Rev. Jason R. Ferris
Pastor and Head of Staff
Leadership & Staff
Jason Ferris was installed as the 18th minister of Old Pine in 2011. He studied English at Davidson College, where he was awarded the Patricia Cornwell Scholarship for Creative Writing. After working for Public Television in New York City, Jason graduated from Union Theological Seminary (NYC), where he received the Maxwell Award for promise of excellence in future ministry.
As a minister, Jason’s passion is helping people navigate a secularizing culture by growing in ancient wisdom. He teaches regularly on Christianity’s intersection with philosophy, science, art, and culture. A recent lecture on Science and Religion can be viewed here. A recent essay on the healing power of church architecture can be read here.
Jason and his wife Rebecca are documentary filmmakers whose work has been shown on screen and television. They are also the proud parents of three children.
Jason’s office hours are Tuesday-Friday each week.
Rev. Rebecca Blake
Pastor of Christian Education
Rebecca Blake joined our pastoral staff in 2018. Trained as a visual artist, writer, theologian, and pastor, she is grateful for the opportunity to incorporate those various skills into ministry. She is passionate about the power of art-making in personal and community transformation and helping others discover, explore, and grow their faith, especially via creative expression. In preaching, Rebecca loves exploring how the threads of God’s Story are woven in and through our stories, and in pastoral leadership, she delights in discovering the gifts of others and empowering them to be shared for the enrichment of all.
Rebecca’s background includes church planting, coaching, teaching art, and implementing trauma-informed practices when working with children and adults experiencing various hardships. She is a graduate of Eastern University (BA) and Princeton Theological Seminary (M.Div).
Rebecca is married to Sean, a mom and stepmom, and dog-parent to three American Brittanys.
Liz Braden
Director of Music
In the summer of 2024, Liz Braden became Old Pine’s Director of Music. She provides music leadership for worship, directs the Adult Choir and organizes special musical events during the year. Liz has been involved with choral music and church music for more than half her life, and directing choirs and making music in community is a great passion of hers. She is also the Chorus Master at Opera Philadelphia, where for twenty years she has prepared the choruses to perform onstage at the Academy of Music.
Liz also conducts the Penn Chorale, an SATB chorus at the University of Pennsylvania. This group of Penn students, staff, and community folks specializes in contemporary choral works, with an emphasis on performing works by female composers, and composers from the BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and AAPI communities.
Liz lives in Collingswood, NJ with her 14-year-old son Nate, and their cat Batman. She is a passionate Phillies fan and enjoys following the team and going down to the ballpark. In addition to sports, Liz also enjoys plants and gardening, and has 25 house plants (which Nate calls her ‘other children’). She also enjoys reading, movies, and doing the daily NY Times crosswords.
Lani Cole-Mitchell
Church Administrator
Lani has been at Old Pine since 2019 and has an extensive administrative background and heart for serving others. She has served in music ministry in several capacities at various churches from New Jersey to Florida since the age of 13. She has also served abroad traveling to Haiti on several church-sponsored mission trips. Lani lives in Gibbstown, NJ and is married to Rev. Chuck Mitchell. Together they have four children: Nathan, Samantha, Luke and Gabriella.
Marc Tissenbaum
Landscape Manager
Marc has a background working in different types of plant-based environments. He grew up working on his family’s farm outside of Huntington, WV and later worked at an organic specialty farm called Woodland Gardens in Athens, GA, where he founded and ran a program called Farmer For A Day, a volunteer educational organic farm tour.
Marc was also the organic landscape gardener for R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe, where Marc designed, installed, and maintained gardens at his home and commercial properties for nine years. While working there he earned a Master Gardener certificate from the State Botanical Garden of Georgia.
In 2016, Marc relocated to Philadelphia, continuing work as an organic landscape gardener, and eventually accepting the position of head gardener at the Rodin Museum for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. Since moving here, Marc has also become a Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) Organic Landcare Accredited Professional.
More information coming soon!
Hannah Johnson
Youth & Children’s Coordinator
Hannah Johnson has been working with Old Pine since 2021. With a passion for children’s ministry and social justice, she brings her experience of programming, management and knowledge of child development to Old Pine’s Children’s and Youth Ministry. Hannah has a degree in Youth Ministry from Eastern University and is currently working towards her Master of Divinity at United Lutheran Seminary in Germantown. Hannah lives in the Port Richmond neighborhood of Philadelphia with her two best friends and their cats. In her free time she explores Philly, eats lots of ice cream and works part time at Beacon Church in Kensington.
Elizabeth Wotring
Nursery Care Provider
Elizabeth has been working with children since she was a youth, herself. She’s led creative arts teams, been a camp counselor, and a Sunday School teacher. She loves the energy and imagination children bring, and loves to empower their voice while teaching them the importance of respect and self awareness.
Veronica Wentz
Nursery Care Provider
More information coming soon!