ABOUT

PASTOR ZACHARY HANCOCK

When I was going through the process of becoming a PCUSA minister I remember quite vividly the final step before approval by the Committee On Ministry. We were sitting on the second floor of the then 1st Pres Boulder, now Grace Commons in downtown Boulder, and Peter Barnes said to me, "You'll be a unique contribution to the PCUSA." 

It seems I was not being evaluated as a typical pastor for the PCUSA  nor any other church for that matter. In seminary (grad school for ministers) I was told that my personality type on the Myers-Briggs was that of an Artisan, which comprised only 3% of "Mainline" ministers (Presbyterian, Methodist, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Congregationalists, Quakers). 

The evaluation seems to fit. My first "congregation" and the ministry I was first ordained to was a church in Bend Oregon that I helped to start called Common Table. It was conceived as a pub or public house as they call them in the Northwest and UK. We had a full bar and served food from local farmers and had a church service on Sunday. Most of our staff were unpaid volunteers and we distributed Common Table coins into the community through non-profits so that people who did not have the means otherwise could be part of the eating and drinking and socializing at Common Table. The centerpiece of Common Table was a 17' long black walnut table that served as the pub's centerpiece and communion table. It was a worthy effort in experimenting with what church could be. 

My next major stint in ministry was another start-up church in the PCUSA — we called the startup: Pree 'n Pree, inspired by a Jack Kerouac poem. Pree is means prayer in 1. a test, trial, or taste; a test by sampling. transitive verb. 2. to try, test, or taste. This is because in Jamaica, to pree is to take a long, deliberate look or a careful, focused listen. When someone says pree, it is not a request; it is a gentle command that the listener take notice of something or someone new, important, significant. Listen to a song: 'pree dis. Pree 'n Pree pushed the envelope of "church".  

And then my family decided that perhaps I needed a more conventional experience (that paid a bit better) and we said yes to an opportunity at a church on the North Shore of Chicago right in the heart of John Hughes-land (filmmaker). When I entered the outskirts of Chicagoland driving our 30' Uhaul the woman at the toll booth said, "You're going the wrong way! Everyone is going your direction!" I said, "That's true, but I'm transcending normal conventions!" The Community of Lake Forest and Lake Bluff was home for nearly four years where I served as the associate minister of The Community Church, which turned out to be a valuable time of maturing in order to move to my next post: Nederland Community Presbyterian Church. I'm looking forward to the adventure in Ned. 

When I'm not busy with church life I am usually spending time with my family or in the outdoors, usually both. We love to ski (downhill and nordic); fly-fish; cycle (gravel, mtn, road); run; hike (oftentimes off-trail where I've been known to get lost in the woods and tell the story in a Sunday sermon); garden (my recent favorite addition are raspberry bushes); remodeling the house; cooking; baking sourdough bread (I know, most ppl gave it up after the pandemic was over -- we use it for communion); Soccer watching: Arsenal supporter + and supporter of my kids Henry (7) and Frances (5); We take our golden-doodle with us almost everywhere we go, including church. And while I'm a little shy to admit it, my wife and I love watching The Great British Bake Off.