Twenty-Five Years of Ministry at Peoples Baptist Church of Boston
My gadget, myself
By Hiawatha Bray
Source: Boston Globe
Wesley Roberts
As the pastor of a church that’s nearly two centuries old, Wesley Roberts lives by tradition and ritual. Here’s one of his favorites: Every year or so, Palm Inc. introduces a new top-of-theline hand-held computer. And Roberts buys it.
"I didn’t need it," said Roberts of his latest purchase, a $400 Palm Tungsten T3 he bought on eBay. "I’m a gadget person."
Rev. Wesley A. Roberts is the pastor of Peoples Baptist Church of Boston, the oldest African-
American congregation in New England. He doesn’t exactly fit the stereotype of the affluent "early adopter" who rushes to buy each new digital product, but this pastor is also a geek.
And it turns out there are good religious reasons to carry a Tungsten. "I have seven translations of the Bible, which means I don’t have to take my Bible with me if I’m going to the hospital" to pray with ailing members of the congregation, Roberts said. Speaking of prayer, Roberts also uses PrayerPartner, a program by Laridian Inc. that reminds him who needs to be prayed for, and even lets him record God’s answers to his prayers.
Still, Roberts could have done all this with his T2 or the four other Palm devices he’s bought over the years. But for Roberts, only the newest, coolest Palm device will do. "This is the only thing that I really splurge on," Roberts said. "It gives me pleasure."
The Bicentennial year was also our Pastor’s 25th Anniversary.
The church organized a celebration for Pastor along with the Banquet celebration. They decided that Pastor Roberts would be a special honoree.
The anniversary celebration service was held on Sunday October 9th. As part of his 25th Anniversary Celebration, the church invited Reverend James Dove, Pastor of Ebenezer and a former member of Peoples, to be the 8:00 a.m. preacher.
Reverend Dr. Michael Haynes, Pastor Emeritus of Twelfth Baptist Church, our sister church, and a dear friend of Pastor Roberts was invited to be the 10:45 a.m. preacher.
The Men’s Ministry served a special breakfast after the 8:00 a.m. service as part of the pastoral anniversary celebration. A reception was held in Klugh Hall after the 10:45 a.m. service. A number of ministry leaders and members offered words of congratulation and presented gifts to Pastor Roberts for 25 years of dedicated and faithful service. Arnold Johnson, Vice Chair of the Trustee Ministry, was the Master of Ceremonies.
