Born in Hartford, CT, and reared on Long Island, our Senior Minister, Dean C. Ahlberg, has served our congregation since 1990--the second longest pastorate in our church's history. The longest pastorate, fifty-seven years, belongs to the Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett (1753-1810), a record to which Dean does not aspire!
During his tenure, Dean and teams of talented lay leaders have worked together to enhance our facilities, expand the church staff, strengthen our material and spiritual outreach to God's people, and develop a mutually beneficial partnership with Boscobel United Church (a congregation on the island nation of Jamaica).
Prior to his arrival in Redding, Dean served for five years as the Associate Minister of the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, CT. He is a graduate of Williams College (B.A., 1981), Yale University Divinity School (M. Divinity, 1985) and, most recently, Hartford Theological Seminary (Doctor of Ministry, 2005). Dean's doctoral dissertation, entitled Our Identity: The Story That Gathers Us In, Sends Us Out (The Role of History and International Partnership in Strengthening a Congregation's Self-understanding), offers insights on historical and contemporary facets of "the church at the center", and is available for loan or purchase through the church office.
Dean and his wife Jennifer (a Senior Scientist at Boehringer-Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) live in Redding with their three children: Chris, Emily and Anders.
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