During his three and a half decades of ministry in New England and the Adirondacks, Rev. Mitchell Hay has worked with faith communities at the intersection of spirituality and justice. He believes that within every liberation movement there is a crucial need for spiritual nourishment and intimate human community, and that the church, at its best, can provide both of those needed ingredients as we work together to create what Dr. King called “the Beloved Community.”

While in seminary at Boston University School of Theology, Mitch served as the Peace with Justice Coordinator for the Boston Theological Institute, a consortium of area seminaries. He was also a live-in volunteer counselor at a Cambridge half-way house for mentally ill adults.  As a new pastor of four rural churches in northeast Vermont, he worked as an HIV educator and AIDS hospice chaplain, served on the national Reconciling Congregations Board, and He testified before the Vermont House for the passage of civil rights protections for the LGBTQIA+ community.  While serving Trinity Church in Montpelier, he was active in organizing voices of faith in the struggle for equal marriage rights for same-gender couples.  As a pastor in Essex, Vermont, Mitch worked with 350.org (getting arrested at the White House during a Tar-Sands Pipeline protest with Bill McKibben and Naomi Klein) and with Vermont’s nascent Black Lives Matter movement.  Within the structure of the United Methodist Church, Mitch chaired the Troy Conference Board of Church and Society and served on Boards of Ordained Ministry for both Troy and New England Conferences.

Undergirding his activism is a deep faith in the God he has met and experienced in the life, teachings, and presence of the rabbi Jesus. Mitch sees his primary calling as pastor to be one of introducing people to a relationship with Jesus.  Through shared worship, deepening spiritual practices, intentional community-building, and challenging teaching, he aims to equip individuals and communities to love God, humanity, and creation with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength.  Mitch is always ready to meet with you over coffee, pizza, or a good IPA.