Pastor Linda is a Spirit-led and creative servant-leader who began to serve as Pastor at our church in April 2023. She brings to First Baptist Church 20 years of experience providing clergy services to predominantly African-American, Euro-American, and multicultural congregations.  She is passionate about intercultural and social justice ministry, as well as helping people and faith-based organizations achieve their potential. Our pastor was ordained in 2012 through the American Baptist Churches USA at Calvary Baptist Church in Providence, Rhode Island.  Her call to ordained ministry is captured in the Bible verse Luke 4:18: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted…to set at liberty those who are oppressed.”  Prior to arriving at our church, Pastor Linda was the Pastor of First Baptist Church of Pawtucket, RI for close to eight years, and a fundraising consultant and grant writer for the American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS). Additionally, she had served in senior management positions in the nonprofit sector for 23 years. Deeply committed to lifelong learning and service, Pastor Linda holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Brown and Yale universities, and a Master of Divinity degree from Howard University School of Divinity.