Rev. Marguerite Sheehan

Bridge Minister 

Marguerite has served as a settled minister in the United Church of Christ and also in the Unitarian Universalist Association. She holds an M.Div. from Andover Newton Theological School and a Masters in Early Childhood Education. She retired in 2022 from full time parish ministry after ten years as the pastor at Trinity Church, an ecumenical church in Shelburne Falls.

In 2024 Marguerite served Edwards Church in Northampton as an Associate Bridge Minister. She is finding that Bridge Ministry is a good match for her time and talents while “retired.”

Marguerite is a member of First Church Amherst, helping out at Not Bread Alone and as a member of a contemplative prayer group. She is also presently serving on the Executive Committee of the Hampshire Association SNEUCC and she facilitates a Clergy Community of Practice group.

In addition to her work with parish ministry, Marguerite served as a hospice chaplain for five years after her long career in early childhood education which included teaching, consulting, and supervising team members in the field of Early Intervention (supporting families of very young children with special needs.)

Marguerite and her wife Dorrie Merriam and their standard poodle Penny live in South Amherst. She enjoys lots of dog walks, swimming, hiking, catching up with friends and family and reading poetry and all kinds of novels. The Jones Library is one of her happy places.

Marilyn Brayne

Minister of Music

Marilyn Brayne, of Amherst, holds a Master of Arts from McGill University in her native Montreal. Marilyn has been working for South Congregational Church as organist and then Minister of Music for over 30 years. Marilyn brings the joy of sharing sacred music to young and old alike. In 2012 she supervised the installation at South Church of the restored 1896 Casavant organ by Czelusniak et Dugal. With a Bachelor of Music in School Music, she previously taught general music to all students at Hadley Elementary School for many years.

Tony Niedbala

Sexton

Tony works diligently to keep our facilities clean, safe, and operating smoothly.  He was previously on the custodial staff at Hadley Elementary School, where he ensured that the students and staff had a safe and fun educational experience.

Chris Mortensen

Administrative Assistant

Chris Mortensen has two degrees in music. She likes to have other things to do besides playing french horn, so she joined the South Church staff in September of 2019 to hone her administrative talents after a several-year hiatus from a 13+ year stint as an administrative assistant in the secular sector. She lives in Goshen with her musician husband Greg and a rambunctious cat named Sebastian. Additional interests include knitting, cooking, choral singing, gardening and playing the cello.

Amanda Berg

Director of Family Ministries

Amanda is an educator in the Hadley Public Schools, having previously taught in Brattleboro VT, Sunderland MA, and Williamsburg MA. Her passion is teaching. She says, “Children have a wonderful way of seeing the beauty that we often might not. One of God’s greatest gifts has been my gift of teaching.”

When she is not teaching, you might find her in her barn (with her horse Artie or dog Remy), garden, library or being an Auntie to her wonderful nieces Logan and Hallie. She also loves to craft…the more glitter the better! She is also an accomplished figure skater and loves to teach others to skate.