Leadership Team

The Reverend Corey J. Sanderson – Interim Pastor

Corey is committed to helping people develop a mature spirituality, is passionate about building and fostering community, and believes the church should be a place where people learn to practice compassion so they can seek and work for justice out in the world.

In addition to his work in churches, Corey has served, led, and supported a number of non-profit organizations that serve The Common Good, both here and abroad. Having spent many years as a college instructor, Corey loves sharing things that he has learned and equally enjoys learning from others.

To escape the busyness of daily life, Corey likes to cook Indian food, play and listen to music, seek out obscure museums, read non-fiction books, travel to new places, attend nerdy lectures, and engage in witty banter with his oh-so-clever friends. All things considered, most folks think Corey is a pretty decent guy. So if you’d like to reach out and say hello, he’d be pretty happy to hear from you.

Charlotte Pomerleau – Office Administrator

Charlotte is our Office Administrator as of May 2022. She lives in Clinton with her husband, Gary; son, Isaac; and two cats, Hooper and Reese. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, reading, and going for hikes.

Tom Hanson – Sexton

Tom became our sexton in 2010 and he keeps our church looking good, which isn’t always easy for an old historical building. Prior to working for the church, Tom worked for Breda Transportation building subway cars for the MBTA Green Line. He also worked at GenRad in Concord, MA. In his free time Tom enjoys spending time with his family (wife Mary and daughter Emily), making jewelry, playing drums and working on his 1936 Ford 5 window coupe. He also enjoys being a part of the handbell choir. He and his wife became church members in 2002.

Bernard Crane – Music Director

Bernard received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY, where he studied composition with Joseph Schwantner and Music Theory with Douglass Green. He is a Master’s degree recipient of the San Francisco Conservatory where he studied with Elinor Armer, Conrad Susa and David Conte. Through his many years as a composer and musician he has held numerous positions as teacher, conductor, church organist and director of music.

Cheryl Townsend – Handbell Director

Cheryl received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Crane School of Music, Potsdam, NY. She has maintained a piano studio in Groton for the past 25 years teaching and sharing her love of music to hundreds of students.  In 2006 she was introduced to handbells at a music conference and that is when the UCC Faith Ringers was started.  The choir plays monthly in service, has performed in multiple concerts, and other community events to share our love for handbells.  In addition to directing the Faith Ringers at UCC Groton, Cheryl has recently been named Musical Director for The New England Ringers.  She has been a ringing member at NER since 2014 with the choir and is excited to expand her skills and those of the choir to becoming one of the premier handbell choirs in New England.