Church Staff and Leadership

The Melrose Highlands Congregational Church is run by both staff and the Executive Council. Most of the work of the church is done by volunteers like you!

Staff—The staff members of our church are those who hold paid positions. This includes our Pastor, Music Director, Christian Education Coordinator, Building Use and Finance Coordinator, and others.

Executive Council—The Executive Council, which meets periodically to attend to the business and well-being of the church, is led primarily by volunteers and is comprised of the Officers, Deacons, and Stewards of the church who are elected to their positions during church meetings. These leaders organize the teams that make up the life of our church. The Deacons head teams that are related to faith, worship, and service, while the Stewards manage teams that are related to the day-to-day business of the church. Please contact these church leaders if you have questions about what they do or would like to help with their teams. All help—great or small—is welcome! Volunteering for the church can be fun and it offers a great way to get to know fellow church members.

Officers
Moderator: John Swanson
Pastor: Chris Lyman Waldron
Treasurer: Anne Moore
Clerk: Maggie Sheets

Deacons
Worship: Joanne Hartung
Christian Education: Jolyn Ahnquist
Service & Outreach Team Coordinator: Kate Fazio
Membership & Growth: Lindsay Toghill
Youth Ministries: Val Bowden

Stewards
Leadership Development: Joanne Hartung
Finances: Anne Moore
Building & Grounds: Jeff Parks
Communications: Michelle Tallman

Staff
Pastor: Chris Lyman Waldron
Director of Music: Diana Galanakis
Organist: Eugene Kaminsky
Interim Sunday School Coordinator: Val Bowden
Senior High Youth Co-directors: Rob Ayles and Nick Lowe
Middle School Youth Director: Jessica Surette
Office Administrator: Andrea Harrington
Financial Administrator/Building Supervisor: Mark Wantman
Sexton: John Angel

Pastor, Chris Lyman Waldron

Chris Lyman Waldron, holds a Master of Divinity from Andover Newton Theological School, and completed his undergraduate studies at New College of Florida. Chris has a wide variety of experience in different church settings including intentional interim ministry, church planting, Christian Education, youth ministry, and camp ministries. He is particularly invested in faith development and helping individuals and communities find their connection to the Spirit.
Chris feels most connected to the Spirit in the outdoors and enjoys hiking, photography, and (very non-competitive) running. He is passionate about the environment; while planting a church in Atlanta Chris also started an IT business to serve churches and nonprofits that grew out of his desire to keep old computers from becoming e-waste. Chris enjoys music, playing the guitar, and building electric guitars from parts. He’s also a coffee lover, despite having a sensitivity to caffeine, and loves sushi though he’s allergic to wasabi.
Chris lives in Arlington with his wife Leah, who is also a minister, and their two children, Davie and Gabriel.

Music Director, Diana Galanakis

Diana has served as the Director of Music at Melrose Highlands Congregational Church since September 2022. She is an active singer in the area and has formerly volunteered as a committee member of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus at Boston Symphony Orchestra, as well as served on the Board of Directors for Boston Singer's Resource. Currently, Diana works full-time as the Elementary Performing Arts Teacher at Kingsley Montessori School in Back Bay, Boston, MA, a position she has held since January 2013. Diana has gained extensive experience working as a choral director, classroom music educator, private voice instructor, and ensemble director, as well as working to prepare both soloists and ensembles for festival competitions.

Diana lives at home in Arlington, MA, with her husband and son. Together, they enjoy hiking, cooking, and traveling to upstate New York or Crete in the summers to visit family.

Organist, Eugene Kaminsky

Eugene Kaminsky is an active pianist, organist, pedagogue, and piano instructor at the New England Conservatory of Music Preparatory school in Boston.

Eugene lives in Wakefield, MA with his wife and four children.