The Reverend Dana Allen Walsh
Pastor, Mom, Thrifter
I am a pastor & teacher and ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. On March 23rd, 2014 (my Jesus' birthday), South Church unanimously affirmed my call to be the 18th Senior Pastor and first female to hold this role in the church's 300 year history. What a gift! Everyday, it is a joy and privilege to serve amongst the good people of South Church. Prior to Andover, I served for eight years as Minister of Hancock United Church of Christ on the historic battle green of Lexington. I earned a Masters of Divinity and Certificate of Executive Leadership from Princeton Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs from the University of Mary Washington. I was raised in Trumbull, CT where my spiritual journey began with the Catholic Church until I felt a sense of call to ministry through UCC youth service trips.
I am a seeker of the sacred in the ordinary. I love to find traces of the divine in deep conversations, in the chaos of parenthood, and in the intergenerational joy of church. I believe that church is where we remind each other of who God has called us to be in this world: people of hope and people of courage.
I live in Andover, MA with my husband, Sean and our two beautiful, goofy children: Leighton & Emerson. You can find me fueling up with a latte at Caffe Nero, hiking an AVIS trail with my dog, Bono, or rifling through the clearance rack at Chic Consignment.
I am a seeker of the sacred in the ordinary. I love to find traces of the divine in deep conversations, in the chaos of parenthood, and in the intergenerational joy of church. I believe that church is where we remind each other of who God has called us to be in this world: people of hope and people of courage.
I live in Andover, MA with my husband, Sean and our two beautiful, goofy children: Leighton & Emerson. You can find me fueling up with a latte at Caffe Nero, hiking an AVIS trail with my dog, Bono, or rifling through the clearance rack at Chic Consignment.
News & Media
Local clergy help to build a home in Andover
Eight local clergy spent a recent morning together to help build a house with Merrimack Valley Habitat for Humanity and many of them are from Andover congregations. This was the first time the clergy had the opportunity to build together, and they agreed that it was a wonderful experience.
Those participating in the daylong event included Mike Hodges, Christ Church Andover; Rev. Lee Bluemel, North Parish of North Andover Unitarian Universalist; Rev. Jen Vath, Christ Church Andover; Rev. Dana Allan-Walsh, Senior Pastor, South Church, Andover; Pastor Debra Adams, Trinitarian Congregational Church, North Andover; Senior Pastor Jon Paul, Free Christian, Andover; Senior Pastor Katrina Wuensch, West Parish, Andover; and Rev. Alex Shea Will, Associate Pastor, South Church Andover worked together.
“Partnering with Habitat has been one of my proudest moments in ministry," said Rev. Will, associate Pastor of South Church. "A church using its resources to help create affordable housing is exactly what Jesus would want us to do. Getting the chance to use our hands and bodies to help build the homes our new neighbors who will soon live in, on Lupine Road in Andover, is an incredible joy and blessing.""There is something deeply powerful about doing the physical work of welcoming and making room for our neighbors," he added. "The Merrimack Valley Habitat for Humanity supervisors on site are incredibly friendly, helpful, and easy to work with. No matter your skill level, there is a way for you to help at a Habitat build." This is Andover’s first affordable homeownership community project which is a collaboration between Andover Community Trust and Merrimack Valley Habitat for Humanity. Read more here.
Those participating in the daylong event included Mike Hodges, Christ Church Andover; Rev. Lee Bluemel, North Parish of North Andover Unitarian Universalist; Rev. Jen Vath, Christ Church Andover; Rev. Dana Allan-Walsh, Senior Pastor, South Church, Andover; Pastor Debra Adams, Trinitarian Congregational Church, North Andover; Senior Pastor Jon Paul, Free Christian, Andover; Senior Pastor Katrina Wuensch, West Parish, Andover; and Rev. Alex Shea Will, Associate Pastor, South Church Andover worked together.
“Partnering with Habitat has been one of my proudest moments in ministry," said Rev. Will, associate Pastor of South Church. "A church using its resources to help create affordable housing is exactly what Jesus would want us to do. Getting the chance to use our hands and bodies to help build the homes our new neighbors who will soon live in, on Lupine Road in Andover, is an incredible joy and blessing.""There is something deeply powerful about doing the physical work of welcoming and making room for our neighbors," he added. "The Merrimack Valley Habitat for Humanity supervisors on site are incredibly friendly, helpful, and easy to work with. No matter your skill level, there is a way for you to help at a Habitat build." This is Andover’s first affordable homeownership community project which is a collaboration between Andover Community Trust and Merrimack Valley Habitat for Humanity. Read more here.
More than 150 years after her death, a former slave finally has the memorial she deserved
Lucy Foster, who was born in Boston in 1767, was taken from her family at age 4 and offered as a gift at the wedding of an Andover farmer and his wife.
She spent a dozen years as a slave in the home of Hannah and Job Foster, who granted her freedom when she was 16, said Char Lyons, church historian at South Church in Andover. The church became Foster’s spiritual home, and when she died in 1845, she was buried in an unmarked grave in its burial grounds....Foster’s gravestone was publicly unveiled following a memorial service at South Church that celebrated her life and the students’ commitment to honoring her.
While it took 174 years for Foster to get a gravestone, remnants of her life in Andover have been well documented in archeological circles since the 1940s. Whitney Battle-Baptiste, an associate professor of anthropology and director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said Foster’s former home on Woburn Street is considered the first African-American residence to be explored by archeologists. It was excavated in 1943 by Adelaide and Ripley Bullen, records show. Foster’s home sat on an acre of land left to her by Hannah Foster, who died in 1812, the Bullens wrote in 1945. Hannah Foster also left Lucy Foster a cow and a small amount of money, the students said. Their research found that Lucy Foster, who had two children, likely supported herself by running an outdoor tavern at her home and and got some financial help from South Church. Her residence was also believed to be a stop on the Underground Railroad, they said. It burned in 1845, the same year Lucy Foster died, the Bullens wrote. Read more here and here and here.
She spent a dozen years as a slave in the home of Hannah and Job Foster, who granted her freedom when she was 16, said Char Lyons, church historian at South Church in Andover. The church became Foster’s spiritual home, and when she died in 1845, she was buried in an unmarked grave in its burial grounds....Foster’s gravestone was publicly unveiled following a memorial service at South Church that celebrated her life and the students’ commitment to honoring her.
While it took 174 years for Foster to get a gravestone, remnants of her life in Andover have been well documented in archeological circles since the 1940s. Whitney Battle-Baptiste, an associate professor of anthropology and director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said Foster’s former home on Woburn Street is considered the first African-American residence to be explored by archeologists. It was excavated in 1943 by Adelaide and Ripley Bullen, records show. Foster’s home sat on an acre of land left to her by Hannah Foster, who died in 1812, the Bullens wrote in 1945. Hannah Foster also left Lucy Foster a cow and a small amount of money, the students said. Their research found that Lucy Foster, who had two children, likely supported herself by running an outdoor tavern at her home and and got some financial help from South Church. Her residence was also believed to be a stop on the Underground Railroad, they said. It burned in 1845, the same year Lucy Foster died, the Bullens wrote. Read more here and here and here.
WBUR Interview: In Merrimack Valley, Thousands Without Gas Make The Most Of An Unconventional Thanksgiving. Listen here.
Interfaith Service Offers an Opportunity for Healing
Clergy members and church goers from different faiths and communities gathered at South Church in Andover Sunday evening for an interfaith Thanksgiving worship. The interfaith service, which was the largest one the church has held, was an opportunity for people to come together for a night in a world that is filled with such division, said Rev. Dana Allen Walsh of South Church.
Walsh was the organizer of the event, and said the idea for the service followed soon after the Sept. 13 gas explosions that left impacted residents in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover in a state that required healing.
“We hoped it would be an opportunity for healing and for people to come together,” said Walsh. Read more.
Walsh was the organizer of the event, and said the idea for the service followed soon after the Sept. 13 gas explosions that left impacted residents in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover in a state that required healing.
“We hoped it would be an opportunity for healing and for people to come together,” said Walsh. Read more.
EDITORIAL: 'Love your neighbor...as yourself' In Pittsburgh, 11 adults were gunned down by a white nationalist while they gathered to pray and bless a baby in a Jewish synagogue. One of the victims of this deadly shooting was a Holocaust survivor. Over 70 years after the fall of Nazi Germany, we are still fighting the atrocity of anti-Semitism in our world.
When Jesus (who was Jewish) was asked what the greatest commandment is, he responded, “Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.” We show our love for God through how we treat our neighbor. And we don’t get to decide to love only our neighbors who believe, vote, look, think, or worship in the same way that we do. We cannot self select who our neighbor is. There’s a spark of the divine in each of us. Read more. |
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South Church Surprises Congregation: Take from our Offering Plate
It was a turnaround Sunday as South Church in Andover worshipers recently took from the weekly offering plate instead of donating to it. The church's "Love Boldly" campaign went very well as some 400 envelopes with about $5,000 were taken and the money was used to do something meaningful for someone. For example, an 8-year-old bought three dog bones to bring to the Salem, N.H., Animal Shelter while the South Church staff decided to pool their money and bake 16 loaves of pumpkin bread that they delivered with baskets of apples to the faith communities in Andover. “It was a simple thank you for those groups,” said pastor Rev. Dana Allen Walsh. "This was a powerful exercise as people looked to God for direction and really thought about how to help someone ... it's been a difficult fall for many with weather disasters and divisive politics." She said the "Love Boldly" campaign was a first at the church and was also a surprise as just five people knew about it. On Sunday, Sept. 24, the turnaround happened as each person in worship was invited to take an envelope from the offering plate instead of leaving one.
“There are only two rules," Walsh told her congregation. "Use the gift for good and return and tell us the story.” Read more.
“There are only two rules," Walsh told her congregation. "Use the gift for good and return and tell us the story.” Read more.
Ash Wednesday To-Go
Dana Allen Walsh and Alex Shea Will, co-pastors of their Central Street parish, spent about 90 minutes giving out ashes at the Andover train depot, greeting commuters taking the 7:06 a.m. train to Boston. Then they greeted coffee lovers on Main Street, making stops at Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks.
[Will] and Walsh hit the road with their ashes reminding people that Lent does not have to be a dour and depressing time in one's life.
"Rather, Lent urges us to think about our lives - not so we might fear what is to come, but rather so we might live more fully in the present,” Will said. "Our church may be 305 years old, but our thinking isn’t. This is only one of the ways we hope that South Church will feel like a vibrant and relevant piece of the Andover community for years to come."[READ MORE]
[Will] and Walsh hit the road with their ashes reminding people that Lent does not have to be a dour and depressing time in one's life.
"Rather, Lent urges us to think about our lives - not so we might fear what is to come, but rather so we might live more fully in the present,” Will said. "Our church may be 305 years old, but our thinking isn’t. This is only one of the ways we hope that South Church will feel like a vibrant and relevant piece of the Andover community for years to come."[READ MORE]