The Church of the Pilgrimage in Town Square, Plymouth, would like to note a transition in its ministry. On Monday, March 18, Rev. Dianne Arakawa said goodbye to her transitional ministry at The Church of the Pilgrimage. Rev. Arakawa served ably for the past two and a half years. She led the congregation through the celebration, delayed by the COVID pandemic, of its founding in Plymouth 400 years ago. She established contacts with the Herring Pond Wampanoag community and other faith communities, including the First Parish Unitarian Universalist, Bethel AME Church, and Temple Beth Jacob in Plymouth, and the Ahmaddiyya Muslim Community in Sharon and Boston. She leaves many friends in Plymouth as she retires to her home in Marshfield.
On Tuesday, March 19, The Church of the Pilgrimage welcomed its new Settled Pastor, Rev. Timothy Garvin-Leighton – “Rev. Tim,” as he prefers to be called. Rev. Tim has a long and diverse background as a religious leader. He holds a M.Div. from Andover-Newton Theological School here in Massachusetts and a BA in World Religions and History from Heidelberg University in Ohio. Rev. Tim served as a fulltime, part-time, or interim pastor at five different churches, including a combined 14 years as a fulltime pastor at churches in Maryland and Florida. He also worked for many years in campus ministry, including campus minister at University of California Davis and for the past eight years as a chaplain and faculty member at Piedmont University in Demorest, Georgia.
Rev. Tim grew up in Maine outside of Portland. After college, he traveled on a Peace Corps assignment to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa before returning to Andover-Newton Theological School. Rev. Tim and his wife, Mindy, a naturalized U. S. citizen born in Honduras, share a love of the ocean and cycling. Don’t be surprised to see them riding their bicycles around Plymouth.
Rev. Tim invites all desiring the spiritual invigoration of a sunrise service to join him on Cole’s Hill overlooking Plymouth Harbor at 5:30 am this Sunday for an Easter service.
Richard Dower
Moderator, The Church of the Pilgrimage