Berean Baptist Church
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Berean Baptist Church
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Well, what do you need to know about me? I am a husband and a father. I have two boys, ages eight and six, and as of May 11, 2010 a little girl. I love my wife and my children and family is very important to me. I was raised in a little American Baptist Church in Northern Maine. I don't remember not being in church. I was practically born there. So church is like family to me. I was brought up by a single mother and my grandmother. I went to college, got a degree in English. In 1992 I got a job at Canonicus, the American Baptist Summer Camp here in Rhode Island. That is where I received God's call to ministry. Previous to seminary I worked with developmentally delayed and mentally ill adults. I attended Andover Newton Theological Seminary while I served a little American Baptist Church in Providence. I graduated from Andover Newton with a Masters in Divinity and began my ministry at Berean Baptist Church in January of 2004. I love music of all kinds, specifically Johnny Cash, Steve Earle, Bob Dylan, Mike Doughty, Iron and Wine and Bon Iver, but that is just a brief sample. I play guitar, own two and try to play mandolin some also. My ears are pierced, I have a couple tattoos, am a J.R.R. Tolkien fan and proudly identify myself as a Social Justice Christian. I am interested in Eco-Justice which is a fancy way of saying I believe that caring for the environment is a vital but often overlooked practice for those who follow Christ. I am also interested in the abolition of Modern Slavery, Ending Hunger and reclaiming a Christian Faith that is focused on Peace-making.
Gary Harris has served as Berean’s Minister of Music since September, 2006. He often speaks of his joy in being a part of leading the congregation and choir in the wide variety of music, classical, Bach and pre-Bach, contemporary, Broadway, praise, etc. that are enjoyed at Berean. A ”retired” American Baptist minister, Gary has served 10 churches across the US, including an 18 year pastorate at the Oak Lawn Community Baptist Church in Cranston. His last eight years of service were as an intentional interim for troubled churches. Gary is proud to be part of a five-generation American Baptist family, and equally proud of his more recent membership in the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists. After receiving his BA in Music from Kalamazoo College, he received his Mdiv from Colgate Rochester Crozier Divinity School, including a minor in sacred music from the Eastman School of Music, with emphasis on vocal and choral music. Gary has enjoyed singing and soloing with several groups over the years, and was most “at home” in the Kalamazoo Bach Festival orchestra and chorus. He also enjoys and values family, friends, the great oratorios, theatre, “The Mouse,” cooking, eating, and beautiful things, influenced no doubt from growing up in the once “flour city” then “flower city,” Rochester, NY. He is now happily one of the two “Gary’s” who make their home together in Johnston, but says he can never get enough Bach.
Bonnie Bryden came to Berean to serve as secretary in
January of 2008. She feels she was called here, since she heard about the job
out of the blue and the Pastor ended up being Rev. Darin, who just happened to
be her youth group leader in high school! She is enjoying her time here at
Berean and getting to know even more brothers and sisters in Christ.
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Rev. Gary Harris; Minister of Music