Staff
Who are considered staff? Those who are being paid by the church to work on a full-time or part-time basis. The following 4 people are all full-time and raise their own support from individuals and churches in order to secure their monthly salaries.
Robert cofounded MERCYhouse in September of 1999 (with Joe Green) and has been here ever since. He attended The University of Texas at Austin where he received a Bachelors degree in Cellular Biology - and better yet met his wife Melanie. He then went on to receive a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Seminary. While attending grad school, he served as a youth minister (in Austin, TX) and auniversity minister (in Stillwater, OK) and has been lead pastor of MERCYhouse for the last 9 years. He and his wife have three kids: Kory 13; Cooper 11; and Kayla 8 and a golden retriever named Buddy. Robert's responsibilities at MH include leadership, teaching, and spending time with people. You can reach Robert via email at robert@knowmercy.orgLois Grandmaison (associate staff) Lois has been a central MERCYhouse since 2000. She
received a bachelors in education for the blind and then served at Pine Cove Camp in Trinity, TX. She then came to Amherst to work alongside the Krumreys in the planting of MERCYhouse. Her job description changes on a regular basis and has included everything from teaching to cleaning bathrooms. She currently serves the women of Smith College and also provides much administrative support for MH activities. You can reach Lois at 413-374-8261 or email her at Lois@knowmercy.org.Cindy Pollsen (associate staff)
Cindy is a native of New York State and came to Massachusetts to attend UMass Amherst. She graduated with a degree in Art History and spent a year teaching English in France and another year working at a vet clinic in our area. She first became a part of MERCYhouse as a college student in 2001, and has been on staff full-time since February 2006. She also has a broad range of duties which include leading the music for worship on Sundays, women's ministry, and keeping the books for our finances. You can contact Cindy at 413-221-8421 or cindy@knowmercy.org.
Nate Cartel (associate staff)
Nate is a graduate from Umass with a degree in Physics and
Math. Nate has been around MERCYhouse for two 1/2 years. He's served as house church leader with his wife Sarah. They have a daughter Kiera and a newborn son Xander. He has been coordinating the details of Sunday mornings for the past semester. As of December of 2006, Nate has came on as full time staff and is now maintaining and managing the usage of our building as well as all the other things he was doing as a volunteer. He is also the main contact for Umass and will be beginning a 7 pm service for Umass students in the fall. You can contact Nate at 413-687-7772 or email him at nate@knowmercy.org.
Kristen is a recent transplant from Texas, who came to MA in 2005 through an environmental conservation internship. After a year living in the Berkshires, she moved to South Hadley and started attending MERCYhouse regularly. She has been part time staff since February 2008 and helps take care of the administrative side of MERCYhouse. You can reach Kristen at Christlore@gmail.com