BREWER – The Rev. Grace Bartlett never expected she would be able to settle down in any one church when she was ordained a Methodist minister nearly two decades ago.

She knew when and where she moved would be the decision of the bishop who oversees the United Methodist Church in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Eastern Connecticut.

Putting down roots wasn’t in the job description.

On Sunday, Bartlett, 55, of Bangor was installed as the “settled minister” of the First Congregational Church of Brewer, which sits on the hill behind City Hall.

“It’s nice to be settled,” she said in an interview three days before the service.

Bartlett came to the church as interim pastor about 18 months ago when the Rev. Constance S. Chase Wells retired. The two had worked together on joint services and various issues when Bartlett was pastor of Grace United Methodist Church on Union Street in Bangor.

As an interim minister, Bartlett could not be considered as a candidate to succeed Wells, according to church moderator Donald Hei, 62, of Brewer. When it came time to redo Bartlett’s contract, the 145-member congregation decided to make her acting minister. That allowed her to be a candidate for the full-time position of pastor and gave Bartlett time to retire from the UMC and to get her credentials as a minister in the United Church of Christ.

“This congregation, as I understand it, is not small but it’s not quite medium-sized either,” Hei said in an interview Sunday. “One of the things we need to do to grow is reach outside the church boundaries. Grace has a very strong calling to mission in addition to being tremendous with the kids.”

Nancy Roberts, who attended the installation service with two children, said Bartlett’s ability to connect with them was important to her. Roberts, 40, of Brewer has been worshipping at the church for about nine years.

“I thinks she’s a good fit with this congregation,” said J. Faye Wolfe, 59, of Holden. “Because we have a lot of elderly folks in the congregation, and she’s good with them. She doesn’t hesitate to whip the rest of us up about other things. She keeps social problems like domestic violence in front of us.”

“The fact that [Bartlett] knows the area and is so familiar with how things are done in this area is also a plus,” Roberts said.

Bartlett was pastor of Grace UMC for more than five years. Because she’s also a sculptor, Bartlett taught classes at Bangor Theological Seminary on incorporating the visual arts into worship services.

She left Grace more than four years ago and moved to Portland to work more as an artist and less as a minister.

“I hadn’t thought a lot past the art,” she said last week. “Clearly that’s not what God had in mind.”

Congregationalists don’t just hire a pastor; the congregations along with other UCC churches and their members enter into covenants with their ministers. A good part of Sunday’s installation was devoted to the verbalization of that covenant.

“I am willing, and I promise to serve this church faithfully, preaching and teaching the word of God,” Bartlett said, “administering the sacraments, and fulfilling the pastoral office, according to the faith and order of the United Church of Christ.”

In turn, the church members promised “to labor with her in the ministry of the gospel and to give her due honor and support.”

On behalf of the denomination, the Rev. David R. Gaewski, the minister for the Maine UCC Conference, gave Bartlett a charge that could be considered her “marching orders.”

“Let me first charge you, Grace Bartlett, to unceasingly wrestle with the Scriptures, which are a living word,” he said, “speaking new truths to new generations. May you never become comfortable with the Bible. May it always unsettle you as well as comfort you. May it be a source of annoyance as its message speaks truth to power.

“May you be fearful of the Good News as this is what led to the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ,” he said. “And may you day by day, week after week, season followed by season, continue to fall deeper and deeper in love with the eternal goodness that is the witness of Jesus Christ.”

Gaewski also challenged the members of the congregation to “not be lukewarm” in their ministries inside and outside the church walls. He urged them to be grounded in “the Holy Word” and study the scriptures.

“Bible study is not a weekly meeting that takes place at 10 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Rather it is a way of life – the Christian life,” he said. “So challenge your pastor to challenge you. Together may you build a vibrant Christian community that never rests on laurels of the past, but always aches for the realm of God to break through the seam lines of the present moment.”

Bartlett is not alone is seeking credentials from the UCC. Gaewski said after the service that about five ministers a year go through the process in Maine. Many are from the Presbyterian Church (USA) denomination, which has a few churches in southern Maine. The rest come from other Protestant denominations.

Bartlett and Dane Langworthy, pastor at United Parish Church in Fort Fairfield, are the two former United Methodist ministers who became credentialed by the UCC in the past year. Gaewski said. To become Congregationalists they had to study the history of the denomination, which is distinct from the Methodism that grew out of the teachings of Anglican reformer John Wesley.

The structure of the two denominations also is dissimilar. The UMC is a highly structured organization that has three branches similar to those of the U.S. government. It also has a Book of Discipline, similar to a set of statutes. The UCC is much less structured and has less hierarchy.

As Bartlett was being installed, members of the UMC from around the world were meeting in Fort Worth, Texas, at their General Convention that takes place every four years. During Bartlett’s years as a UMC pastor, a struggle over gay rights has dominated the news coming out of conventions. The UMC has rejected efforts to allow the ordination of noncelibate gay and lesbian clergy and the blessing of same-sex unions. The UCC has left it up to individual congregations to decide how to handle these issues.

Bartlett would not say whether the UMC’s stand on homosexuality factored into her decision to change denominations. At the reception after her installation, she wore a red T-shirt given to her by the congregation that declared “God is Still Speaking,” the slogan of the denomination’s efforts to let the public know it welcomes gays and lesbians.

Bartlett said last week that often when she prays looking for guidance, the answers she gets aren’t the ones she expected.

“The spirit may not always lead me where I’d imagined,” she said.

This time, it led her back to the banks of the Penobscot River.

jharrison@bangordailynews.net

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BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY JOHN CLARKE RUSS

The Rev. Grace Bartlett (center) consults with the Rev. Constance S. Chase Wells (left) and the Rev. Phyllis Dodd (right) in Barlett’s office before Barlett’s installation as pastor of First Congregational Church, UCC, of Brewer before the afternoon ceremony there Sunday.