Back
John Danner, Senior Pastor
I was born in Maine, and for the most part raised in New Hampshire, so though
I may not be a Connecticut Yankee, I am, most assuredly, a Yankee! I love
things like a crisp autumn day, or a bracing winter's night. Seeing the
bright stars scattered across the dark sky on a January night always reminds
me of the words of the Psalmist:
Yet you have made them a little
Lower than God,
And crowned them with glory
And honor."
(Psalm 8:1, 3-4)
Not only am I a New England Yankee, I
am also a baby-boomer. Born in 1953, I was greatly influenced by the idealism
of the sixties. One of my greatest heroes is Martin Luther King. I was
also shaped by the fact that I am the son of a pastor. I almost literally
grew up in the church!
After high school and a brief stint
in college majoring in theatre, I got married, dropped out of school,
and went to work in the restaurant business. I loved it, despite the long
hours and working every weekend. It turned out to be good preparation
for that which was to come. In time, God let it be known that I was to
pursue another path. I was to get a theological education.
So it was that I got a BA in Philosophy
from the University of Maine and a Master of Divinity from Bangor Theological
Seminary. I was ordained in 1980.
I then went on to get a Ph.D. in
religious Studies from Boston University. I intended to become an academic,
but once again God called me in a different direction. For the past twenty
plus years I have been serving as a parish pastor in Maine, Massachusetts,
New York, New Jersey, and now, back in New England, here in Westport.
Learning, I am convinced, is a
life-long endeavor, and so my post-graduate work has included a two-year
residency in Pastoral psychotherapy at the Onondaga Pastoral Counseling
Center in Syracuse, New York; the Group Leaders Program at Shalem Institute
for Spiritual Formation, and the Stephen Leaders Training Course. I am
a Fellow in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors and a member
of Spiritual Directors, International.
Psalm 8 isn't the only psalm I
love. I'm also partial to Psalm 139. It is a prayer addressed to God.
In line after line, the psalmist affirms that wherever we go, whatever
we do, God is with us.
"If I take the wings of the morning and
settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me . . . ."
(Psalm 139:9-10a)
Most of us know that's true, yet
it is so easy to forget! In the busyness of life, in the difficulties
we often face, we can lose sight of that reality. That's why I return
to the scriptures and prayer every morning: to help me remember God.
That also sums up my work as a
pastor. I am called to help people remember God. I am called to help folks
know God loves them enough to care about the smallest details of their
lives. In my teaching, in my preaching, in providing pastoral care, in
leading outreach programs, the one thing I keep coming back to is the
simple truth that our loving God is in our very midst.
Saugatuck Congregational Church
is a wonderful community! I hope you'll find your way here so that you
too might be reminded of God's great love for you and all humanity.