Pastor Ken (served from 2012 - 2022)
(Ken retired from pastoral ministry effective July 1, 2022.) Ken Blanchard was appointed Pastor of the Agawam United Methodist Church in Feeding Hills on July 1, 2012. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy from UMass and a Master's Degree in Applied Theology from Elms College. He pursues continuing education via Wesley Theological Seminary. Previously a Certified Lay Speaker with the United Methodist Church (UMC), and a former member of the UMC District Ministry Team, he was approved as a Licensed Local Pastor in February of 2012. Pastor Ken and his wife Meri reside in Enfield, CT. They have been married 42 years, and have one son, a daughter-in-law, and two granddaughters.
Following, in his own words, is his theological perspective…
We are all in need of God’s grace. Some of us are seekers; some are agnostic; some are atheistic; some are hostile to even the idea of God. But all of us are in need of God’s grace, and all are partakers of that grace whether we realize it or not.
I believe that we are all God’s children, not only because we are made in the image of God (Gen 1:27) but also because this is indicated by Jesus when he said that if we do good deeds (or not) to anyone, it is as if we have done them (or not) to him (Matt 25:40–45). And so one of the redeeming qualities of human nature is that we are given free will; we have choices to make. What John Wesley called “prevenient grace” provides people the ability to choose or reject God. The wonderful thing – the mysterious thing – is that this grace is still there regardless of our choice as human beings. All is grace. All is gift. It goes before us, preceding all our choices and all our actions. It awakens in us an awareness of a need for something beyond ourselves. We cannot save ourselves from the inclination towards sin (defined as a condition of becoming estranged from God via pursuit of purely selfish interests instead of outgoing love), and we cannot save ourselves from death.
God’s love is fully realized by the action of the Holy Spirit within us and around us. I liken the Holy Spirit to a “pilot light” within each and every one of God’s children. For some, it remains a faint flicker, unknown and unrevealed. For others, it is fanned into flame by the grace of God, an awareness that grew from the choices we made along the way. But this is not to say we can save ourselves. It is not a salvation of works. It is through faith in God, specifically faith in Jesus Christ that we are reconciled to God and transformed daily by the Holy Spirit. It is again God’s grace – along with our free will and choice – that calls forth response that is rooted in love. Our very human nature can change (ever so gradually) through the actions of God’s grace and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We need God’s grace to do and to be. We humans have a natural proclivity towards disappointing ourselves as well as others through our thoughts, words and actions. God’s grace gets us through. We need God’s grace. We have God’s grace.
As Ephesians 2:8-10 says: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Amen!
Following, in his own words, is his theological perspective…
We are all in need of God’s grace. Some of us are seekers; some are agnostic; some are atheistic; some are hostile to even the idea of God. But all of us are in need of God’s grace, and all are partakers of that grace whether we realize it or not.
I believe that we are all God’s children, not only because we are made in the image of God (Gen 1:27) but also because this is indicated by Jesus when he said that if we do good deeds (or not) to anyone, it is as if we have done them (or not) to him (Matt 25:40–45). And so one of the redeeming qualities of human nature is that we are given free will; we have choices to make. What John Wesley called “prevenient grace” provides people the ability to choose or reject God. The wonderful thing – the mysterious thing – is that this grace is still there regardless of our choice as human beings. All is grace. All is gift. It goes before us, preceding all our choices and all our actions. It awakens in us an awareness of a need for something beyond ourselves. We cannot save ourselves from the inclination towards sin (defined as a condition of becoming estranged from God via pursuit of purely selfish interests instead of outgoing love), and we cannot save ourselves from death.
God’s love is fully realized by the action of the Holy Spirit within us and around us. I liken the Holy Spirit to a “pilot light” within each and every one of God’s children. For some, it remains a faint flicker, unknown and unrevealed. For others, it is fanned into flame by the grace of God, an awareness that grew from the choices we made along the way. But this is not to say we can save ourselves. It is not a salvation of works. It is through faith in God, specifically faith in Jesus Christ that we are reconciled to God and transformed daily by the Holy Spirit. It is again God’s grace – along with our free will and choice – that calls forth response that is rooted in love. Our very human nature can change (ever so gradually) through the actions of God’s grace and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We need God’s grace to do and to be. We humans have a natural proclivity towards disappointing ourselves as well as others through our thoughts, words and actions. God’s grace gets us through. We need God’s grace. We have God’s grace.
As Ephesians 2:8-10 says: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Amen!