Reverend Dr. Richard Cooper is our Liturgy Pastor and he conducts the 9am worship service once a month. Rich is a retired pastor who is a wonderful asset to DFUMC.
Listed below is information about Pastor Rich's Ministry Journey.
THE MINISTRY JOURNEY OF PASTOR RICH COOPER
1975 – My journey into pastoral ministry began with a youth group of 25 energetic, creative teens in Commack, NY.
1976 – My journey continued with an appointment to Memorial United Methodist Church in Swanton, VT. The congregation of about 200 is located on the Northwest corner of Vermont about 8 miles from the Canadian border. This appointment also included a “Summer Church” on the shore of Lake Champaign.
1982 – Garcia Trucking, the Lord, the Bishop, and the Cabinet moved me to the next portion of my journey to Hedding UMC in Barre, VT. This Central Vermont congregation of about 600 people was composed of native Vermonters, as well as Scottish, Irish, and Italian immigrants.
1989 – Having completed the Lord’s ministry in Central Vermont, the next milestone in my pastoral ministry was Hudson Falls, NY. This congregation of 600 is located near the Hudson River. The paper mill in Glens Falls provided most of the employment in the area. It is a lively, creative and deeply spiritual congregation.
1996 – The Lord now needed me to serve Hope UMC in Troy, NY. This recently blended congregation of 300 people had moved from two church facilities to one. This made for some very interesting and challenging issues to be resolved.
2000 – My pastoral journey began to conclude in my appointment to the United Church of Underhill, in the village of Underhill, VT. This congregation of 250 was composed of working class people, farmers, teachers, nurses, and 19 people with Ph.D.’s This was a lively, creative, and challenging congregation.
In addition to normal pastoral duties, I also served on the Board of Ordained Ministry, conducted pastors’ workshops with well-known University Faculty, led healing services at Annual Conference, helped introduce the 1986 hymnal to the Conference, organized a chapter of the Order of St. Luke, was elected President of the Underhill Ecumenical Food Shelf, and worked on the coordinating teams of several CROP Walks.
Since God’s call to pastoral ministry never ends, I continue to preach, serve communion, perform weddings and funerals, and listen with God’s grace as people confide their spiritual journeys looking for hope and healing.