Reverend Ken McIntosh on the nature of faith and community

A conversation with the congregation

Congregation: Can you tell us a bit about your work history and how you became a member of the Clergy?

Ken McIntosh: I have served several ministries that were part-time in nature (beginning a new church, campus ministry) so I was able to work in other settings outside of being a pastor. I taught Comparative Religions for almost a decade at a Community College, and loved doing that. While I am centered in my own faith, I also benefit from the insights of other spiritual paths. I’m also a prolific professional writer, with more than 60 books published in the past 15 years. Most of those were educational books, but I also wrote Water from an Ancient Well: Celtic Spirituality for Modern Life, and other books on Celtic Spirituality. I’ve also done workshops and spiritual retreats, both in the US and in the UK.

My first career was teaching remedial reading in Los Angeles public schools, in the inner city. That was an energizing career, but after several years I began feeling there was something else beckoning me. I spoke with my minister at the time about that feeling. He’s a very non-directive person, but he looked right at me and said “You are called to the ministry!” When close friends and family members confirmed that, it got me started going to seminary in the evenings. The rest, as they say, is history.

C: What are the most fulfilling parts of your profession?

KM: People confide in their pastors, and—amazingly—some members of thelarger community also share the concerns of their souls. I get to offer hope and assurance when people are struggling, to extend empathy where people have formerly experienced religious abuse, to talk about the big questions like “Where do you experience the sacred?” and “What are you passionate about doing?” Holding things shared in confidence is an awesome privilege; people give me a glimpse of their priceless real selves, and I take that very seriously. I don’t always have answers, but I can always offer God’s compassion and pray for them.

C: How has the role of the Church in the community changed over the last few years?

KM: Religion no longer dominates civic life in America. Some religions still try to rule, but that was never Christ’s intention. Many of Jesus’ followers have awoken to God’s original desire, to be servants of the broader community, inviting but never coercing, including rather than excluding. When Jesus was asked which of 613 religious laws was most important, he cited love of God and neighbor. Churches are regaining that focus, and I am glad to see it.

C: What would you like the Honeoye community at large to know about you?

KM: My greatest desire is to embody the compassion of God, who is Love. I won’t do that perfectly—no one does—we all fall short of our ideals, but I give it my best. I’m inspired by the ancient Celtic saints, who focused on character rather than professional skills for effective ministry. They called women and men to leadership not because of their great preaching or administrative talents, but because others discerned that they loved God and treated people justly and kindly. I would like to be that kind of spiritual mentor. I’m thankful to have my wife, Marsha, as my dearest companion and helper, in life and in ministry, and thankful to be moving closer to our adult children. Every human being is an entire fascinating universe within themselves, and I look forward to meeting and spending time with all my new neighbors in the Western Finger Lakes. Whether you are a person of any kind of faith or adhere to no religious faith, it will be a pleasure to make your acquaintance.

C: What is the most exciting aspect about coming to the Honeoye United Church of Christ?

KM: Oh, there are so many! This is a great church, and a great town. I can’t wait to get to know the people. I love that this church shares its facilities with local organizations that provide practical benefits for the area—preschool, food bank, elder meals, etc. It’s a gorgeous historic building that befits the church’s legacy of advocating human rights and embracing educated views of the world (these are true both of the congregation and of the community). They have a great children’s program. It’s a faith community that honors the Scripture and traditions of the past while engaged in today’s issues. The church has had outstanding leadership for many years, and I feel the weight of responsibility taking up the privilege of the minister’s role for the years to come. I hope to offer spiritual learning experiences both for church members and for members of the larger Honeoye community.

C: The UCC motto is “No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here.”  What ideas do you bring with you that embrace this motto?

KM: The UCC, which is: United in Christ’s love, a just world for all. Welcoming all people is a minimum standard of human decency, but the vision of the United Church of Christ beckons us to our higher calling, to continue actively working for everyone’s rights, in all realms of society. It is not enough to say “we love people without discrimination within our walls;” the desire of God is that all people—whether they go to church or not—will experience the freedom and happiness that God wishes them. A just world for all includes the vital importance of earth-care. It’s a never-ending work, but we mustn’t relent. No one is truly free until all are free.

C: Can you tell us a bit about your personal faith journey?

KM: My parents were professional scientists, and instilled in me a passion for knowledge and sense of reverence for the world. They also taught me the importance of myth and our family’s Celtic heritage.  At age 18, I met Jesus through a Young Life camp, and that encounter added an entire new dimension to my life. In college, several close friends and a church taught me to be purposeful about my connection with God and spiritual transformation. I taught and lived in urban Los Angeles, married Marsha, welcomed our children into the world, and followed the call to seminary and pastoral ministry. 

I try to balance the extraverted, fast-moving pastor’s role with times of silence to deepen my romance with God and reset my inner compass. Nature is God’s first book, the Bible is God’s second book, so my life is a journey learning both volumes of God’s revelation. Art, science, religion, politics, and psychology don’t need to be viewed as separate or distinct fields—for me they are one, like knotwork designs in Celtic art, interwoven and equally beautiful. I hope that my role at Honeoye UCC will enable the church to continue offering that vision of integrated love to this community.

 

-Ken McIntosh, the new full-time pastor for Honeoye United Church of Christ, has a diverse ministerial background and has been for the past five years Senior Pastor at First Congregational Church of Flagstaff UCC. Besides preaching to his UCC congregation each Sunday for morning worship, Ken conducted a Sunday evening service on the campus of University of Arizona (Flagstaff) in his capacity as Lutheran Campus Minister.

Though based in Flagstaff for the past twelve years, Ken was Senior Pastor to First Christian Church in Binghamton.  Besides traditional ministry, Ken has for many years taught Comparative Religion at Community College and has written a number of Young Adult titles for library publishers.

Ken’s most recent publication – Water from an Ancient Well – Celtic Spirituality for Modern Life is a very accessible invitation for us to consider ancient Christian traditions in ways that broaden our perspective of how Christianity can embrace the entire world.  Many of the Pastoral Search Committee appreciated how Ken’s book and teaching background can enrich the Honeoye UCC congregation’s adult education program. 

The following interview by the Committee offers the community at large an opportunity to learn about and welcome Reverend McIntosh to Honeoye.

Please join the congregation in welcoming Reverend Ken McIntosh to Honeoye United Church of Christ as the new full-time Pastor.  Ken will be replacing Interim Pastor J.K. Boodley and well-known long-time retired Pastor Brian Krause.

Ken’s first service will be Sunday, August 27, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. at 8758 Main Street, Honeoye.