The Search Committee asked me to put together a bit of my bio so that we could get acquainted a little before my arrival.  I am a bred-in-the bone Yankee and my roots go deep here.  As far as I know, I am the first congregational minister in my family since Samuel Johnson Sewall was ordained in North Edgecombe, Maine, in 1795.   My folks are from Andover, MA, and I grew up in Wakefield, MA, and Exeter, NH.  My wife, Peggy, is from Rochester, NY, and we met at seminary in Chicago.  While there we were “urbanized” and have lived in cities ever since.  We were in Baltimore while Peggy did her doctorate in American History at the Johns Hopkins University.  We then moved to Washington, DC, where we both were Elders in a new church start while I worked on Capitol Hill for two non-profit Christian ministries and she wrote her dissertation.

In 1986 we adopted our first child, Nathan, who is half-Vietnamese (now 23 years old and away getting a degree in Automotive Technology and interning with BMW).  Shortly thereafter we moved to Cambridge, MA, to start our ministry at Pilgrim Congregational Church, UCC.  Our third Christmas there we adopted Anna (now 20 years old and taking classes and working) who is half-Laotian.  Our children, along with our dog, Salamanca, and two cats, Garbanzo and Li’l Toot, are a source of inestimable joy and delight.  In my spare time I mountain bike, backpack, kayak, play guitar, and read.

Unfortunately, after a valiant struggle of six years, Pilgrim Church closed like many other center city churches.  Since then I have served as an Interim Minister at churches in Milton, Burlington, Topsfield, and Reading, MA, and Grand Rapids, MI, as well as a settled pastor in Dedham, MA.  In 1997, I completed the Doctor of Ministry degree at Andover Newton Theological School.  My concentration was on an integration of theology and pastoral psychology.  While a student there I also served as the Coordinator for Pastoral Care (aka chaplain) and served on the adjunct faculty in the Practical Theology department.

In the summer of 1997 we moved to Grand Rapids, MI, where my wife, Peggy, was Professor of History at Calvin College, specializing in twentieth-century and women’s U.S. history.  For the first three years there I worked for a non-profit Christian ministry called the Inner City Christian Federation (ICCF).  ICCF develops housing for low-income families.  While there I wrote grants, wrote the newsletter, developed contacts with local churches, and spearheaded special events.  I also served as an Interim Minister there for 3 years.  While in Grand Rapids, I also lead a practicum for seminary students at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, and hosted a radio show on 88.1 FM WYCE “where you get folk, rock, blues, jazz and world beat, all in one place.”

We moved back to Cambridge during the summer of 2004 when a new and unexpected job opportunity opened up for Peggy.  She is the Executive Director at the American Congregational Association on Beacon Hill.  “The Congregational House,” as it is known, houses the library and archives of all branches of the congregational church.  She also has taught at Andover Newton Theological School (Nancy Talbott had her for church history while there), Boston University School of Theology and Northeastern University.  She has published quite a bit on the history of women in the American church, denominations and family policy, and has edited a volume in the “Living Theological Heritage” series of the UCC.

I was most recently at the First Congregational Church of Reading, UCC, for 2+ years and had a wonderful interim ministry of helping folks renew their vision and identity, discover how to communicate in helpful and healing ways, and inventing a new flexible and mission-oriented structure based on people’s spiritual gifts and sense of calling.  I am also the chair of the Board of the City Mission Society, a social justice agency of the UCC in Boston.  I understand you have quite a history with them.

Interim Ministry fits well with my gifts and personality: it is a discreet set of tasks that can be accomplished within a window of time and bears great fruit as people rediscover their mission and calling and set their sights on a new horizon of God’s future for them.  It will be a fun adventure and I look forward to getting to know all of you better!

Grace, mercy and peace,
 -Norman B. Bendroth,
  Sr. Interim Minister

Reverend Norman Bendroth