Archive: Around Town

David KadenDavid A. Kaden was installed last month as Associate Minister of the First Congregational Church of Ithaca. He began working at the church following a year long search process for a member of a team ministry. Pam Sweringa,chair of the Search Committee, expressed that "Kaden is an outstanding candidate who will greatly enrich the life of our church by bringing his youthful energy and enthusiasm, his sensitive heart for pastoral care and spiritual development, and his keen and sharp mind to thoughtful and inspiring sermons as well as educational and fellowship programs for people of all ages."

Kaden grew up in the Northeast, the son of a pastor in the Reformed Church in America. He attended Messiah College in Pennsylvania where he studied business and urban economic development. Kaden and his wife, Jacquie, worked for a year with World Impact Inc. in Newark, NJ, a faith-based economic development organization. He explained that “Economics is theory and formulas, but ministry is people. I care about people and their needs and this challenging experience affirmed the call of God upon my life and made my gifts for ministry apparent.”

Kaden then attended Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, graduating Master of Divinity, Summa Cum Laude in 2004, where the faculty voted him “Most Outstanding Theology Student”. He has recently completed a Master of Theology in New Testament at Harvard Divinity School to round out a comprehensive theological training to equip him for a life of ministry.

His formal ministry experiences included serving as a mentored intern at First Congregational Church, South Hamilton and as interim pastor and pulpit supply at Blackstone Congregational Church, both in the Boston region. He also served as a licensed minister at Christian Union Church U.C.C. in West Groton, MA, preaching weekly sermons and providing pastoral support, care and counseling.

One of Kaden’s ministry mentors described him as one “who seeks to apply the scriptures in a culturally relevant manner to modern lives. He is gentle, deeply spiritual and loves people. He likes growth and challenge and is stimulated by new ideas”. Another says, “He graciously disarms people’s pretension to see them as they are and love them in that place”.

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