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On behalf of the Settled Pastor Search Committee, we are thrilled to announce that our task is nearly complete. After six months of dedicated work and prayerful discernment, we arrived at a unanimous decision to recommend calling our top candidate to become our next settled pastor. A Letter of Call was negotiated, and our candidate joyfully accepted.
We are pleased to announce that we are recommending a call to Reverend Joe Zarro as our next settled pastor. Rev. Joe will be coming to us from Plymouth Congregational Church in Belmont, MA, where he has served as senior minister for the past 10+ years. In that time, he helped to increase attendance, grow the Sunday School program, renovate the church building, and raise the church’s profile in the community.
"...a unanimous decision to recommend a call to...Rev. Joe Zarro"
The search committee was impressed by many aspects of Pastor Joe’s background and experience. Here are a few examples:
- He has a bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University in English and Philosophy, and a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School.
- He participated in the Next Generation Leadership Initiative, a selective nation-wide leadership program for young clergy in the UCC which focuses on the principles and practices that can bring vibrancy to the church.
- At his first church, he participated in two summer trips to Nicaragua, helped with a free afterschool program for homework help, and was involved in a weekly adult ESL class. He also co-chaired the Interfaith Council and won an award for his support of the Muslim community.
- Pastor Joe brings a collaborative, bottoms-up approach to his ministry, inspired by a God that “does not coerce people to follow with fear of hell and punishment, but inspires and persuades with love, and equips us for our journey.”
- Pastor Joe has a passion for creativity and writing that led him to write what he calls a “terrible screenplay” before college, work his way up to be editor-in-chief of his college newspaper, and then write a “considerably less terrible” screenplay for his senior thesis at Harvard Divinity School. Now Rev. Joe channels his creative passions toward crafting, writing, and delivering the best sermons possible.
In our video-conference interview and our in-person interview, many of these qualities were on full display. One member loved the “nitty-gritty theology talk” they had with him. Another appreciated his clear, logical, and analytical mind, and how organized and responsive he is. We all found Rev. Joe to be accessible and easy to talk to. We appreciated how he leads with his faith and can stand his ground. We liked his strong history with and connections to the UCC.
"...strong history with and connections to the UCC."
We also got a wonderful insight into Rev. Joe as a worship leader. For the in-person visit, he prepared and delivered a powerful sermon to our committee entitled “A Message to RUCC: Thoughts on Transition and Change.” Then, he played guitar and led us in a mash-up of “Amazing Grace” and the Eagles’ “Peaceful Easy Feeling,” that he learned when he was a counselor just up the road at Pilgrim Pines camp. We loved it.
The Pilgrim Pines reference brings us to another reason Rev. Joe is excited to be joining us. He was born and raised in Southern California. His first church was in Temecula, and his parents and siblings are in the area. So, coming to Redlands is a homecoming of sorts. Lots to be excited about.
The search committee knows we could not have done our work without lots of help. We would like to sincerely thank Kris Bergstrom, our Conference Minister, whose wisdom, experience and love for RUCC was available at every step of our journey. We want to thank those who worked so hard on the Church Profile. The profile guided all our work and provided candidates with a clear and comprehensive picture of RUCC. We thank members of the Church Board who took time to meet with Rev. Joe and share their insights and questions. We thank Dan Abushanab, Board President, for helping with everything from setting up our Teams site to deftly developing, with Rev. Joe, the terms of the Letter of Call. We want to extend our deepest thanks and appreciation to all of you in our beloved RUCC community who have helped to make RUCC such a special place. Your commitment and support inspired our work. Rev. Joe could see how amazing RUCC is, and this made it even easier for him to accept our call.
"...deepest thanks and appreciation to all of you"
Finally, I’d like to acknowledge the members of the search committee. This is an amazing group of people, wholly committed to RUCC and dedicated to the process, who rose up in the face of a weighty responsibility. It was an honor and privilege to be part of this group.
At the beginning of this journey, we said that this search for a “settled” pastor was vital to RUCC because we have been “unsettled” for a long time. There is still healing and transition before us, but we are excited to be so close to having a faithful and accomplished pastor in Rev. Joe to help guide us. Please mark your calendars for April 21st and plan to be here to start this new chapter in our church’s life.
Sophia Beardemphl
Loring Fiske-Phillips
Keith Osajima (Chair)
Samantha Sanchez-French
DeeDee Seek
Diana Steele-Jones
Minori Tsukimoto
John Walsh
Janet Wilson
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