Meet the Pastor and Diane
Diane and I have been a part of the Arkport Village ever since we were Called to serve in February of 2017. Our sense of community and connection is a rich blessing to us. The beauty of this region continues to fill us with a spark of child-like awe and delight.
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Diane and I were married in Horseheads, NY in April of 1983. We spent most of our married years in Gales Ferry, CT and Portsmouth, RI. We have three grown children, Anne Simone, Mark Andrew, and Bethany Ilona. Anne married and Carlo Viquiera, a former soldier and they now live in the D.C. area. They have blessed us with two grandsons. Mark married Allie Abrams and they now live in the Newport, RI area. Bethany married Justin Atwood of Horseheads, NY. Beth is an Army nurse and moves quite regularly. Beth and Justin have blessed us with two granddaughters. Diane and I enjoy traveling and walking together and are very fond of movies. We have shared several youth ministries through the years, both inside and outside the church context. We also enjoy group Bible studies together.
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Bruce. I was born in Lewiston, ME in 1958, the youngest of four boys. My parents, Lewis and Helen, were instructors at Saint Mary’s Hospital School of Nursing, in Lewiston, ME. I grew up in an observant Roman Catholic family in which good citizenship, thankfulness towards God, and the love of natural beauty were key values. My summers were spent with my family on an otherwise uninhabited island bird sanctuary, where I learned a love for rustic and simple living.
In 1980, I graduated the U.S. Naval Academy to begin a career in the nuclear submarine community, in which I remained until retiring from the Naval Reserves. From 1987 to 2017, I served as a scientist at a Department of the Navy laboratory. In my work, I formed inter-disciplinary teams to evaluate potential utility of emerging technologies to address maritime warfighting challenges. I hold one trademark on a library of search theory algorithms and one patent on an acoustic signal processing algorithm set. Related to my field of work, I presented numerous papers at various conferences and workshops around the globe.
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In 1996 I felt a Call to ordained ministry and enrolled at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, matriculating into their long term program. I graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Master of Divinity in 2003. From 1997 to 2016, I have been active in the church family life of First Presbyterian Church of Newport, RI. I served in many Vacation Bible Schools, usually on or leading the theater teams. Through Sunday Schools and Youth Group activities, I have served in leadership roles for all age groups, preschool through adult. In my youth ministries, I staffed many special events and retreats and often led our worship time with a guitar. I served as an Elder on the missions and Christian education committees. I have also been a pulpit supply preacher for many churches in the Newport area. Through it all, I remained deeply committed to a men’s accountability group.
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Over a two year period, I volunteered as a chaplain within a network of halfway houses for the emotionally and psychologically fragile. I have also enjoyed writing. I authored a “Frugal Family Fun” column for the Prudent Living e-magazine. I have also been a contributor to several Christian books.
Hobbies: photography, guitar playing, writing, and biblical archeology
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Diane was born the youngest of four sisters in November 1961 in Horseheads, NY. Her parents, Richard and Norma Bauer have been very active in the church life of Horseheads Presbyterian Church. Diane swam for Elmira College and graduated from the Arnot-Ogden School of Nursing in 1983. In her nursing career, Diane has been a floor nurse, an instructor for Certified Nursing Assistant training, a Medical Data Systems coordinator, and coordinator of a home health monitoring team. Diane home-schooled our children for many years. Now that she is retired, Diane is quite committed to being the visiting grandma and helping out the children with moves and building projects.
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Hobbies: gardening, reading, and planning meals and gatherings. It is not really a hobby, but Diane loves her cats and always has since she was a young child.