Our Staff

Dennis R. Knight, Senior Minister Emeritus, is currently serving as our minister. He is a native of Rhode Island, and a lifelong member of Beneficent Congregational Church, where he was ordained in 1973, after graduating from the Chicago Theological Seminary with a Masters in Divinity. He also holds a BA from the University of Rhode Island. Previous to his 20 years of service to Pakachoag, he was the associate minister of the former Chestnut Street Congregational Church in Worcester, MA.

 

Randy Bloom, our Interim Director of Music, recently retired from the Wachusett Regional School District where he taught middle school language arts for more than 35 years.

Randy’s church music career began at the age of ten in the small Methodist church in Shrewsbury, MA, accompanying hymns on the piano for the Sunday school.  In his sophomore year of high school, he began studies with LeRoy Hanson, Minister of Music at Wesley Methodist Church (Worcester, MA).  For many years, Randy was the assistant to Mr. Hanson at Wesley.  Randy also served as associate organist at All Saints Church (Worcester).  Randy studied organ and piano with Thomas Grant of Worcester, and in more recent years, organ with Timothy E. Smith and Barclay Wood.  In addition to organ studies and performance, Randy has sung in various choruses under the direction of LeRoy Hanson, Lou Steigler, Ronald Stalford, Will Sherwood, Timothy E. Smith, John Adams, and Richard Westenberg and attended choral/vocal workshops conducted by Robert Shaw and Ruth Ekberg. 

Laine Hanlon attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst where she earned a Masters degree in Elementary Education and a Bachelor's degree in flute performance. She has taught at God's Little Children Preschool in Shrewsbury and was a lead teacher at the Mercy Center in Worcester. Currently she is a music teacher in the Shrewsbury Public School program offering private flute instruction and she coaches the flute choir at Notre Dame Academy in Worcester. Lainey is married to Worcester police officer Michael Hanlon and they are the parents of two adorable little boys, Paul, age 3 and Jack age 9 months.