Jeffrey Lord
I have had the pleasure of knowing Pastor Peter for well over 20 years as we both served in leadership positions at Arlington Street Church in Boston.
Many years later after moving from Boston to Monson, MA, our paths crossed once again as he was selected to be the pastor of the largest and most active church in our community. Peter reached out to reconnect with me and we met for a cup of coffee. Pastor Peter shared about his calling to Monson. Although having different spiritual beliefs, his passion and his excitement about leading First Church was overwhelmingly contagious.
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He urged me to bring my husband and our two 4-year old twin boys to First Church so we could first-hand experience the excitement to be a part of a vibrant church community. After two years of being an active member of First Church and also serving as one of its officers, I can say with certainty that First Church is an exciting community to be a part of all as a result of Pastor Peter’s passion and pivotal leadership.
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During his tenure, our church has grown in size attracting many different types of members and he has increased our presence in our community. In addition to his many ministerial duties, Pastor Peter has a keen sense of how leadership should be created, cultivated, and kept and as a result we have a leadership structure that helps the church flourish.
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They say to forge steel you must pass it through the flames and Pastor Peter’s leadership during this Covid pandemic truly seasoned him in ways seminary could not possibly have prepared him for. He realized that although live church was unsafe and at times restricted, he made certain that not a Sunday went by without a service happening on Facebook or in a parking lot in private cars. He truly knew that this was indeed a time when church was more essential than any time in the past as our congregation struggled with making it through this pandemic. He was also instrumental in teaching our older members how to use Zoom to meet with one another for both church meetings, coffee hours or just for the opportunity to not feel so alone.
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I must say my long friendship with Pastor Peter has been quite a blessing not only to me and to my family but to our entire community and it is indeed a pleasure to share my feelings as to his ministerial qualifications with you.
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Jeffrey is a Justice of the Peace, Moderator of First Church of Monson, and the Chair of the Monson School Committee.