna, her spouse of 44 years. Experienced dog-rescue fosters, they are awaiting their next dog to “find them” as many others have done in the past.
Susan DeMinico
Church Administrator
Extension 105
Office Days: Monday – Wednesday (remote)
Tuesday & Thursday – (in office)
Email: manager@fpmilton.org
Susan’s career started in the for profit- education world in accounting and strategic management; however, she wanted a career that allowed to use her MBA to create positive social change.
Before coming to First Parish, she worked for organizations working on food access, fair farming, and equitable HR processes.
She has a B.A from Boston University and an MBA from Temple University (Go Owls!). In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, reading too many books at one time, and all the NY Times puzzle games.
She lives in Avon with her husband, 3 kiddos, and a very pampered rescue dog.
Susannah Bales, MDiv. LMFT (she/her)
Director of Lifespan Faith Exploration – Extension 104
Office Days: Sunday & Tuesday
Remote: Monday, Wednesday & Thursday
Email: redirector@fpmilton.org
Susannah joined the First Parish community in 2025. With a background in ministry and mental health, she has over a decade of experience in Religious Education and outpatient psychotherapy, most recently in Providence and previously in Atlanta. She’s a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a Master of Divinity from Emory University, and has led inclusive programs focused on social justice, LGBTQIA+ affirmation, and anti-racism. Now rooted in New England, Susannah looks forward to nurturing spiritual growth and community connection at First Parish. When not working, Susannah enjoys gardening, participating in community theatre, and spending time with her partner, Patrick, and their pup, Mabel, at their home in Providence, Rhode Island.
Tim Steele
Music Director
Extension 103
No scheduled office days
Email: music@fpmilton.org
Timothy Steele has been music director at First Parish for four years. In addition to his duties as organist and choir director, he is also the producer for Milton Community Concerts at First Parish.
Tim is also an active vocal coach, collaborative pianist, and conductor in the Boston area, and is currently in his twenty-seventh year on the opera faculty at the New England Conservatory.
He has served as conductor/pianist for more than 180 operatic productions with 33 companies, including Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Boston Lyric Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, and Opera Maine.
In Boston he has collaborated extensively with Emmanuel Music, the Handel and Haydn Society, the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, and the Boston Symphony.
Tim is a native of Des Moines, Iowa and has received degrees from Drake University and the University of Southern California.
Sherri Moldaver
Administrative Assistant
Extension 101
Office Days: Monday – Thursday 8:30am-1:30pm
Email: office@fpmilton.org
Sherri has been with First Parish since November 2019. She is an alumna from Bay State College.
She is a multi-tasker of many roles here at First Parish providing administrative support and ensuring the smooth functioning of church rentals. She is excited about supporting the church life here at First Parish! Her motto: “Life is lived in the moments of simplicity.”
Kevin Harnden
Sexton
Born and raised in Boston, Kevin moved to Milton 38 years ago with his wife Barbara. Kevin and Barbara have three adult married children and six grandchildren and 4 children all living in the South Shore area, happily within babysitting distance.
Kevin is retired after a successful 40 year career in the advertising marketing business. Barbara and Now Kevin enjoys time with his family, dining out, bowling and golf.
Hunsaker soloists
Juan Suarez
Baritone Juan Suarez has most recently performed with Opera Del west, NEMPAC opera project and the Boston Festival Orchestra, and has also performed in other engagements with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, Odyssey Opera, and MassOpera.
Notable engagements include performing the role of Count Almaviva in NEMPAC Opera’s production of Le Nozze di Figaro and singing in Boston Modern Opera Project’s Grammy nominated recording of The Lord of Cries, written by composer John Corigliano and librettist Mark Adamo.
Juan holds Music Degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music and Stetson University, and has been a Voice Teaching Artist with South Shore Conservatory for the past two years.
Carina DiGianfilippo
Carina DiGianfilippo is an opera singer based in Boston, MA. She received her B.M from Syracuse University and her M.M. from Manhattan School of Music, where she acted as a teaching assistant for the Movement for Singers classes and as co-choreographer for their Undergraduate Senior Opera Theatre.
She has performed globally, recently returning from Italy, where she performed a series of art song concerts with the Livorno Music Festival. She won her first international competition in Formello, Italy, at the Concorso Internazionale Rolando Nicolosi Competition, and she has sung in China as both a young artist with the iSING! International Young Artist Festival and as a guest artist with the Xi’an Symphony Orchestra.
In addition to her vocal studies, Carina holds a certificate in Effective Grant Proposal Writing from the University of Notre Dame and is currently on the Board of Directors for the Voices Boston Children’s Choir, based out of Brookline, MA.
Grace Allendorf
Flourishing mezzo-soprano Grace Allendorf is known for her “creamy timbre, evenness of color and coloratura agility.” A consummate musician, she is dedicated to performing opera, oratorio, art song, musical theatre, and new music.
Grace made her debut with Opera 51 as a member of the chorus in their production of Faust and she performed the role of Dew Fairy in Hansel and Gretel with Longwood Opera.
She has shared the stage as a soloist with Milton Community Concerts, American Classics, Concord Community Chorus, Coro Allegro, Andover Choral Society, Metropolitan Wind Symphony, Freisinger Chamber Orchestra, and Spectrum Singers.
Grace holds the position of Associate Director of Community Performances and Partnerships at New England Conservatory, a community service-based program designed to connect students with the community.
Grace currently serves as a section leader and soloist at First Parish in Milton and as a cantor at St. Richard’s Parish in Danvers. She holds a Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance from Longy School of Music and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music with a minor in Theatre Arts from Brandeis University.