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The Reverend Harold E. Masback, III
Senior Minister
Reverend Masback has served as our Senior Minister since
February 2001. He first joined our church in 1994 as an
Associate Minister, coming to us from the First Congregational
Church in Guilford, CT where he had served as a Pastoral
Associate and an Interim Associate Minister. Skip's responsibilities
included youth programming, and he created the dynamic
youth groups that continue to serve the youth of our congregation
and community today. In 1997, Skip was called as Minister
and in February of 2001, was unanimously called to serve
as Senior Minister. Prior to beginning his ministry, Skip
was a founding partner of Ross, Dixon and Masback, currently
a 65 lawyer, 130 employee law firm with offices in Washington,
D.C., San Diego, California, Orange County, California,
and Chicago, Illinois. While practicing law, Skip served
as Assistant General Counsel for the Democratic National
Committee from 1976-1983, helped start the National Endowment
for Democracy in 1983, and helped to start and served
as General Counsel on the Commission for Presidential
Debates.
Skip
grew up in White Plains, NY and graduated from White Plains High School
in 1969. He graduated cum laude from Williams College in 1973 where he
received highest honors in Political Science and was elected to Phi Beta
Kappa. He went on to receive a JD degree in 1976 from the Columbia
University School of Law.
He
left his law career in 1989 to pursue a career in ministry, and
graduated with a Masters of Divinity degree from Yale Divinity School in
1994.
In
addition to his responsibilities at the church, Skip is a founder of I
Have a Dream, New Haven, Inc., a program to assist inner-city youth from
fourth grade through high school. Upon successful completion of high
school, IHAD will pay for the children's college education. Reverend
Masback also serves as a member of the Advisory Board and National
Working Group for the Faith As A Way of Life program, a Yale Center for
Faith and Culture initiative which helps to equip pastors for excellence
in the central task of Christian ministry: helping to mediate faith to
persons, communities, and cultures as a life-integrating and
life-transforming reality. He also served as a member of the
Consultation on Excellence in Ministry in 2003, a group comprised of 25
leaders in the church and theological education in New York and Southern
New England.
The
Reverend Patricia A. Long
Minister of Pastoral Care
Reverend Patricia A. Long has served as Minister of Pastoral Care at our
church since April 1, 2005. Prior to moving to Connecticut, Reverend
Long served at the Old North Church in Marblehead, Massachusetts for the
past ten years. She served as Associate Minister for nine years and
then took on the role of Co-Senior Pastor. In this capacity, she
designed and implemented a wide range of pastoral care programs for all
segments of the congregation. Rev. Long trained community therapists on
bereavement counseling, organized youth summits and designed discussion
groups for parents and teens on issues such as drug use. She also
facilitated monthly forums with doctors and nurses to discuss the
emotional and spiritual needs of patients at the Northshore Medical
Center. From 1999 through 2003, she served as President of the
Marblehead Ministerial Association.
Rev. Long received her M.A. from Boston College and her Masters in Theological Studies from Boston University, Magna Cum Laude.
Reverend
Long describes her philosophy of ministerial behavior as “ministry by
Starbucks.” She believes “it’s impossible to understand the greater
spiritual need in any town if you’re only working when in a church
office or behind a pulpit. Presence in a community must be personal to
be effective.” She believes that “church members need and deserve a
high quality of personal pastoral care”, which must include; “listening,
suspension of judgment and the ability to call individuals out of
isolation and into the community.”
The Reverend Dr. Ivy J. Beckwith
Minister to Children and Families
Ivy Beckwith was called in May, 2006 to serve as
our Minister
to
Children and Families. In this capacity, Ivy will lead our
Church in the development of a comprehensive vision for
Christian ministry to children and their families. She is
charged with involving children in the life of the Church and
in
developing practices which will nurture children and families in
their faith journeys. Ivy desires to see families joyfully
involved in the spiritual nurture and soul care of their children.
Ivy grew up in Guilford, CT and graduated in
1976 from Gordon College in Wenham, MA with a degree in
English. She received her Masters in Religious Education from Gordon-Conwell
Theological Seminary in 1981. Ivy earned a Ph.D. in Education in 1991 from
Trinity International University in
Deerfield, IL and was ordained as a
Congregational minister in November, 2000.
Ivy brings over 20 years of experience in
Christian education. From 1978-1994 she served as Director of Christian
Education at churches in New England and the
Midwest. She then worked as a
Christian education representative for Gospel Light Publications, consulting
with Midwestern churches about their educational ministries and later joined
Group Publishing, where she was Senior Editor for Curriculum. In 2000, Ivy
returned to church ministry at Colonial
Church in Edina, Minnesota, where she
served as Minister to Children and Families through 2004.
In addition to her church ministry, Ivy has been
a sought after speaker and trainer in the areas of Children’s Ministry and
church educational ministry. She has been a workshop leader at Children’s
Pastors Conference and the Emergent Convention. Ivy is a member of the Board of
Directors of Emergent and of Mars Hill
Graduate School in Bothell, WA. She has authored several
publications including her 2004 book, Postmodern Children’s Ministry:
Ministry to Children in the 21st Century and her 2007 release,
The Ultimate Survival Guide for Children's Ministry Workers.
