The First Congregational Church of Marion is pleased to welcome Rev. Richard Woodward as our new Transitional Interim Pastor. Rev. Woodward was raised in the First Congregational Church of Royal Oak, Michigan, and went on to be ordained in his home church. He has a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Religion from Central Michigan University and is a graduate of Gordon-Cornwell Theological Seminary with a master’s degree in divinity.
Throughout his ministry, Rev. Woodward has served in a diverse range of churches. His first call to ministry came from the East Freetown Congregational Christian Church in East Freetown, Massachusetts. From there he was called to the Evangelical Congregational Church in Dunstable, Massachusetts, where he served as Senior Pastor for 24 years.
Then, Rev. Woodward made the decision to expand his training in the field of Intentional Interim Ministry, taking courses with both the Interim Ministry Network and Interim Pastor Ministries. From 2014 to the present, he has enjoyed serving as Interim Pastor at three churches: Greenwoods Community Church in Ashley Falls, Massachusetts, the Sherman Congregational Church in Sherman, Connecticut, and the First Baptist Church in Plymouth, Connecticut.
Rev. Woodward and his wife, Martha, are happy to be moving to Marion and being closer to their grown children who live north of Boston. Martha worked as a certified nurse’s aide, and through her work they have both been involved in volunteer nursing home ministry. Rev. Woodward also did a volunteer prison ministry conducting Bible studies. He helped start a prison ministry where men from his church were trained to be mentors to inmates to prepare for transition when released.
After their second child passed away at five weeks, Rev. Woodward was drawn to grief work. He has spent time with those who are grieving and worked to help those who have lost loved ones. Rev. Woodward has found that “God always prepares us for the ministries that we will be doing.”
Rev. Woodward is passionate about being with people. He enjoys family time, reading, music, gardening, cooking, camping, and travel. He has hiked all of the Connecticut Appalachian Trail, along with sections in five other states.
The members and friends of The First Congregational Church of Marion are excited to have Rev. Richard Woodward as our new Transitional Interim Pastor. He feels our church has wonderful potential as we seek what God has called us to do in this town. We look forward to his guidance and leadership in this time of assessment, reflection, and planning as we prepare to search for a settled pastor.
Feel free to email Rev. Richard Woodward at Rhwoodward@gmail.com or call the church office at 508-748-1053 to contact him.
The First Congregational Church of Marion is located at 28 Main Street, Marion. Sunday Worship Service is at 10:00 am in person (following all COVID-19 protocols) and also on Zoom. The sanctuary is handicap accessible with an elevator. The church website is marionfirstchurch.org. You can find information here and a link to our YouTube channel to view previous worship services. The church office is located in the Community Center, 144 Front Street, at the rear of the parking lot.