Senior Pastor

Ben is passionate about seeing the Church live out its mission with joy and commitment so that lives are blessed and people encounter the love and grace of God through Jesus Christ. A Massachusetts native, Ben has served Covenant churches both there and in Minnesota, and is delighted to be living and serving in Connecticut with his wife and youngest son. Ben and Christi also have two adult children.

Ben delights in and recharges through outdoor pursuits including running, paddling, camping and especially hiking. He has an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from MIT and a Masters of Divinity degree from Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, and welcomes questions about how that all happened!

Associate Pastor

Diane has been the Associate Pastor at Bethany since January 2000. Diane had the joy of seeing Bethany build Phase II, a new sanctuary, and much-needed additional classrooms. She also helped to launch the Little Blessings Preschool and watched it grow from 5 to almost 100 in 3 years.

Diane was raised in the Midwest and began her ministry at her home church in Moline, Illinois. She graduated from The Presbyterian School of Christian Education and North Park Theological Seminary. Prior to coming to Bethany, Diane served churches in Illinois and New Hampshire.

Worship Pastor

Chris is a husband, ‘pretty ok’ father of four, worship curator, 5w6, INTJ, and pizza addict. When not creating worship environments, he can be found behind a caramel latte, behind a camera, or under a desk fixing someone’s computer. He’s a co-administrator of the ECC’s Worship Artist forum “Better Together,” and has led congregations in worship on four continents.

Chris arrived at Bethany in July of 2016, previously having served in three other churches as pastor of worship, and as a church planter in Melbourne Australia. He’s a graduate of Asbury Seminary with an MA in Intercultural Studies, focusing on the cross-cultural nature of music. For Chris, worship is about connecting head and heart, and creating an environment where we can all respond to God’s mercy together (Rom. 12:1), which ultimately expresses as the Church being sent on God’s mission.

Office Administrator

Sandra joined the Bethany staff in June 2019. She came to Bethany with 30 plus years of office skills working in the medical field which included 7 years in an ENT office followed by 20 years managing a large Mental Health practice in the Farmington Valley. Most recently she was employed part-time in a front-office position for a physical therapist practice.

Sandra has a large extended family, in state and out of state, whom she enjoys visiting. Her only daughter, son-in-law, and 2 grandchildren live locally giving her the great opportunity to visit frequently. Sandra is a beach lover, spending as much time as she possibly can in Narragansett during the summer. She is a walker and delights most in walking the long Rhode Island beaches in warmer weather. Other hobbies include gardening and sewing.

Children’s Ministry Coordinator

Jesse joined the staff at Bethany in October, 2021. She loves and serves the children of our church through Godly Play, storytelling, and art. Any given Sunday, you can find her and the kids outside on a scavenger hunt, playing with a parachute, watercolor painting, or retelling stories with shadow puppets and peg dolls. 

She served with Youth with a Mission as a children’s minister, preschool teacher and Homeschool co-op coordinator in India and Nicaragua before finally settling in the New Haven area in 2000.

Jesse currently lives on ½ an acre with her husband Steve and their two children, Fable Jane and River. Their little dot on the map keeps them busy, and you can usually find her in the garden, with a paint brush stuck in her bun and a chicken in her lap. If she could meet any heroes, it would be Mother Teresa and Mr. Rodgers … and maybe Dolly Parton …

Youth Director

Becca has had many roles over the years, but her favorite by far is that of wife and mother. She is passionate about teaching and connecting with youth as evidenced through her long and varied experience in education and children and youth ministries. This includes many years teaching and tutoring students of all ages, homeschooling her own children, volunteering as a teacher and Youth Council mentor at Redwoods Homeschool Community in Bristol, working with Bethany’s youth group, a summer as Children’s Ministry Intern under Pastor Diane, and a summer as Youth Ministry Intern under Rev. Becky Poor. 

Becca first began attending Bethany with her family at the age of 4 and became a member at 16. After a 10-year hiatus where she and her husband attended a different church, they felt called back to Bethany and have been worshiping and serving here since 2016.

When she is not lesson planning, she can be found sewing, crafting, reading, fixing up the house, or, her favorite, taking a nap.