Ssecond Church in Newton Calls New Pastor

The Second Church in Newton welcomes a new senior pastor, The Reverend Doctor Carla Jean Bailey. For the first time in 237 years, Second Church has a female Senior Pastor.

To celebrate the beginning of a new church year and the ministry of a new pastor, Second Church, at 60 Highland Street, West Newton, will have a special weekend of fun and worship.

A free, fun Fall Fest will be held outdoors on Saturday, September 8, 10:00 am-1:00 pm with a firetruck to explore, petting zoo, games, music and more, including opportunities to volunteer with the church community in outreach and service projects and tour the church, even ringing the steeple bell. Welcoming Sunday will follow on September 9 at 10:00 am in the Sanctuary with a worship service led by Pastor Carla. All are welcome to this special weekend.

Originally from Minnesota, Pastor Bailey has served churches in several mid-western states. She also served as senior Pastor for 19 years at The Church of Christ at Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH where she worked with parishioners to advocate for a repeal of the death penalty in NH. Though not yet successful, the experiences were rich and powerful. Additionally, Carla helped the church at Dartmouth complete a major capital campaign. Currently, she serves a Sabbatical Pastorate at Judson Memorial Baptist Church (American Baptist), Minneapolis, MN. Dr. Bailey earned both a Master and Doctor of Divinity Degree from the United Theological Seminary in Minnesota and a J.D. from Vermont Law School, so she could apply knowledge of law to her passion for social justice, theology and the church. Pastor Carla’s passions and interests match those of her new church: social justice, mission outreach and service, and music. She is coming to Newton in late August with her husband Warren Turner. They have a grown son and daughter.

Pastor Carla joins a long line of distinguished ministers who served this historic church. The congregation was organized in 1781, and the first pastor was the Rev. William Greenough, who was pastor for fifty years. He was buried in the West Parish Burial Ground, at the corner of River and Cherry Streets, one of the historic cemeteries owned by the City of Newton. Another prominent pastor was the Rev. John Edgar Park who was responsible for the present church building on Highland Street in West Newton, up the hill from the site of the original, simple wooden eighteenth century meeting house. The magnificent American Gothic structure is said to be inspired by Salisbury Cathedral in England. The church was dedicated on October 1, 1916, and celebrated its 100th birthday in 2016. Sharing this building are the 84-year-old Second Church Nursery School, Clearway, an alternative school for teens, and Congregation Dorshei Tzedek, a Reconstructionist Jewish Congregation. Several 12-step programs and other church groups also share the generous space.