Neighbor News
Trinitarian Congregational Church announces New Interim Minister Rev. Dr. Jean Vandergrift
Rev. Dr. Vandergrift has been called as a second minister on staff to support the Acting Senior Minister Rev. Robert Brown
Trinitarian Congregational Church of Concord, MA announces NEW Interim Minister Rev. Dr. Jean Vandergrift
(Concord, MA) - Trinitarian Congregational (TriCon) Church of Concord, MA is pleased to announce that Rev. Dr. Jean Vandergrift is now serving as Interim Minister for Spiritual Development and Congregational Life at TriCon! She has been called as a second minister on staff to support the Acting Senior Minister Rev. Robert Brown and to fill the void that longtime Senior Minister Rev. Dr. John Lombard left upon his retirement in November 2016. Rev. Dr. Jean Vandergrift will support the ministries of worship leadership and preaching, pastoral care, spiritual development, small groups, and programs for families. Specializing in interim ministry, a significant part of her job is to work with the Transition Team and the congregation on its interim goals, such as building upon its past, learning more about its present self, exploring the needs of its neighbors in Concord and beyond, and discerning God’s vocational call for TriCon’s future, thus preparing the way for ministerial staffing that coincides with this vision.
Jean has been an ordained minister since 1983, serving congregations in Kentucky, North Carolina, and Seattle, Washington, along with an earlier mission appointment in France. Since 2007 she has served a variety of interim ministries with the UCC in Massachusetts.
She moved to Boston to pursue a PhD in Practical Theology from Boston University’s School of Theology (awarded 2014). Her dissertation, entitled The Dance of a Changing Church: A Practical Theology of Congregational Transformation, researched three congregations that had rebounded from severe decline into vitality and faithfulness, which produced insights relevant to interims and healthy settled congregations like TriCon.
For more information about Rev. Vandergrift, see www.triconchurch.org/clergy and follower her blog at http://jeanvandergriftdancingrofg.wordpress.com.
Trinitarian Congregational Church is an ecumenical community of faith in the tradition of the United Church of Christ and is an inclusive, open, affirming and welcoming congregation. For more information about our vibrant community, please visit our website at www.triconchurch.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter (triconchurch), email us at info@triconchurch.org or call the church office at 978-369-4837.
