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South Congregational Church
242 Salmon Brook Street • P.O. Box 779 • Granby, Connecticut 06035

 

Rev. Denny Paul Moon
Senior Minister

Bruce E. Porter
Director of Music

Maggie Burnett
Director of Christian Education

Linda Calder
Office Administrator

The Ministers and Staff
Email Addresses:

Denny Moon ............................denny@southchurch.necoxmail.com

Bruce Porter .............................pegville@cox.net

Maggie Burnett..........................maggie@southchurch.necoxmail.com

Linda Calder .............................office@southchurch.necoxmail.com

 

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Rev. Denny Paul Moon - Senior Minister

Following an extensive and thorough search, the congregation called Rev. Dennis Moon to the position of Senior Minister. Denny, as he is widely known, began his ministry at South Church on September 1, 2006. Denny’s easy-going, warm and welcoming personality, together with his years of experience in four quite different congregations, are a wonderful and impressive addition to our ministry. Born and educated in the Midwest before moving to New England where he continued his theological education at Andover Newton Theological School, Denny has had wide experience in several aspects of Christian ministry. Deeply involved in Christian education, youth ministry and Christian camping, Denny continued to develop his interest in story-telling and music. Significant training and experience in counseling and family therapy have prepared him to serve the needs of the congregation and community. Over a span of 24 years, he served two congregations one in Massachusetts and another in Connecticut. During the last five years he served a one-year interim position, and then elsewhere, in a multiple-staff congregation as an associate minister. Denny writes:

“The church is simply the love of God lived out between particular people in a particular place. When this love freely flows it creates a mutual compassion, spilling into the world, healing injustice and conflict. We will learn more about each other as we go.”

Denny is married to Sally, a teacher at Valley Pre-school, and an accomplished crafter, and together they have two daughters and a son, the youngest now a college student. Back to Top

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Bruce Porter - Director of Music

Bruce is a native of Granby, having been born here and attending Granby schools and Simsbury High School. In 1954 he embarked upon six years of music education at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, Ohio, and at the School of Sacred Music, Union Theological Seminary, New York City. He holds the Bachelor of Music in Organ and the Master of Sacred Music.

This year Bruce marks his sixteenth year at South Church and over fifty years in the vocation of sacred music ministry, beginning with St. James Episcopal Church in Glastonbury in 1952 at age 16. In 1953-54, before attending conservatory, Bruce held the position he holds now, as Organist and Choir Director of South Congregational Church under Dr. Arthur Teale, and was honored, at that time to have among his choir members, Bert Hall, Polly Hall, and Jerry Betts, present members of South Church.

In the span of years since 1954, his ministry has included positions as Music Director at Hope Congregational Church, Springfield, MA; United Church of Christ in Keene, New Hampshire; and the United Church of Christ in Worcester, MA. He also taught in the Fall Mountain Regional School District in New Hampshire and Keene State College, Keene, New Hampshire, and was the founding Director of the Keene Chorale from 1979 to 1984. From 1985 to 1988 Bruce was Factory Foreman at Berkshire Organ Co., West Springfield, MA.

Bruce and his wife, Barbara (who is also an organist), live at 118R Petersen Road in Granby and are the parents of four children living in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Oregon. Back to Top

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Maggie Burnett - Director of Christian Education

Maggie brings a level of knowledge, understanding, passion and creativity to this important position based on her experience leading the Board of Christian Education at South Church and teaching students at Holcomb Farms. She had a strong hand in reshaping the Sunday School curriculum into a rotational model which utilizes experiential learning.

Maggie oversees the work of students from the nursery through 8th grade. Maggie lives in North Granby with her husband, Steve, and has two daughters who are currently away at college. Back to Top

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Linda Calder - Office Administrator

Linda began the duties of Office Administrator in June of 2005 and has over 15 years of communications and office support experience. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Shippensburg University, PA. Over her 18-year career at The Hartford, Linda worked as a claims representative, claims communications supervisor, systems developer, marketing/communications consultant, and then as a special education paraprofessional for the Simsbury Public School system.

Linda and her husband, George, have been members of South Church since December of 2002 and Linda has served on the Board of Membership for numerous years. Linda and George live in Granby with their two sons, Andrew and Glen. Back to Top

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