Page 51 | First Baptist Church Ithaca

Meet Our Staff

Rev. Debbie Bennett Reynolds

Pastor

Pastor Debbie was called to First Baptist in 2017. She was instrumental in the church successfully navigating the COVID 19 pandemic and is skillfully guiding FBC in its current period of growth. Debbie came to us from Lake Avenue Baptist Church in Rochester, New York, where she served as Associate Pastor for 13 years. Her previous experience also includes serving as Minister of Education, Youth, and Missions for Oakhurst Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia and as a social worker in ministry with the unhoused in Atlanta, as well as in programs for battered women, hospice care, and campus ministries. Debbie grew up as a missionary kid in Bangladesh, Thailand, and Lebanon. She is a graduate of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Wake Forest University. Her husband Bill Reynolds is also an American Baptist pastor and a clinical pastoral education supervisor. They have two adult children, Anna and Luke and a grandson James.

Janice Nigro

Office Manager

Janice Nigro has been a member of the FBC staff since 2023. In addition to her duties at First Baptist, Janice is an assistant bookkeeper at the Center for Transformative Action, the fiscal sponsor for a variety of innovative projects serving the greater Ithaca community. Before coming to FBC, she was the Executive Director of The Vitamin L Project, which she and her singer/songwriter husband, Jan Nigro, co-founded in 1989. The purpose of The Vitamin L Project was to encourage positive character development through music. In this position, Janice produces over one thousand concerts and was the executive producer for several Vitamin L audio and video recordings. While The Vitamin L Project is no longer an active organization, recordings of Vitamin L songs are still accessible on Vitamin L’s YouTube channel. Janice and Jan reside in Ithaca. They have one adult son, Anthony.

Laura Ward

Youth & Children Ministry Coordinator

Laura Ward joined the FBC staff in 2018. She holds a Master of Science in Psychology and has worked as a therapist in a variety of settings since 2003, providing counseling services to adults and children. In addition to her role at First Baptist, Laura is currently the Manager of Psychosocial Services at Hospicare and Palliative Care Services of Tompkins and Cortland County and previously worked as a therapist with Family & Children’s Services of Ithaca. Laura and her wife, Amy, moved to Ithaca in 2006 and became part of the FBC family in 2007. They are the parents of triplets, Adelyn, Bay, and Kai.

Carol Fleming

Child Care Coordinator

For over 20 years, Carol has been FBC's "child whisperer." She has an amazing gift for creating a safe and inviting environment for the children entrusted to her care, teaching respect for each other and for our sacred space. From infants to tweens, she makes every child feel welcome and helps foster friendships among playmates. When she's not caring for children at First Baptist, Carol is caring for grown up humans and their pets, offering housekeeping and house sitting services to her loyal clients. Carol is a basketball fan, following Syracuse University sports, and recently added metal detecting as a new new hobby.

Sarah Zipfel

Child Care Aide/Pollinator Garden Specialist

Sarah volunteered in the church's nursery from 2007 to 2008 and was hired in 2009. Currently, she cares for children either in the nursery or at the activities table during worship. She also took on the role of Native Plants Garden Specialist for the church's pollinator garden in 2023. Sarah has found it deeply fulfilling watching the generations of church youth grow up and now also loves teaching folks about native plants in the garden. Sarah has worked as a nanny and tutor in the Ithaca area, but since 2015 has mainly worked as a native plant gardener. She recently decided to make a career change and is returning to school to become a nurse. On Sundays, Sarah brings along her nephew.

Belinda Adams

Choir Director

Belinda holds a Bachelor of Music Education and Music Therapy from Mansfield University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Science in Special Education and Master of Educational Leadership. Belinda joined the First Baptist staff in 2015, and in addition to directing FBC’s choir, Belinda is the Principal for Exceptional Education at TST BOCES in Ithaca. She chooses choral works from a variety of genres and levels of difficulty, keeping things interesting for members of the choir and the congregation. The choir benefits greatly from her skills as an accomplished vocalist and teacher. Belinda and her husband Will have lived in the Ithaca area since 2011. They have two daughters, Lilly and Elena.

Christopher Morgan Loy

Organist/Pianist

Christopher is a pianist and composer of more than 70 original works that have been performed in cities across the country, including Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, New York, San Francisco, San Antonio, and Ithaca. He holds a Master of Music in Composition from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition from Cornell University. He was on the faculty of Binghamton University as a Professor of Theory and Composition from 2005 to 2013 and currently teaches piano and composition at the Community School of Music and Arts in Ithaca. Christopher joined the First Baptist staff in ______ . He and his wife and vocalist, Ernestina “Tina” Snead, live in Ithaca.

David Hopkins

Custodian

David has been FBC’s Custodian since moving to the area in 2009. David’s knowledge and skills as painter, carpenter, and plasterer are invaluable to the maintenance and upkeep of First Baptist’s historic building. Outside of his duties at First Baptist, David is a beekeeper, gardener, and builder. He and his partner, Carla Stetson, live near Willseyville, where they are renovating an Civil War era barn as their home and workspace.

Jason Wilson

Assistant Custodian

An area native, Jason spent some time living in Georgia before returning to Ithaca where he has resided since 1999. He became involed with First Baptist in 2010, became a member soon after, and joined the staff in 2014. Jason keeps the grass mowed in the summer, the walks cleared in the winter, and is generally on call to help with whatever needs doing from projects large and small. He enjoys writing and is a member of a writers club and has experience as an actor, performing in local productions and short films. Jason has two adult daughters, Phoebe and Zoe.

First Baptist Church

309 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca, NY 14850

607-273-5800

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Office Hours: Tuesday through Friday

9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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