Pastor
Steve and Melanie Quinlan
Steve Quinlan began his service as pastor of the Litchfield Community Church (Presbyterian) in July 2007.
Steve was born in upstate New York and was raised in New York and New England. He holds theological degrees from Princeton Seminary and has been a Presbyterian pastor for 24 years. Steve has served congregations in Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Colorado. He lives in Litchfield, NH with his wife Melanie. In his free time, he enjoys reading, running and bicycling.
Steve’s focus in ministry is on preaching and teaching toward personal and congregational transformation. He writes, “Christianity is a joyful journey of discovery, a way of living in which we are always learning how the power of Love makes life good. Jesus Christ is the embodiment of that way of living. In Christ we discover God’s loving power to make and remake us and so make and remake our world. I invite you to join with us on the journey!”
Pastor Quinlan is in the church office, Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to noon. Please feel free to drop in. The pastor’s days off are Friday and Saturday. He is available afternoons and evenings (or any time in the case of emergency) at 603-540-2332.
To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this:
15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. 16 ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.
If you are one of “the rest of us”, you are lukewarm and lukewarm is not what we need in this community or the world. That is why we find ourselves in such turmoil in this country, our state and the rest of the world. Pastor Quinlan, I believe that you need to examine from where you come from and decide what it really means to be a believer in Jesus Christ Our Lord.
I will pray for you.
Mr. Biron, I thank you for your comment in response to the flier our church sent to every home in Litchfield. I assure you, I have been examining my faith for many years, and though my faith is always maturing, I know with considerable clarity what I believe about Jesus the Christ and the message he embodies.
The point of our mailer is that there are many faithful Christian people who are not comfortable with contemporary evangelicalism, much less Christian fundamentalism. They often feel judged and marginalized simply because their faith seeks an expression that differs from the so-called evangelicals. I might say that your message helps me make my point. These seeking people, among whom I am happy to include myself and many in the Litchfield Presbyterian congregation, are “the rest of us” to whom the flier is addressed.
We at Litchfield Presbyterian are neither indifferent nor unclear about our beliefs. On the contrary, we are thinking Christians who are very passionate about what we believe and seek to put our faith in action at every opportunity.
Scholars differ, but as I read my bible, it seems the church at Laodicea was reproved for their complacency and misplaced trust. They trusted in their material prosperity and social status, rather than in the unconditional and unmerited love of God. There is no suggestion that God will “spit them out” simply because their theology was not of the “approved” sort.
If you are truly interested in learning more about what we believe, I invite you to visit our church at worship on any Sunday. Afterward I will be happy to have a conversation about the varieties of forms of expression the Christian faith has taken through the centuries.
In Christ, Steve Quinlan