Staff

Our Staff

Pastor Kirsty Dickson-Maret

Kirsty Dickson-Maret was born and raised on Long Island, New York, in a small bayside village called East Moriches.  She is the daughter of the late Rev. Gordon G. Dickson. Gordon was ordained by the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh and served as a missionary for several years in British Guyana.  Gordon then pastored two small churches on the east end of Long Island for 27 years.  He was well loved in the community, serving as a volunteer fireman and EMT and as the fire department Chaplain.  When taking a break from ministerial duties, Gordon could be found in his woodshop making dulcimers or furniture or toys. He could also frequently be found out back in his one-acre vegetable garden or out on the Moriches Bay fishing for flounder with his daughter. Gordon served on Long Island Presbytery with his father-in-law, the late Rev. Donald Yule, who was also ordained by the Church of Scotland. This makes Kirsty not only a “PK,” but a “PGK.” A portrait of Rev. Yule can be found hanging in the “Yule Room” of the Amagansett Presbyterian Church, on Long Island.

Kirsty’s mother, Margaret, who was born and raised in South Africa, became a self-taught gourmet.  It was not unusual for Kirsty to come home from school to find her mother spinning sugar over puff pastry swans or hanging homemade pasta in the kitchen to dry.  Her mother was the choir director at the church was known locally for her strong soprano voice.  She was fond of telling stories about life as a missionary in Guyana, to include stories about snakes and tarantulas.   All three of Kirsty’s brothers were born in Guyana, so it was often said in the Dickson household that Kirsty was the only member of the family who could become president of the US.

Kirsty left Long Island to attend Mary Washington College in Virginia, but part-way through her studies decided to join the U.S. Navy. She worked as a dental technician at Roosevelt Roads in Puerto Rico for eighteen months, and then as a maxillofacial surgical technician, working in the main OR of Portsmouth Naval Hospital. Kirsty was the lead Petty Officer and was in charge of the other enlisted at PNH and obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Business Management while attending night classes at Virginia Wesleyan College.

Kirsty later became a registered nurse with an Associate Degree and began her career as psychiatric nurse, but she soon found her true calling in nursing was to work in the emergency department. She has worked as a travel nurse in many hospitals across the country including California, Colorado, Maine, Virginia, New York, Maryland, Florida, Washington D.C., and Arizona. She responded on 9/11 by driving into work at a hospital in Washington D.C. to care for the wounded after feeling her apartment building shake from the impact at the Pentagon, which was less than two miles away.

By the time she had become an RN, Kirsty had transferred from active duty to the Naval Reserve Corps, and then obtained a full Commission as an Army Nurse for a short period of time but resigned her commission to attend law school.  She graduated from George Mason University School of Law with a Juris Doctorate, passed the Virginia Bar, and then returned to full time work as an emergency department RN. She also started her own legal nurse consulting business and worked on case review for other attorneys.  After many years of bedside nursing, Kirsty answered the call to become a nursing instructor, and taught at both the college level and the vocational level.  She obtained her Master of Science in Nursing degree from Loyola University New Orleans.

Kirsty’s call to the ministry was very much inspired by her reconnection with a childhood friend, Denise, who was facing a terminal illness. Denise’s deep and abiding faith was contagious and her relationship with the Holy Spirit was palpable.  Denise used to have a distinctive way of ending a prayer which was “ … and make it obvious God.”  While praying about whether she had a call, Kirsty took on Denise’s prayer.  “Dear Lord, am I sensing a call, let me know … and please make it obvious.” The next day the sermon was about the importance of answering a call – obvious enough!

Since that time Kirsty found that the experiences of her pre-seminary internship, her time at Presbyterian College, Montreal (in association with McGill University), her internship back on Long Island and her experience as a chaplain CPE intern at Mount Sinai hospital have all solidified her sense of rightness of call. She interviewed with a great many churches and visited with PNCs in several states before feeling called to Baldwinsville.  She and her husband Doug are very excited about living in Baldwinsville. Their pet conure of 26 years, though a tropical bird, seems to be excited as well!

Kirsty is an avid wildlife photographer, plays a bit of classical flute (but is just as happy improvising the blues), loves reading, hiking, and the occasional Wordle. She is also a double-dyed fan of the New York Mets. She has become a creative vegan cook, and looks forward to a time when “The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox …”

Kirsty also sings soprano and has been in many choirs over the years.  Her love of nursing and music were combined over the past couple of summers when she worked as camp nurse at Itzhak Perlman’s music camp on Shelter Island, NY. Working with those amazing virtuoso children was a great joy.

Kirsty greatly looks forward to getting to know the members of the First Presbyterian Church, Baldwinsville and the surrounding community. Her hope is to serve in the area if so allowed, and to do so in the manner that God would have her do  She is prayerful that God will continue to illuminate her path ahead and gives her the wisdom and fortitude to remain on that path. 

Elizabeth Bayer - Church Secretary

Elizabeth is a lifelong resident of Central New York and now lives in Baldwinsville with her husband, Bryan, and three children. She has years of administrative and supportive experience in local businesses. After a time as a stay-at-home mom, she now joins the church staff and looks forward to meeting everyone!

Rheta Jenks - Director of Music, Director of Choirs

Rheta grew up on a dairy farm in nearby Warners, NY. She began her music career during elementary school taking piano and pipe organ lessons from the Presbyterian Church organist, Virginia King.  Rheta sang in the Methodist Church choir as well as many school and amateur theater groups.  Her studies continued at Ithaca College where she graduated with B.S. and M.S. degrees in music education.

After 12 years of teaching music in public schools, Rheta made a career change to become a travel consultant.  She is the retired owner of B/R Travel in Baldwinsville.  She has been a member of the Presbyterian choir since 1975 and the choir director since 1994. She has also directed the Village Singers for over 34 years. Music is her passion.

Stephanie Stine - Clerk of Session

Stephanie Stine is our current Clerk of Session.

Marty Pond - Moderator of Deacons

Lee Johnston - Church Organist

Lee Johnston has joined us as our church organist in January 2015.  He grew up in the area, and his parents were from Baldwinsville.  Lee studied organ with George Decker, Will Headlee at Syracuse University, and David Craighead.  In addition, he studied viola da gamba with Alexander Raykov and was a founding member of the Frogwork Consort, a viol consort which performed regionally for many years.  Lee was the minister of music at First English Lutheran Church for 22 years.

Faith Formations Coordinator