Pastor Stan Mullen Leads Close-knit Congregation

A gathering place for generations, has a delightful history, which is printed on the back of their church bulletin every week.

Many years ago in the little village of Bliss Four Corners in the Town of Tiverton, a group of people got together to establish a place for a Sunday school to teach their children about God. The village had a post office, store and schoolhouse – but no place of worship. In 1892, they erected a chapel 42 feet long by 25 feet wide at a cost of $1,000. The builder received $1.50 per day for his labors. The construction costs included carpenter/mason labor at $403, while paint, stove, curtains, seats and songbooks came to $89. A new organ was purchased for $75. The congregation took the name Church of Christ at Bliss Four Corners.

Today the little historic church is a landmark in town, welcoming folks for over a century with the mission: “Enter to Worship…Depart to Serve.”

“It’s what a church should be,” said the pastor, the Rev. H. Stanley Mullen Jr. “We have a lot of very good people – very helpful people.”

In 1991, Pastor Stan received a call, inquiring whether he would be interested in serving as pastor of the church.

Meeting with the committee, he told them that he understood that they would be interviewing other ministers as well.

“If we like you, and you like us, take it,” they told him.

“We have been in love for 20 years,” Pastor Stan said laughing.

Growing up in Winchester, Pastor Stan was raised in the Episcopalian faith. But he attended Boy Scouts at a Baptist Church and got to know the pastor. When he turned 16, he joined the church.

“I told my mother, and she said, ‘That’s good. I’ll join with you.’”

An active member of the church youth group, Pastor Stan also was involved in the state youth group. He became president of the American Baptist Youth Group of Massachusetts and the statewide Council of Churches Youth Group.

“That was an important part of my life, working with young people,” he said.

Graduating from high school, Pastor Stan enrolled at Northeastern University in 1954, to pursue studies in research chemistry.

“At the same time I was very active in church every weekend, and it was kind of becoming more important than what I was doing in a research lab,” he remembers.

Following his calling, Pastor Stan also attended Andover Newton Theological School.

“They were very happy to have me,” he said of the seminary.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and a master’s degree in divinity.

His first pastoral assignment was for a church in North Stratford, NH, 20 miles from the Canadian border.

“The coldest it ever got was 35 degrees below zero,” he said chuckling.

But after three winters, he was ready for a more temperate climate.

In 1965, he accepted the position as minister of Central Baptist Church in Tiverton.

“It was a thriving church – it really was,” he said.

He served there for 20 years.

“But I thought it was a good time for a change,” he said.

He searched for another church, but the closest inquiry came from Rome, NY. An ad seeking an editor for The Advocate in Fairhaven caught his eye, and he applied. They requested a writing sample, and he submitted the profile he had written for the ministry. He was offered the job.

Over the ensuing years he would also serve as editor of the Business Digest of Southeastern Massachusetts and write for the business magazine of the Greater New Bedford Chamber of Commerce.

Then came another career change.

“I took a job selling cars,” he said. “It was the worst mistake I ever made in my life. They told me, ‘Don’t lie but you don’t have to tell the whole truth either.’ It was kind of underhanded. I can’t lie to people about a car. I got fired after six months.”

He took a job at Building 19 in New Bedford.

“It was just about the time that I got the call from this church,” he said.

Pastor Stan preached his first sermon in March 1991.

He was taught to never stay in a church for more than two or three years because he would get too attached to the people. But instead, he served for 20 years at Central Baptist, and this month marks 20 years at Bliss.

“I completely defied that,” he said. “It’s been a wonderful experience to see some of these kids now in their 50s that used to be in my youth group. I still get calls from people from Central Baptist to do a funeral or wedding. I consider it quite an honor.”

When Central Baptist dissolved, the congregation shared their assets with local churches. Bliss was the beneficiary of some of the furniture, including chairs and deacon benches.

“It’s interesting to me; it’s a combination of the two churches,” he said. “I’ll sit in a chair I sat in for years.”  

His theology is very simplistic and centered around The Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

“If everybody followed that, we would live in a world of peace and understanding,” he said.

According to four members of the Ladies Aid Society, the congregation is blessed to have Pastor Stan.

“One thing I love about him is his sermons,” said Sue Anderson.

“They are very nice sermons,” agreed Hazel Carr, the oldest active member of the church who has served as organist for the past 60 years.

“He is a very humble man,” added Gloria Anderson. “It’s so good that he can get here every Sunday.”

“He’s a nice man, and I like him,” said June Parks, who has been the church treasurer since 1958.

A resident of New Bedford, Pastor Stan is married to Mary Lou, a retired registered nurse from Newport Hospital. He has two daughters, Laurie and Julie; a son, David; and a stepson, Brendan.

He is also the chaplain of Seamen’s Bethel in New Bedford.

“I’ll be 75 in a couple of months,” he said. “Old ministers never die, they just go out to pastor.”

Bliss Four Corners Congregational Church is located at 1264 Stafford Road. Worship service and Sunday school are at 10 a.m. Sunday. Everyone is welcome. For more information, call (401) 624-4113 or visit www.blissfourcornerschurch.org.