Pastor John is a committed Christian, believes in the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. He preaches Bible based sermons calling all to develop and strengthen their personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

This is the day
that the LORD has made;
let us rejoice
and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24

Background: Pastor John was born in Portsmouth NH and grew up in Manchester NH, West Hartford CT, and Lake Forest IL. He and his wife have lived in Milwaukee WI, the Chicago area, Cincinnati and now Connecticut. Prior to his going into the ministry, John spent thirteen years in the Publishing Industry working most recently for Conde Nast Publications in New York City.

Personal Motto: People don’t care how much you know. People want to know how much you care.

Ministry Background:

July 1998 Senior Pastor
The United Methodist Church of Branford, CT

July 1996 – June 1998 Associate Pastor
The United Methodist Church of New Canaan, CT

September 1994 – June1996 Seminarian In Residence
The United Methodist Church of New Canaan, CT

Education:

1993 – 1996 Yale Divinity School, New Haven, CT
Masters of Divinity, May 1996

1976 – 1980 Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
Bachelor of Arts - Sociology, May 1980

From our Pastor

Sometimes it’s hard to get away from the competitive world around us. Take for example the story told by Rabbi Harold Kushner about a bright young man, who was a sophomore pre-med student at Stanford University. To reward him for having done so well in school, his parents gave him a trip to India for the summer vacation before the start of his junior year. While there he met a mystic who said to him, “Don’t you see how you are poisoning your soul with this success oriented way of life? Your idea of happiness is to stay up all night studying for an exam so you can get a better grade than your best friend. Your idea of a good marriage is not to find the woman who will make you whole, but to win the girl that everyone else wants. That’s not how people are supposed to live. Give it up; come join us in an atmosphere where we all share and love each other.”

The young man had completed four years at a competitive high school to get into Stanford, plus two years of pre-med courses at the university. He was ripe for this sort of approach. He called his parents from Tokyo and told them he would not be coming home. He was dropping out of school to live in an ashram (a spiritual retreat).

Six months later, his parents received a letter from him: “Dear Mom and Dad, I know you weren’t happy with the decision I made last summer, but I want to tell you how happy it has made me. For the first time in my life, I am at peace. Here there is no competing, no hustling, no trying to get ahead of anyone else. Here we are all equal, and we all share. This way of life is so much in harmony with the inner essence of my soul that in only six months I’ve become the number two disciple in the entire ashram, and I think I can be number one by June!”

Every once and a while we need to step back and get off the competitive hamster wheel of life. For me, summer is a wonderful time to slow down and catch my breath. It’s a time to get to know the kids a little better. Fewer meetings mean I can put the kids to bed more often and spend more quality time with them. Summer means vacation time and a time to get away.

Jesus encouraged his disciples to get away and rest (see Mark 6:30-32). And the scriptures are full of examples of Jesus getting away for some down time and prayer time (see Matthew 14:23, Mark 6:46 and others). Jesus knew the wisdom and need for some down time.

I hope you all have some extra rest time this summer. You deserve it and Jesus encouraged it.

Peace & Rest,

Pastor John

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This page was updated on 06/25/2008