Recently, we were blessed to hear 'Words of Witness' from some of our members. They were asked to tell the congregation, openly and honestly, from mind and heart about their faith journey, sharing where they have come from, where they are now, and what gives them hope. Here is a bit about them:
Mary Jane Ott
A member of First Baptist Church in Newton for 20 years, Mary Jane and her husband, Stephen, moved to Newton from the Bay area of California. A Nurse Practitioner since 1971, Mary Jane currently serves as a clinical nurse specialist in integrated therapies offering education and mentorship for staff at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Trained in spiritual direction at the Shalem Institute in Washington, DC, contemplative prayer forms the basis of her spiritual practice. She was born into a military family, moving frequently around the country while growing up and was raised in the Methodist tradition.
Heather Palmer
Born of British Baptist Missionary parents in China and raised near London, England, she attended undergraduate and medical school at Cambridge University (England). In the summer of her final year of medical school, she met Philip Palmer, an exchange student from a Virginia medical school. They married 2 years later in 1964. With their two children, Michael and Jennifer, the Palmers joined this church in 1978. While Philip became Chief of Pathology at Deaconess-Nashoba Hospital in Ayer, Heather served 35 years on the Faculty of the Harvard School of Public Health, most recently as Professor of Health Policy and Management, conducting research and teaching courses in quality measurement and improvement of health care.
Dale Rogoff Greer
Dale Rogoff Greer grew up in Montville, Connecticut during the 1950's and 1960's. She is the 3rd oldest of 9 children - 8 girls and 1 boy. Although Dale attended the First Baptist Church in New London, CT throughout her childhood, she is best remembered by church members as the "Rogoff girl that married the minister's son." Dale graduated from Hartford Hospital School of Nursing (1973) and worked for many years as a registered nurse in cardiac care. In 1997 she completed her Bachelor's degree at St Joseph College in Windham, ME and then a Master's degree in Public Health from Boston University School of Public Health (1999). Dale is employed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts at the Department of Public Health in the Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention and Control Program. She and Bruce have been married for 37 years and are the parents (and parents-in-law) of Amy and Alex, Jonathan and Caroline, and Jeff.
Dan Heffernan
Raised in a devout Irish Catholic family in New York City, Dan was the youngest of five children born to Peg, a stay-at-home mother, and Tom Heffernan, a World War II veteran who served the New York City Police Department for 40 years. Dan attended Catholic grammar and high school in his Queens neighborhood and graduated from Boston College in 1981. From 1981 to 1984, Dan served as a lay missionary with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in Philadelphia. While attending Harvard Law School, he met Julie as she relocated from Pennsylvania to Boston. Julie and Dan were married in 1988 at Union Church in Waban. After graduating from law school in 1987, Dan worked at various firms and for a legal services agency in central Massachusetts. He is a partner in the Boston firm of Kotin, Crabtree & Strong. Dan represents families and individuals with disabilities in special education matters and also practices in the civil rights and personal injury areas. Dan, Julie and their three children, Brian, Maggie and Evie, came to First Baptist seven years ago. They live in West Newton.
Amy Clark Feldman
Although Amy grew up as a faculty-child on the University of Connecticut campus, she spent most weekends and summers in New Hampshire at the homes of her grandparents and extended family. She attended high school at Phillips Academy, Andover (where she lived in ‘America House,’ the former home of FBCN minister Samuel Francis Smith) and returned to the University of Connecticut for college, where she graduated with two Bachelors' degrees – one in Nonprofit Administration, and the other in Spanish Literature. In 2003, she graduated from the University of Miami (FL) with her MBA and subsequently worked for the US Hispanic and Media practices of the communications firm, Burson-Marsteller, specializing in work with the nonprofit sector. Before beginning her MBA, Amy worked at the International Office of the American Red Cross in Washington, DC and at the Harvard Graduate School of Education's Institutes for Higher Education, where she managed professional development programs and policy institutes for education leaders across the US and Latin America. Amy first attended First Baptist in Newton in 2007, and now feels blessed to be serving as the church’s Communications Director. She lives in Natick with her husband, Greg, and their two energetic boys, Ben (5) and Sam (2). She tends to do her best praying and thinking on her daily morning run and loves spending as much time as possible in the great outdoors.