About Our Church

Our Church

First Congregational Church of Pembroke was established in 1733, when our first meetinghouse was built. We are currently a member of the United Church of Christ. Please view Our Church's History.

Our Mission

The mission of our church is to follow God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, spreading the legacy of faith and fellowship to all we meet in word and deed.

Our Pastor

Rev. Jim Howard

Rev. Dr. Jim Howard (aka Nelson Howard, III) came to Pembroke in July 2008. A native of Wellesley, Massachusetts, Jim grew up in the Village Church (Wellesley Congregational Church, UCC, in Massachusetts) and most recently served as pastor of the First Congregational Church of Marshfield, Massachusetts where he celebrated his 30th ordination anniversary. In addition, he has served churches in California, Maine, and New Hampshire. He holds the Doctor of Ministry and Master of Arts (Religious Education) degrees from the Claremont School of Theology in California, and is a magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He believes strongly in the congregation’s ability to discern the will of the Spirit as a community which is a hallmark of congregational governance dating back to the Pilgrim’s oft cited phrase prefacing all decisions: “It seems good to us and the Holy Spirit that…” And he believes that God is actively present in each one of us “revealing to persons the active presence of the Spirit in their lives and empowering them towards actions with advance god’s realm, love, and will.” Jim enjoys music, is an experienced chorister, and believes the church exists to transform individual lives into the true abundance Christ came to reveal.

Our Music Director and Organist

George Bozeman

George Bozeman, a native of Texas, began piano lessons at age 6. He majored in organ at the University of North Texas in Denton, after which he apprenticed as an organbuilder in Austin, Texas. Later, he worked in Albany and Dallas, Texas, as an organbuilder before receiving a Fulbright Grant to study at the Academy of Music in Vienna, Austria. On his return to the states he worked as an organbuilder in Andover, Massachusetts, before founding his own firm in 1971 at Lowell. The firm moved to Deerfield, New Hampshire, in 1976, and completed organ projects in over 20 states across the nation. Throughout his organbuilding career, George has also maintained a church music career, filling organist/choirmaster positions in Denton, Albany, and Dallas, Texas, and Woburn, Massachusetts, before coming to Pembroke. George has played recitals throughout the United States and in Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, and Europe.

George Bozeman on piano and member Ed Kruczynski singing "Beneath the Cross of Jesus"