Weston, Wellesley church partnership flourishing

A new pastor is leading the Village Church in Weston as part of a partnership formed with a sister congregation in Wellesley.

Rev. Carlos Aoun officially assumed his role as lead pastor at the Village Church in Weston, formerly the Congregational Church of Weston, in September. He has worked at the Wellesley church for the past year as part of a pastoral residency program, which helps support early-career ministers.

“I am a person who is really driven by the concept that God is love, that God is universal and that God is inclusive,” Aoun said. “I am trying to inject, if you want, this belief that the church is for everyone.”

The relationship between the Wellesley and Weston churches began several years ago. The two began to work together around six years ago after the pastor at the Weston church retired. The Rev. Dr. Sarah Butter, the senior pastor at Wellesley Village Church, led the merger between the two churches. In 2024, they officially became one congregation with two campuses.

“The partnership is an incredible way to live out our values. God makes more of us together than apart,” Butter said.

Under the partnership, congregants at both the Weston and Wellesley churches now have access to each other’s resources. The children and youth ministries in Wellesley are available to Weston attendees. The Weston church, which members of the partnership call “the sanctuary in the woods,” offers evening services on Sunday so congregants who are unavailable in the morning are still able to worship.

“It’s nice to have both options for people,” Butter said.

Paul Schendel, who serves as the Weston representative on the Wellesley Congregational Village Church’s council, is grateful for the merger. His family have been congregants of the Weston church for more than four decades.

On top of the Weston church continuing to serve the community, Schendele said meeting different pastoral residents has been a benefit for both the congregants and the ministers over the past several years.

“So far we have found that the residents are so enthusiastic about wanting to learn, and wanting to be part of the congregation, that it has been easy to get to know them and build a relationship quickly,” Schendel said. “You feel almost like a parent preparing their teenager for college. You know they’re going to leave and it’s going to be sad, but it’s good for them, and it’s good for you.”

Aoun is leading the Weston church after spending one year with the Wellesley church. As a native of Lebanon, he said the time has allowed him to better understand American culture to meet the needs of his congregants. In his time in the program, he has hosted a healing circle following the election to give congregants a place to process the political situation and work through familial relationships complicated by the 2024 election.

“I saw the tensions and anxieties rising. Since I was not directly connected to the society, it allowed me to think with more clarity with many people panicking,” Aoun said.

The residency program has been a part of the Wellesley church since 2000. Butter said that the program began as a way to support seminary graduates because going from school directly into leadership positions often leads to burn out.

New graduates are able to get more support and structure in their early years through this program. Now that the Weston church is part of the Village Church program, program residents are also able to experience both big and small congregations, which better prepares them for their careers.

“We’re all enriched by the new energy and insights of each resident,” Butter said. “Then they go forth as a gift to a new church.”

Editor’s note: A member of the Weston Observer advisory team also serves on the Village Church board.