Say "Hello" to the staff and leadership at First Presbyterian Church of Cranford. We're working together to formulate what post-pandemic church is going to look like. We think you'll love it!
Staff & Leadership
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Rev. Jin Bae
Senior Pastor, Head of Staff
Rev. Jin Bae grew up in Los Angeles, California and attended University of Southern California and received his BSEE (electrical engineering). Upon graduation, he responded to God’s call to become a pastor and so studied at Fuller Theological Seminary (Pasadena, CA) where he received his Master of Divinity (M.Div.) and then to Yonsei United Graduate School of Theology (Seoul, Korea) for his Master of Theology (Th.M.). He was ordained with PC (USA) in 1998. He is happily married to Eun Young, and they have three adult children, Christopher, David & Charis.
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Rev. Daniel A. Velez-Acevedo
Director of Children, Youth and Family Ministries
Rev. Daniel Velez is originally from Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. Daniel graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary obtaining a Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts in Christian Education and Formation specializing in Youth and Young Adult Ministries. While studying at PTS, he served in various congregational settings including English, Spanish, and Korean-speaking (Presbyterian, United Methodist, and Non-Denominational) churches as Youth Director, Bible Study Leader, and a Worship Leader. Daniel also coordinated several outreach and mission projects and trips to Puerto Rico, Guatemala, New Brunswick, Basking Ridge, Trenton, and Paterson. Daniel currently lives in Manhattan, with his wife Heelee J. Velez, with their two adorable cats, Lily and Rocky, and their puppy Nala. In his free time, Daniel loves to play music, play board games, ride roller coaster rides and enjoys a good cup of coffee.
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Elsa Gail Hahn
Music Director
Next to Bob Grube, the church organist, Elsa has been working at FPCC longer than anyone else on the staff. Raised in Westfield, she participated in choirs of the First Congregational Church. She joined their children’s choirs in first grade, continuing through high school. She was an elementary school music teacher in Westfield for 34 years. Elsa began serving at First Presbyterian Church of Cranford as director of children’s choirs and high school bell choirs, and later took over as music Director. Elsa received a Bachelors in Music Education from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio and a Masters in Music Education from Northwestern University. She also studied at the Orff Schulwerk and the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria.
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Robert "Bob" Grube
Organist
Bob is a native of Cranford. He graduated from Cranford High School with a Musical Club of Westfield Scholarship. He graduated from Rutgers University and received his Master’s degree from NYU. His organ instructors were Walter Reinhold and David Drinkwater. He has been the organist at First Presbyterian Church since 1965.
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Carol Thee
Office Administrator
Carol grew up in Hawthorne, NJ. She and her husband Don have lived in Cranford since 1969 and raised three children here. She graduated from College Misericordia and started her career as a biology teacher. Carol worked with the Religious Education program at the Church of the Assumption in Roselle Park, and was overseer of the church office, Director of Religious Education, and assistant to Bishop Charles McDonnell at Holy Trinity Church in Hackensack. Carol considers her opportunity to assist and to be part of the FPCC community a gift and a joy and is grateful for the opportunity to serve the members and the Lord.
meet The Session
The 9 member Session oversees active volunteer teams responsible for member care, community outreach,
buildings and grounds, service & mission and Sunday worship. They are also responsible for being the spiritual leaders of the church, in conjunction with the Pastor. The Session is elected into office by the congregation. Each Elder generally serves a 3-year term.
meet the deacons
The FPCC Board of Deacons, known as the "Caring Arm of the Church," provides care, support and solace to members and friends of our congregation. We reach out on a regular basis to those who are ill, grieving, or home-bound through phone calls, flower delivery, and visits. We assist the homebound with rides to medical appointments and by arranging meal trains. The Deacons also administer the Prayer Chain for our congregation, a group of over 150 individuals who are available for immediate prayer upon request -- we know that prayer works!