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Carol Cottrell: (802) 222-7683

Judy Longto: 802-222-7060

On October 4th and by unanomious vote, Rev. Amy Weston Kane will be the new Pastor for the West Newbury Congregational Church. She will begin the First Sunday of Advent in November.

Narrative Bio for West Newbury Congregational Church

Peace be with you! I’m Amy Weston Kane, a UCC pastor seeking my first settled call, and hoping that I might find it in your church.

I actually have a somewhat local connection to the West Newbury Church. I attended The Mountain School in Vershire way back in the Fall of 2004. Being a teen at the time and still learning what was important to me, Mountain School was vital in teaching me the value of setting down roots in a close-knit community, and in finding joy and meaning in a slower pace of life.

Before discerning a call to ministry, I had a career as an engineer—specifically, I worked on developing detectors for studying the early universe and the Big Bang. One such instrument is even on board the James Webb Space Telescope! Because of my astrophysics background, I have gained insight and wonder at the vastness of creation that I try to bring to ministry.

My formation for that ministry has been thorough and lengthy. I earned my Master of Divinity degree from Harvard in the spring of 2020. I completed two years of field education at the First Church in Swampscott, Massachusetts. Over the past ten years I have provided pulpit supply coverage for a variety of churches throughout New Hampshire and Massachusetts. These experiences have taught me very much, and I believe they have prepared me well to put down roots somewhere.

I have an expansive understanding of my faith. I have found meaning across many traditions, from Quakerism to Islam to Zen Buddhism, and I see it as part of my charge as a UCC pastor to welcome and celebrate people who seek God in a variety of different ways. I am also a Benedictine Oblate—a type of lay sister affiliated with a Benedictine monastery—which informs how I pray in my personal spiritual life and provides rules for me to follow that lay a sure foundation for personal integrity and servant leadership. We forge connection through understanding, so I hope you’ll ask me about any of these things that you are curious about; and likewise, I hope you will tell me about your own spiritual lives.

I hope that our meeting will build on the stones that the Search Committee has laid through their hard work, setting up a sure foundation for a lasting and fruitful ministry. I hope that we can work together to be the church we need to be for the future. I hope to find a home in West Newbury; and a family in the West Newbury Church. Above all, I hope that we can grow deeper in our faith together, secure in the knowledge that God loves us, that Jesus watches over us, and that the Holy Spirit brings us together, always.

Your sister in Christ. --Amy

Jenni Lund’s term as Interim Minister ended on January 31, 2026. We’re grateful for everything she’s done for us. Even though her stint as Interim Minister is over, she’s not leaving us. We look forward to her continued involvement and support as she stays an important member of our community.

Our beloved Pastor David Pruitt retired on December 31, 2023 and passed away peacefully on September 24, 2025 at the age of 84.

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