WILMINGTON, MA — The Wilmington United Methodist Church has a new pastor. Reverend Peter Hey recently joined the church on July 1, 2019, replacing departing Reverend Travis Bonnette-Kim.
Reverend Hey recently took a few moments from his busy schedule to answer five quick questions from Wilmington Apple.
Why did you become a pastor?
I felt called to ministry when I was in high school. I had a very good relationship with the chaplain of the prep school — Governor’s Academy — that I went to. He was very important in my life. He helped me discover my calling. I went to the University of New Hampshire and then Boston University’s School of Theology. I’ve been doing this my whole adult life. I’ve served churches in New Hampshire and Massachusetts for the past 36 years.
Why did you choose to come to Wilmington?
I was not looking to move. I was the pastor in Concord, New Hampshire for 13 years. The Wilmington church was interested in having someone who valued preaching and could preach well. That’s one of the things I love most about parish ministry and that was the beginning of the conversation.
The national average for a pastor to stay with his congregation is 7 years. The church’s new leadership hopes to increase that number to 11. But those are just guidelines and decisions are made case-by-case. It ultimately comes down to what does one congregation ask for and who is available that meets those expectations.
How has your first few months in Wilmington gone?
My first couple of months here have been wonderful. It’s a gracious congregation and a warm community. People have been very kind. I enjoyed my experience on the Common during Fun on the Fourth. There’s a great community spirit here.
How is the Wilmington United Methodist Church doing? What would you say to someone in the area considering a new church?
We’re doing OK. These are hard times for churches given what’s gone on in the demographics of the wider society. In spite of all that, I think the Wilmington congregation has held up well. We have a pretty active and vibrant youth program. We have some high quality music. The building is in remarkably good shape.
I believe we have about 600 members. We average about 150 at worship every Sunday. We have about 45 or so in Sunday school.
To someone looking for a new church, I would say that the United Methodist Church is a warm, welcoming open-minded church. We have a lot of important progressive ideas. We’re a reconciling congregation and very eager to be inclusive to folks of the LGBT community.
We really do make a strong effort to reach out to people in all different stages. We do a lot with youth relative to mission trips and 30-hour famine to learn about world hunger and how to be more responsible citizens of the world. We also do worship at a few local nursing homes.
We try to have a heart for the hurting people in the community. We go to the Dwelling Place to serve at the soup kitchen in Woburn. We do a number of projects for a number of different organizations.
What goes into a good sermon?
I think a good sermon has some good solid biblical foundation and theology. It also has an understanding of God and want God wants of us in the world. It needs some relevance to the situations before us. And some humor. And some engagement between the preacher and listener.
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