HARRISENA COMMUNITY CHURCH

Meet Rev. David Poole – Our New Pastor!

We are excited to welcome Rev. David Poole, the professional AND the person, Home to Harrisena. He comes with a wealth of life and professional experience. He comes with a sense of humor. He comes with the desire to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” He comes with a heart for God, ready to accept the call to guide Harrisena safely and productively through our next chapter of Christian ministry.

In Rev. Poole’s own words, written as a letter to his new congregation:

I am so grateful for your confidence and the call to be your Pastor. The welcome I received and the Spirit among you is effervescent. I hope you are as excited to have me as I am to be joining you on this journey.

My first order of business as your new Pastor - upon my arrival- is to simply listen. I want to get to know each of you. I want to hear the stories, the traditions, the joys, and the struggles. I want to simply be among you. In time, with your help, and many chats over a lot of coffee, I will feel more at home, and Harrisena will become our Church together.

I hope that you will come by and say hello. If you see a small VW in the parsonage driveway, I’m home, so knock. If you are coming by with a plate of brownies or cookies as a welcome- You may not need to knock- I have an uncanny sense when chocolate is near. LOL.
Seriously - Come to Church on Sunday. Stop by the office or give me a call before I call on you- which I will.

Thank you for placing your confidence in me. I am looking forward to earning it.

One in the Spirit,
Rev. David – David - Rev. Poole - The choice is yours!

Rev. David Poole – The Professional

Rev. David Poole holds a Master of Divinity from Boston University School of Theology in Boston, MA. He has also received training in Clinical Pastoral Education from Akron General Hospital in Akron, OH and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA.

Rev. Poole served as Senior Pastor in three churches from 1997 – 2021: Slaterville Congregational Church in Rhode Island, Wachogue Church in Springfield, Massachusetts, and First Congregational Church in Vermontville, Michigan.

In addition, Rev. Poole has many years of experience serving as a Hospice Chaplain/Bereavement Coordinator in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.

Rev. David Poole – The Person

David grew up in the Forest Park section of Springfield, MA with his parents, Bill and Marge, older siblings, Karen and Tom, and the family dog, Lucy.

David was brought up and confirmed in the United Methodist Church. His neighborhood church was kind of his second home, and he could often be found shooting hoops in the church parking lot. As a teenager, David enjoyed his church youth group and took a turn as its vice-president. He also enjoyed singing bass in his church choir. As you can guess, it was his teenage home church that nurtured the seed for David to grow up to be a pastor.

David graduated from Springfield College in Springfield, MA, then Boston University School of Theology in Boston, MA. Upon entering the adult world workforce, he found his professional home, not as a Methodist but as a Congregationalist.

Rev. Poole is deeply committed to ecumenical and interfaith dialogue and activities. He is truly a “Community Pastor,” who works toward uniting, rather than dividing his congregation. Throughout his years serving as a pastor at churches in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Michigan, Rev. Poole has led Vacation Bible School, created and led a Capital Campaign, chaired a search committee, served on various regional and national boards and committees, with a special interest in Church conflict resolution issues.

In addition, David has worked as a Hospice Chaplain for many years, providing comfort, assurance, support, and advocacy for dying individuals and their families. He looks forward to continuing this work with local Hospice organizations here in upstate NY.

David has three grown-up children. Amanda (25) and Ali (27) both have homes in Rhode Island. His oldest, Ben (30) and Ben’s wife, Sarah, have an active, four-year-old, red-headed daughter, Moira, who keeps everyone on their toes.

David is a baseball fan at heart, but not of the Red Sox or the Yankees – or even the Mets! (Can anyone guess his favorite baseball team?) He has a love-hate relationship with golf. (We have plenty of local golf courses for him to try to “up his game!”) David also loves Broadway musicals and enjoys singing in both church and community choirs. During his introduction sermon at Harrisena, back in June, David stepped away from the pulpit and joined the choir for the choral anthem! David has even been seen at an occasional Karaoke night. (You can bet we’ll be recruiting him for the Harrisena Choir and Adirondack Voices!)

Harrisena Community Church

1616 Ridge Road
Queensbury, NY 12804

Phone (518) 792-1902
Fax (518) 743-0453

harrisenachurch@gmail.com

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