Meet Our Pastor
Joseph Chamberland
Hi my name is Joe Chamberland. I am grateful for this opportunity to introduce myself to you. I am excited, about being in
ministry with you for God’s glory, with Christ’s purpose and the Spirit’s moving.
Back in 1988, I began to acknowledge and act on my call to Ordained ministry. As a family we continued to
make huge leaps of faith as we left behind business careers, and then our home. My wife, the Reverend Heidi Chamberland, a few
years prior began her steps into ministry. With one child, Nathaniel, and another soon to be on the way, Brandon, our days in
Seminary were a wonderful blending of our rolls as parents and as students.
During my early years, I attended a technical school in Boston, near where I grew up in Woburn, MA. For
ministry, I earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in cultural anthropology, at the University of Maine, Orono, and a Masters of
Divinity at Bangor Theological Seminary. Since those days, our children have grown and begun their lives outside of the home.
Nathaniel now lives in Hartford, after graduating from Trinity College, and Brandon is attending the University of New Haven.
Heidi and I grew up in nearby towns. Having first met in 1970, we married in 1975. We have been blessed with
these wonderful years together. I find I often look back to see how 
God was weaving the fabric of what was to become these days
of life in ministry together. While it seems like a long time ago and yet yesterday, when I worked in fields of Mechanical
Contracting south of Boston during my early 20’s, or in Maine in the family Christmas tree and wreath business, or later
as a materials manager in manufacturing, each of these settings that became a part of my life are now part of my context as I
engage in Christ’s work of ministry. My call to ministry came as the profound and confirmed answer to a simple but life
altering prayer, “I am alive. So now what?” In 1981, I had nearly died in an accident on the farm, and during the
weeks of multiple surgeries, recovery and months of rehabilitation, the prayer that began in wonder, I continue to live in
thanks giving. As each new day was affirmed as a blessing, God’s healing became complete during the years ahead.
These days, backpack hiking, kayaking, woodworking, stained glass work, sharing books with my sons, and movie going are among
my interests.
I have been blessed then with a new conviction and celebration for life, not only of my own, but of my
family; wife, children, and all of God’s people. I have a passion for not only ministries of mercy; like soup kitchens,
food cupboards, and hospice, but for ministries of justice that connect with people’s lives both spiritually and
economically to begin a transformation from what is, to what will be. While the road is most often long, it is with company we
travel, as God’s glory in Christ is revealed through the power of the Holy Spirit. I am privileged to be in
Christ’s service with you.
“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD,
plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope….
(Please read the rest found in Jeremiah 29:11-14, N RSV, or NIV)
Reverend Joseph Chamberland
