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Massachusetts Conference Edition
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Carol Atwood-Lyon: Joins Conference staff after 36 years of parish ministryby Tiffany Vail, Associate for Communication and Communication Technologies August/September 2007
“It was like God said ‘listen to the words going through your head. Listen to what’s in your heart,’” she said with a laugh. “I’ve always been very involved in Conference and Associ-ation settings,” she said. “This is an opportunity to be using the skills and gifts I have in new and different ways.” Atwood-Lyon has been in parish ministry for 36 years. After receiving a Master’s of Divinity from Princeton Theological School, she served five different churches in Connecticut, Ohio and Vermont. At that point she began fifteen years of ministry in Massachusetts, first as Co-pastor of Quincy Point Congregational Church and then as Pastor of Islington Community Church, UCC in Westwood. For five years during that time, she worked alongside the Conference Associate Conference Ministers on the MACUCC Settlement Committee. She also served as a search consultant with churches in Connecticut and a Moderator and Committee on Ministry chair in Vermont. Her experience spans churches of all sizes ranging in membership from 117 to 1257, and in rural, suburban and urban communities. In these settings she has served as an associate, a minister of Christian education, a sole pastor, a co-pastor, and as senior pastor of a multiple staff church. For the past seven years, Carol has served as Senior Pastor of Hampstead Congregational Church, UCC in Hampstead, NH. Her current congregation is the third fastest growing church in the New Hampshire Conference, pulling members from twenty communities.
She said she is excited to return to Massachusetts. She was raised in Northfield, educated in Amherst, and worked in West Springfield. “I feel a vibrancy here that’s healthy and exciting and visionary,” she said. “I was thrilled to hear about the Communities of Practice and the work being done with the Lilly Foundation grant. It’s great to think about what a Conference can do.” Atwood-Lyon’s references say about her: “Carol is a forward-thinking and innovative minister, who also respects and is aware of the traditions of a New England congregational church.... Offering solutions to situations that might become entangled in red tape is one of Carol’s specialties.... Carol is a compassionate and caring pastor.... She’s a real team player... and is not afraid to say “I don’t know but I’ll find out”.... Her faith commits her to “walking the walk”.... Carol is a loyal and enthusiastic UCC supporter.... She is organized and outstanding in her planning, and she has the unique ability to always include other people in that planning.... Reverend Carol is an experienced church leader with the poise and dignity to deal with every aspect of the church and individual lives she supports.... I truly believe that whatever Carol decides to do in her ministerial life, she can and will do....” Atwood-Lyon said it will take a lot of work among herself, the Minister and President and the two Associations in the Northeast Area to determine how she can use her part-time hours to best effect. “There are some tough decisions to be made,” she said. Atwood-Lyon, who will begin September 10 working out of her home in Hampstead, NH– just over the Massachusetts line – said having a part-time position will allow her to pick up some neglected hobbies, such as oil painting and singing. “The church I’m serving now has been very active and demanding,” she said. She and her husband Fred Atwood-Lyon, a retired UCC pastor, live in Hampstead, NH.
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Carol Atwood-Lyon was still trying to discern whether serving as a part-time Acting Associate Conference Minister was the right path for her when, in preparation for the United Church of Christ 50th Anniversary Celebration, she began writing a sermon about what makes the wider church so special.