Rev. Joan Wither Priest
Pastor
Born in Illinois, Joan spent most of her childhood and youth in Ohio. She graduated from the College of Wooster in Ohio, receiving a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Religious Studies. She received her Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary with a concentration in Pastoral Care and Counseling. Ordained for over 30 years in the Presbyterian Church, she has served churches in New Jersey, North Carolina, Connecticut and Rhode Island as Associate Pastor, Interim Associate Pastor, Stated Supply Pastor, and Interim/Transitional Pastor. Most recently she served for 18 months as Interim/Transitional Pastor at the Dunn’s Corners Community Church, Presbyterian in Westerly, RI.
Joan has also served on a number of committees and positions in the Presbytery of Southern New England including Moderator, Vice-Moderator, Chairperson of the Personnel Committee, the Permanent Judicial Commission, Committee on Ministry, Personnel Committee and currently serves as co-chair of the Commission on Preparation for Ministry. She currently lives in Hillsborough, NJ. She has two grown children, a son Jacob who lives in Minnesota with his fiancé Sonja and brand new baby daughter Eleanor, and a daughter Lee who lives with her wife Maria in New York.
Justine Langman
Director of Music
Justine joined our staff as Director of Music in January 2020, although she has regularly played for us on Sunday mornings since September 2019. Justine is a sought-after collaborative pianist, chamber musician and teacher in the central New Jersey area. After graduating from Rutgers University in 2016 with her B.S. in Mathematics with High Honors, she was hired as a staff accompanist at Mason Gross, becoming the first person without a music degree to do so. Her former teachers include Zitta Zohar and Elizabeth Difelice, and she currently studies with Eileen Buck. She is proud to be the pianist of choice in the studios of esteemed musicians from the New York Philharmonic, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.
MaryBeth Fanning
Administrative Assistant
MaryBeth has extensive experience in using her considerable administrative expertise while working in people-facing jobs. Before coming to United she held many positions utilizing her marketing and customer service skills. A graduate of Rutgers University (College at the time) she has been involved in marketing and communications throughout the course of her career. MaryBeth resides in Bridgewater with her husband of 37 years, Jack. They have 2 children...a daughter, Katie, and a son, Jack.
While she oversees the day-to-day operations of the church office, MaryBeth acts as a liaison to community organizations that use URC’s facilities. Mary Beth is the first person you’ll meet if you stop by our office.
Carlos Lopez
Sexton
Carlos was born in El Salvador and has been a faithful, dedicated member of our staff for over 20 years. In addition to tending to the daily upkeep and maintenance of our building and grounds, Carlos is our on-site food safety handler and general handy-man. He is also responsible for the care of vestments and sacred vessels and prepares the altar and sanctuary for our services.