The Deacons are pleased to announce that the Rev. Fred Meade, who has been leading our Sunday worship for the past few weeks, has agreed to stay with us through the Christmas season.

Here is a brief biography on “Rev. Fred”

I graduated from Yale University Divinity School in 1984 with an M.Div and an undergraduate degree in Psychology and have been ordained for 35 years. I have served churches in Connecticut, Louisiana and Massachusetts. I am married with four children and two stepchildren. I enjoy Mt. Biking and have done extensive chaplaincy work around the country following natural disasters.

My call to ministry was, and still is, based in a deep desire to serve God. Experience has shown me that fulfillment comes to each of us only when we respond to what God has called us to do. Responding to the call to ministry has brought me a great joy as well as an abiding sense of peace in my personal and pastoral life. Ministry means fully loving God in body and spirit and cherishing the life with which God has blessed us. It is my love for God, and for God’s love expressed to me through Jesus Christ, that is the foundation of my ministry to, and with, others.

Ministry means to share the faith, hope, and love that I have found in life with others. It is important to me to be present with a compassionate, caring heart while others face the many different situations that life can hand us all. Ministry is not so much a job but a way of being in the world and touching the lives of others wherever I meet them, be it at a grocery store, a football game, or beside a hospital bed. Ministry embraces every aspect of my life.

Creative tension is a necessary component of any church where members are called upon to participate in all aspects of that church’s ministry. This can often be difficult when various members have different priorities or points of view. But it is also true that when members have a stake in what is happening in the life of the church, and want the best outcomes, they discover their highest gifts and form dynamic working groups which support the leadership and growth in the church.

I have found the use of humor to be an important and healthy aspect of my call to ministry. This means a willingness to laugh at myself and to let others laugh with me. I love to bring humor into the pulpit and even into pastoral counseling. Scriptures tell us that “wherever the disciples went, joy followed”, and humor has given me a gentle perspective in my professional life and has been a key to a healthy ministry.