Patricia F. Hazeltine

Tricia Hazeltine joined the staff of OSC in 1999 as Church School Director.  Tricia supervises Old South’s programs for children and youth, from infant to high school, including the Church School, the confirmation program, and the youth group.  She plans and oversees several of our all-church events, including the Recovenanting Sunday breakfast, the Christmas pageant and potluck, the Palm Sunday breakfast, and the Church Picnic.  Tricia also directs the Church School’s outreach programs, which benefit City Mission Society, UNICEF, Church World Service, and the Allston Brighton Food Pantry. Tricia supervises the Church School music program, including the cherub choir, percussion group, church school singers, and chime choir, and works with the other ministerial staff to include children and youth in our Sunday worship services.

Tricia grew up in Providence, Rhode Island, and still has many ties to the Ocean State, where her parents still live.  Coming from a family of educators, pastors, and missionaries, Tricia loves working with children, which makes her job at Old South the perfect fit.  She has a special interest in Africa, where she lived for two years when she was young, while her father was teaching at the University of Zambia. 

Tricia received her B.A. from Swarthmore College and her M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary in New York City.  An ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, Tricia held student minister positions at Judson Memorial Church and Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims in New York.  She then served as Associate Pastor of Peace Dale Congregational Church (UCC) in Peace Dale, Rhode Island from 1987-1993, where she was the first female pastor in the church’s history.   During this time, Tricia was also active with the Rhode Island Conference of the UCC.

Tricia lives in North Attleborough, MA with her husband, the Rev. Dr. L. Weldon Palmer (also a UCC minister) and her two teenage children, William and Frances, who are very active at Old South.  Tricia loves reading (especially classic detective fiction and the novels of Jane Austen), is a devoted gardener, and loves to travel with her family. She enjoys cooking and baking and collects community and church cookbooks.    She also volunteers at Camp Street Neighborhood Ministries, a food pantry in Providence.